Friday, May 9, 2008

What's out there

I spent some time today looking at artists' blogs. There are wildly creative people in the world,
and one of the things I love about the Internet
is that you can get to see their work, even
study their methods without going anywhere.

My paintings are influenced by everything
I see, and then by my own creative spirit.
The Dance Series began because I teach
part time at a community college. Seeing
my students in every type of casual wear,
from jeans, to cut-offs, to track pants with
T-shirts and even pajamas on occasion
made me want to create an idealized
picture of young people. I started with one big painting, and the series
grew and grew.
It turns out that most people look wonderful
in more formal dress.

Tia used to live across the street from me and
she's an ideal model. She is brilliant and has a great laugh.
I've had this habit of cutting my model's heads off at the top.
My friend Pam, a superb painter in California says
I need to give the model's head breathing space, but
sometimes (often) I can't fit the model on the canvas,
and I can't paint huge canvasses all the time. This image
doesn't really look like this. It was photographed in
very yellow light. In real life the colours are much brighter,
less yellowed.

Today I've been blown away by some people who paint
little canvasses every day. Of course the king of that is Bob
Burridge, who paints about 10 little paintings
every day before he starts to paint, but here's a list of
other sites you might enjoy.

http://aaronlifferth.blogspot.com/

http://belindadelpesco.blogspot.com/

http://web.mac.com/kjurick/iWeb/ZemArt/Welcome.html

Have an intuitive day!

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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!