Monday, September 29, 2008

Running on happy inspiration

Yesterday was quite the day -- bright and sunny, and our house
looked like the gallery/studio it was supposed to be. Never mind
the missing baseboards in the basement, or that pre-construction,
re-renovation look. My family and friends cleaned the place up
so well that the only indication of excessive creative verve was the
close to 40 paintings on the walls (I think at last count it was 37).




The reference photo for this image was taken
at one of our parties. The woman is our friend
and she's holding a neighbour's baby.
I like the expression on both of their
faces, but there's lots of work to do,
so you'll see it again.


After a little nap I thought of all of you out there who paint
every day, and I pulled my paints out of their oddly tidy
hiding place so I could begin a new painting. I wanted to
show you the first stage before I worked on marking papers
last night. But the camera wouldn't cooperate. Tonight
I've been delivering purchased work, so no more painting, but I
took a look at this effort and decided that it's a pretty good
beginning.

I started on a red ground, which gives the painting it's
punch. The rest will happen as I think about it more.


Have a seeing-what-happens day.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the expressions as well. I think it is because they are so natural and unposed looking.

Barbara Muir said...

Thanks onpainting. I'm glad you like
the expressions. They're clearly both
in their own separate worlds.

Your blog is great!

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!