Friday, March 27, 2026

Flowers for you -- almost finished

 

Flowers for you
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 18 inches
Barbara Muir © 2026

Every day of the week before an art show is a busy one. I work from a 
long check list, and today has been a very good day.  Plus despite the
cold it was sunny out, and Steven and I sat out on the back porch 
drinking a coffee during his lunch break from work. (He works at
home.)

This painting is of a beautiful bouquet I bought from the farmer
at Marvellous Edibles at the Brick Works market last summer.
It will be one of my paintings in The Colour of Light show
at the Heliconian Hall, opening on April 3, between 2 and 5 pm.
I'd love to see you there.  Cookies, coffee, snacks,chocolates and it's free.

Have a loving your life day!

Thursday, March 26, 2026

What do artists do?

 

Pansies welcome spring
Acrylic ink on
watercolour paper
5.5 x 8.5 inches
Barbara Muir © 

I'm using this painting as my image tonight because it made me
happy to see it, and it was a good day.  We do a lot behind the
scenes. My great helping friend and I made a list of the paintings
nearly ready to go in the Colour of Light show opening next weekend
on April 3 from 2-5 p.m., and April 4 from 2-5 pm., and April 8 from
4 - 7:30 p.m. at the Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Avenue in Toronto.

And as we organized the paintings (most need a bit more work), I
felt so happy to see how they look together even though they are
all unique.

I look forward to seeing you there.  I will show you the work here when it's
ready.

Have a loving your life day!

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Thank you everyone for your support -- The blog has passed 3 million views!

 



For David Lobenberg
Self portrait
acrylic on canvas
12 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 

The news tonight is simple and short.  Today I reached the
milestone of more than 3 million 
views, which in the blog
world is a big deal.  And I just want to 
thank all of you,
who have read and supported my blog. 

You can see me on Instagram too, but I do write a daily blog
here.  So this was exciting, because I think it took more than 16
years to get to 1 million views, and in the past 2 years it's gone
up to more than 3 million.  Thank you!

Have a loving your life day!

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Super busy day for the Monthaversary of our wedding

 

Small is beautiful
Watercolour and marker on
Arches watercolour paper
6 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012

Today was a busy day for our wedding Monthaversary. Steven was working
away in his office, and I was in the studio getting art ready for our
show (Vivian East, Henrietta Walmark and me) at the Heliconian Hall,
April 3, 4, 8 and 24.

Luckily it was a productive day, and I had a short, sweet meeting with a
friend. Then back to painting.  I do feel happy about the work, which
is great.

Steven and I celebrate the Monthaversary of our first date, and the
Monthaversary of our wedding day two days apart.  Today it was a
beautiful day.  We went for a short walk under the stars and were 
quite delighted that the snow, at least for now, is gone.

Have a loving your life day!

Monday, March 23, 2026

Getting ready for the show -- 10 days to go!

 

The King's Breakfast 
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 
(I put this painting up today because it's
one of my favourite paintings --nothing
sweeter than room service breakfast in a hotel
with the one you love. Sold now,
but it might be loaned to me
for The Colour of Light show.)

The count down to an art show is both exciting and worrying.  You
paint like crazy, and make list after list.  Those are super helpful,
except at the end of the day when you just want to go and watch
TV with your mate, and there are still so many things not
crossed off on the list.  Reason enters like a gift, and says,
"Don't worry we'll get those done tomorrow."  

I hope you are having a super time.  Today was both moody grey,
and brilliantly sunny. Such contrasts.  The sun made everyone happy.

Have a loving your life day!

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Happy Monthaversary of our first date to my sweetheart

 

A favourite photo of me and Steven 

Happiest monthaversary of our first date to my wonderful
husband, Steven. How did we celebrate today? We had a quiet
day doing chores in the house, went out for takeout  lunch at our
favourite café, then went for a great walk in a historic neighbourhood
with magnificent century-old buildings.


Tonight, we’ll hang out with our cat and our dog and watch our
TV show – a detective series.


I couldn’t be more happy that we fell in love on our first date, and that
we are still in love. 


Have a loving your life day!

Saturday, March 21, 2026

Happy Spring

 


Spring tulips
Three versions in acrylic on
watercolour paper
© Barbara Muir 
(I'm revising one of these for our
show The Colour of Light)

Boy do we need Spring! Just the word makes people happy.  It
was a grey, rainy, snowy day today, and people were walking 
around in their down coats looking like Spring (happiness) had
just arrived. It is 2 degrees Celsius now (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
And some people were wearing their winter coats with shorts.
That is pushing it

It's a good time to immerse yourself in nature.  The birds are 
singing, the trees here in Toronto have not produced leaves, but
they are so ready. I feel particularly lucky to be up to my 
eyes in painting.  There are lots of reports at the moment 
about the destructive nature of social media.  That has
never been my experience.  For me it is friendship, learning,
kindness and opportunity.

But the news is there and it is grim.  We can hope that
sanity will come back to the world soon.  We can do 
all we can to help that happen, and we can create work
filled with joy, to give people a break.

Have a loving your life day!

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!