Friday, June 13, 2008

Working the family thing



Here's my third and final sample of a Little Art Show
painting. The challenge in each case was to create
a strong painting, in my main area of exploration
--


portraits, on a 7x9" canvas. When Carolyn Megill
ran the show, she brought the canvasses to each
artist, on the theory that you were already
donating your skill. My son Christopher gave
me permission to use a photograph he took
of his beautiful friend, Neely, as reference. I'd met Neely several times, so I was familiar with her face. The final image was quite stylized, but it worked in the big room where the work was displayed.

The second shot is of the people looking at the paintings arranged around the perimeter of the
huge BMW ballroom where the show took place.

What else is happening? In the
world behind the art there was quite
a dramatic thunder storm tonight.
Steven and I and Zoey dog ran home
from the park, and got inside just as
the worst of it began.

Lorraine Roussel, a fabulous artist,
visited and we shared lunch today.

Have a delightfully friendly day.

2 comments:

flo said...

Barbara, just love the composition of this last painting - the body going one way, the head another , the eyes another...and her hair and how you have handled the background to support it all. so strong and hard to believe the painting itself is so small.
we are well into cafe stuff now, working on signs, and the whole graphic worlds of redesigned menus, flyers, rack cards etc. trying to promote more and have lined up 2 months worth of entertainers for Fri and Sat nights. and the flowers are starting to look gorgeous.

Barbara Muir said...

I'm glad you like it Norene. I have no idea who owns it, but I hope the buyer liked it too. I don't participate in the show anymore, because my friend isn't running it,the friends I showed with lost interest, and the new show organizers upped the guest admission price (to an auction)from $5 to $20, and wouldn't allow artists to get passes for their mates. The show became too expensive for many of my friends to attend. Too bad, because it really was so much fun.

I hope to see you soon!

Barbara

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!