First day of fall

Friday night with Flora

Charcoal on bond paper

10 x 12 inches

Barbara Muir © 2010

(This drawing was done in late November. My friend

Flora Doehler visited my kitchen, (boy would I enjoy that
 now!) and we drew each other. I love the look

of concentration on her face, because that is her.

She is a fabulous artist and when she's making

art she is focused.)

A serious talk
Skype drawing
charcoal on bond paper
9 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

(The wonderful artist 

Tamara van den Berg, who

I met at the Florence Biennale in

2009.  A charcoal drawing via

Skype.)

Skype Sketch of Sam
charcoal pencil on bond paper
6 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

(To cheer myself up today I taught

my fantastic class, and looked for some 

charcoal drawings.  That made me

realize how much my process

has changed in 10 years.  I love 

charcoal for drawing, but now

there are so many new ways

to draw a work on canvas.)

What are you doing today to cheer yourself up on the first day of fall?
A lot of us feel like we got ripped off this summer, because we didn’t get
to go where we normally go, or see the people that we'd love to see.
I know we need to allow ourselves to feel the disappointment we feel
from time to time, we also have to encourage ourselves to notice every good
thing that happens.

Two days ago I cracked a molar biting into an almond, and lost most
of the tooth.  Last night I visited the emergency dental clinic where I
met my own  dentist a few years ago. Just visiting the dentist is scary right now. 
We don’t want anyone near our faces in COVID. But I was so lucky! 
To my surprise my own dentist was working there last night! He is fast,
exceptionally good, kind, honest and funny.  In no time all was well.

As Dr. Fauci said on Trevor Noah’s show last night COVID-19 is a reality
we have to face. Dealing with it has nothing to do with politics, and everything
to do with protecting our health, and the health of others.

I think that it's never been more true that each day that we are alive and
well is a gift. Your support for my work, my blog, and your
comments on Facebook, and Instagram are also a gift. Tonight I’ll probably
put up more photos of drawings from the past because I teach tonight.
And I feel so fortunate to have a connection with my students online. 

Let’s enjoy what we have, and let go of what we don’t have. We are going
to get through this and will look back in amazement at how brave we were,
and how positive we were to stay cheerful in very stressful conditions.

Have a really good day.