Sunday, February 22, 2009

Pulling the house together

One of the things I love about the weekend is the
time to dawdle and read my book. Steven,
who has to be the sweetest man on earth on the
weekend, brings me coffee in bed on Saturday and
Sunday, and then comes back with the pot of coffee
in one hand and the milk in the other to refill my cup.
His ritual demands that he stand at the door and ask
if I want another coffee while he hides the
pot beyond my view. It's quite the ceremony and he's
accompanied by the dog and the two cats, who are
excited and frisky in the hopes that there
may be food involved.

This morning we hurried through this routine to
get Sam off to his bus. On the way home we picked up
flowers, and I cleaned the kitchen while putting out
pots of red tulips, plus pitchers and vases of roses.
A big antique wash jug of yellow lilies graces the side
table in the studio. Suddenly this little house has
grace on its side again.

I started a painting of an interior today -- struck as
I was by the way the afternoon sun lit my upstairs
hallway (which incidentally is painted one of my
favorite colours a light seaside turquoise). I was
thinking of Milind Mulick
http://milindmulick.blogspot.com/
and how gorgeous his interiors are. I put a ground
coat on a small canvas and began, but it will
take a while to do.



Blowing out the candles
black marker on watercolour paper
12 x 9 inches

After supper I went shopping with Steven and our
son Christopher,who was suffering from shock at the prices
here (a full cart of groceries in Korea was 70 dollars).
Back home I did a quick, little, random sketch
of Sam's 11th birthday party. All of these kids are
so grown up now. I hope you were watching the
Oscars. I turned them on, but just didn't have
time to stay.

Have a you're-the-one-in-the-spotlight day.

8 comments:

Susan Carlin said...

I always love coming by your blog, Barbara. I leave feeling like I've had coffee and conversation with a dear friend. XO

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Susan,

You are a dear friend indeed. I showed my youngest the painting you did of me, and he said -- "she's got you Mom." That's quite the compliment coming from a 19-year-old.

XOXOBarbara

Anonymous said...

Hi, you wanted me to see if I could leave a comment. Looks like I can. But only if someone has left a comment before me. I can't (probably don't know how to) leave the first comment.
Love you,
Steven

Anonymous said...

Hi Barbara, I thought I'd drop by and read the new posts.
There is always something of interest going on and I love to study your drawings. You've inspred me. Yesterday we went for coffee and I drew some of the folks around me. "Napkin Art" I call it. Not as nice as the ones I see in here but it's a start.
Eldon

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Steven,

You are sweet. I'll say that again.
Love you,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Eldon,

I hope you'll post your napkin art on your blog. When life is crazy busy art is still available to people like you who are observant.

Take care,

Barbara

Liza Hirst said...

Susan expressed that so well! Feel just like her!
Barbara, not only am I envious of you having both your sons with you but also of all the flowers you have in your house! Here flowers are very expensive and we very rarely buy any, but luckily in summer there are a few in our garden that I bring into the house. When living in Germany, I always had flowers because they were much cheaper there - one thing I do miss a lot now!

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Liza,

I think of France as being flower central. Isn't that funny? Apparently a lot of our flowers come from Holland. But we usually by locally grown green house roses. They cost more than imported ones, but they are still reasonable. I think we're lucky in Toronto, because flowers are expensive and rare in Ottawa too.

xoxoxoBarbara

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!