More to love

 

Time for love

Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

Barbara Muir ©
(Card #2 of 4 cards in
the packs I'm selling at

the Heliconian Hall 
tomorrow.)

As I said yesterday If you come to the delightful opening of the 
Off The Wall show tomorrow (Saturday) you will see great art
at amazingly  low prices.  And again why buy a print for that
wall in the spare bedroom, or over your desk when you can get

the real thing for less? Plus you can buy my sweet Valentine's
cards for four for $20.00.  (There are 4 different cards with
envelopes in each pack). So come out to the Heliconian Hall,
35 Hazelton Ave., Saturday from 2 - 5p.m. Love to see you there.
Coffee, cookies, treats. And it is free.

I feel sorry for people who say they don't like Valentine's Day.
Why?  To say the day is commercial? Make your own cards then,
or like my mother used to do make chocolate fudge for your children,
or people you love.  My husband andI will decorate the house for
the "month of love" - putting up banners of hearts, and other 

decorations we've made.

Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.  Celebrate whatever love you have.  
Your cat, your friends, your family near and far.  Love really
is the answer.

And your kindness and love for me, that you show me all year 'round
helps me to think of the world as a space of possibility, and affection,
to feel like miracles can happen even in this incredibly scary time.

Have a loving your life day!

Not too early to think about love

 

The Lovebird
Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

Barbara Muir © 2018

If you come to the delightful opening of the Off The Wall show on Saturday

you will see great art at super low prices.  Why buy a print when you can get
the real thing for less? Plus you can buy my sweet Valentine's cards for four for
$20.00.  (There are 4 different cards with envelopes in each pack). So come out
to the Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave., Saturday from 2 - 5p.m. Love to

see you there.  Coffee, cookies, treats.

If you have people you love overseas, now would be the time to get your
kind messages together.  And if you're in town, it's fun to be ready. It's

just a month away.

A single friend of mine living alone in Collingwood told me today that
she would love to receive Valentine's Day cards from friends.  We
agree that Valentine's cards don't have to be about romance, we can
share love with anyone we care about.

Have a loving your life day!

Come to the opening at the Heliconian Hall this Saturday from 2 - 5 p.m.

Happy Anniversary Tea 

watercolour and marker on
watercolour paper

 6 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © Revised 2025
(Available)

Saturday is the second the last opening of the Off The Wall
show at the Heliconian Club, 35 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto
from 2 - 5p.m.  There are many extremely reasonable pieces
available. As always there will be treats and coffee. And it is 
free!

Last year I posted this, which seems as right today as
 it did a year ago.

"I liked this post about purpose.  The world is in a mess -- it seems

like it's worse than in 2020.  The wars are horrific, the climate change

is bordering on out of control.  Diseases are surging again.
My purpose remains the same.

" I think that my purpose is to create hope, spread love, joy and
when I'm in person with friends, family, colleagues and students, to
help us all get to laughter. 

My purpose is to help us get happy.  But sometimes
this feels impossible.  It's hard to see the light with Australia
(and Canada and other countries this past summer) burning,
 and a full scale senseless war in the middle east, and our closest

neighbour starting new wars almost every day.
But we have to keep working on joy.  We have to vote for people
who care more about climate change, than money for oil, who 
care about saving the planet, and protecting the earth's citizens.  
And we have to end all war everywhere.

As an 18 year old I first marched for peace.  Let's get some."

Have an enjoying your purpose day.

Goodbye to should -- hello to happy!

Winter peonies
(for your pleasure)

Photo
Barbara Muir © 2026

Right now the world is a scary place. And unless you’re in a location
that’s being threatened, I think it’s defiant to be happy. We need to be
conscious of the misery being inflicted everywhere yes. We need to
send money if we can to support causes that deliver food, and we need
to demand that our governments say no to any and every war. But
if we have a place to live, food to eat, heat in winter, cooling in
summer, people who love us, and a community, we can be happy
 — one of the strongest forms of resistance. Making art is another
form of resistance.

Give in to colour, give in to your creative brain’s impulses, and ignore
 the noise. Oh and the shoulders —(should ers) those people who know
 what you “should” be doing and how, even if they’ve never done what
 you’re doing. Just say thank you. Great advice, and go back
to dreaming and creating! 

Yes HAPPY New Year! 

Have a loving your life day!

Does anyone know where we can get another one of these near Toronto?

 

The newest member of our family -- Monet

(a direct descendent -- :-)

She is a Tortiepoint Siamese kitten --

This is how she looked at almost

10 weeks old.  She is now 4 and

much bigger.

Photo

Barbara Muir © 2021

One of the new additions I'd like for the new year, is a new Siamese 

Tortiepoint female kitten. Monet hs grown into a 
beautiful cat, butwe lost her "sister" Fiona last June,

and our dog Sally is a sweetheart, but 13, blind and
deaf, and Monet needs someone to play with.

What about art? I started a complicated drawing of a local diner 
today, and ordered some Valentine's cards (my lovebird

series) to sell at the opening of the Off The Wall show
this Saturday from 2 - 5 p.m. at the Heliconian Hall,
35 Hazelton Ave. Toronto. 

If you're in Toronto, please come out.  All of the art in
the show is selling at $200 or less.  There will be cookies,

and coffee, and baked goods, and treats.  Come on down!

I'd love to see you.

Have a loving your life day!

Entranced by winter

The Cake House

Acrylic on canvas

14 x 18 inches
Barbara Muir © Revised 2025

Today I looked out the window to our backyard, and was reminded
of an Americo del Col video of painting snowy rooftops.  I had such
an urge to paint the scene -- very beautiful.  This painting is one of
my favourite winter paintings -- (still available.)

It is a very beautiful time of year -- yes a bit cold.  We had our hair cut 

(Steven and me) by the famous Amanda, and now feel all spiffy and
ready to face the work of the coming week.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and wish you a Happy New Year.

Have a loving your life day! 

Movie night, and thankful despite horrific news

 

Steven with our cat Fiona

who we lost in June.

She was wonderful, and
so is Monet who is just four
and very much alive.
Fiona was nearly 18 when
she died.

The guy holding her is a big
part of why I had a good year.

Photo

Barbara Muir ©

It is movie night, so I won't write all of the things I'm thinking
about.  But aside from intense world stress, I am grateful.

Hard things happened in 2025. Family members got ill. And I got
more than one nasty bug.  We lost our  sweet cat Fiona, and I
worried about the wars (it looks like another senseless cruel war started
today), and the planet.  But I was lucky to have a good year anyway.
How is that possible?  It's because of all the wonderful people
like you who are in my family, who are my friends, and who I exhibit
with. I was in many art shows, and had a successful solo show, and
that made me feel fantastic.

I am without a doubt blessed by having so many brilliant,
funny, creative, talented, generous, delightful people in
my life. I am delighted that you are here.

So looking back from the standpoint of it being the third
day of the new year, of being in perfect health, with exciting
possibilities out in front of me, I want to thank 2025,
and you for making my life a good one.  Now let's
work on ending insane wars, and solving climate change.
Let's stop racism, sexism, ageism, hatred, and figure out a
way to help the countries going through fire, famine, and
destruction. And let's elect more people like Zohran Mamdani.

Have a doing what you can day!