Back with my art group

Gabriel -- DVAC Art Group Sketch
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 20 inches
Barbara Muir © 2025

So much fun last night painting again with my art group.  The model
Gabriel was fantastic.  I haven't captured him perfectly, but this is
a 35 minute sketch.  It was such a pleasure painting it. I may work more
on it if I have time.  I took some photos.

Gabriel seemed to like the results.  He asked to see it before I left.  I only
stay for an hour, which I've said before I know. Such a pleasure
to get something done in that time.  

Have a loving your life day!

Number 3 of mine in the Avant Garde show

 

Crows know
Acrylic on canvas

30 x 20 inches
Barbara Muir © 2025

My work for the Echoes of the Avant Garde show is about choosing
peace and hope.  To choose to be positive with the world in chaos is

a rebellion of sorts right now.  The people wreaking havoc on the
planet through wars, and pollution want us to be depressed, so we will

be numb, and not take action to work for positive change.  

In the work for this exhibition I focused on ideas about saving the planet.

The crow is one of the most intelligent birds. A Dutch startup was working
on training crows to pick up cigarette butts. 4.3 trillion butts are thrown
away every year.  The crows would bring the cigarette butts to a smart 

container which would dispense a treat when the crow dropped the butt
in the container. I love this idea.

Clearly the young woman in the painting loves crows, and so do I.

They are brilliant.  And what they know is that we've got to pay
attention to the environment.  Stop the wars, clean up our act.

The next opening of the show is on November 12 from 4:30 - 7 p.m.
at the Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave., Toronto. Free to the public
with cookies and goodies.

Have a loving your life day!

Today is a special day

Sally the dog when we got her 12 years ago.

Her name then was Sweet Nelly, but
as we were her fourth owners in one year,
we changed her name to Shelley.  That didn't
work as a call name, so she became Sally.

Sally the dog

Acrylic on canvas

5 x 7 inches 

Barbara Muir © 

We got Sally on her birthday 12 years ago. So today I took her on a long, 
beautiful walk to celebrate.  She got an extra cookie, and we all sang 
Happy Birthday together when we got home.  She is very happy --

almost completely blind, and deaf, but healthy, and still a wonderful dog.

Have a loving your life day! 

More celebrations and another of my pieces in the Heliconian Avant Garde show

 

Lemme tell you something
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2025

This is another one of my three paintings in the Helliconian Hall Avant Garde
show at 35 Hazelton Avenue in Toronto.  

The painting was inspired by a dream I had when I was thinking about the
Avant Garde.  I wanted to be as positive as possible, but had decided that
my theme would be about the environment.  In the dream a woman is
standing wearing a dress made of ocean waves. And for some reason
lemons were flying around her head with a ribbon floating around the
lemons.

How this relates to saving the planet and the environment might be
-- save our planet, save our crops.  

Somewhat corny I know.  But also vitally important.  These insane

wars have to stop.

The celebrations? Family birthdays.  A real treat.

Have a loving your life day!                                                                                     

The Avant Garde show opening

 

Love the planet
Mixed Media
Acrylic on canvas
plus photo collage

48 x 36 inches
Barbara Muir © 2025

The Avant Garde show at the Heliconian Hall -- 35 Hazelton
Avenue in Toronto opened today. It is a beautiful show and it
was a delightful opening.  

I was so busy talking to people, and inviting them into the show,
that I didn't get time to take photos of the work, and almost forgot

to photograph mine. So here goes.  This is one of my three pieces

in the exhibition, which runs for the month of November.

The painting is a combination of a scene from a beautiful
day in one of our favourite parks, and a photo of some 
young women I met outside the Art Gallery of Ontario
recently.  They wanted to be in the painting, and in the
ironic symbolism is the fact that the phone we use to photograph
beauty is part of what's destroying it. 

The women were actually making peace symbols. But
they agreed to be in this work, and that's the message -- we
need to wake up.  Thank you to my gracious models.

Have a loving your life day!

A very Happy Halloween

A very Happy Halloween
Our front porch.

So much fun this year

Steven and I dressed up as "Nice agents" inspired by a skit on the
Canadian comedy show This Hour Has 22 Minutes.  The Canadian
agent was the opposite of  ICE -- super nice and kind to American
tourists. I can't get a link, but if you write the show name -- This Hour Has
22 Minutes and nice, you can watch it. Maybe this will work.

It was a great night on Cherrywood handing out candy to so many kids
in fabulous costumes. Most have gone home now to watch the Blue Jays 

baseball game.  Blue Jays fever in Toronto is at an all time high.

Happy Halloween! Thank you to everyone who made it a super
fun night for us!

Have a loving your life day!

The art of the day

Pumpkin prep in process for the big night!

Wishing you a wonderful Halloween

if you celebrate!

Photo

Barbara Muir © 2025

Almost no sleep last night, and a first for me -- dropped off my
new work (3 pieces) for the Avant Garde show at the Heliconian Hall 
opening at just after 9 this morning, and there was only one other artist
there. I was one of the early people! How lovely. The show opens this
Saturday at 2 p.m. at 35 Hazelton Avenue. It is sure to be fascinating.
And there will be treats.  If you're in town, drop in.

Now the prep for the next art event -- Halloween begins.  We 
don't do big inflatable sculptures. Love them.  We carve pumpkins,
rely on the Pumpkin princess (hand made at home), and hand out
candy. The best. Our street should be quite festive if the rain stops. Fingers
crossed.

Have a loving your life day!