Monday, January 19, 2009

Men in Hats



Class sketch of a man wearing a hat
acrylic on bond paper
My apologies to all the men out there who absolutely
love their hats. For me one of the unattractive parts
of winter is that men and women, but especially men,
are forced to wear hats. I'm probably alone in this, but
because I like to see men's hair, or even lack of hair,
more than a hat, I dislike the toque. No don't pile
on the examples of great hats on men, I'm sure they're
out there, I am simply not fond of them.

I'm only writing about this because I found an image
from one of our art group evenings. This poor
man had on a black fedora. The light was so dim in
our room that I could barely see his face, hidden in
the shadow under the hat. As I am particularly fond
of painting faces, that was not ideal. However,
when I go to work with the group, I try to paint
what's been arranged by all the people who get there
before me. So this night it was a man in a hat.

Beneath the hat he had a lovely face, but perhaps
he didn't like wearing it either, because he looked
glum. Now don't get me started on baseball caps,
especially backwards baseball caps. Where's the
positive? I love looking at the man I live with
without a hat, and yes when he has to wear one
I can't wait until he takes it off.

Have a wearing-your-hat-proudly day.

2 comments:

Laurel Daniel said...

I love this painting. Some people look so GOOD in hats... this man, for instance! He has a little added mystery because of that hat! As for myself, I only wear them when I have to - painting outside when my eyeballs would otherwise burn up. (And I guess if I lived where you do, it would be a matter of survival!!!)

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Laurel,

It's kind of you to say so. He was dressed in a black hat and black jacket. Too somber. It wasn't a happy sight, so I'm glad you see it as mysterious in my painting. Of course I wear a hat in full sun too, and I like those sun hats. Last night after writing this I dreamt all night of my guys looking cute in their hats. Oh well.

Take care,

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!