Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The luxury of colour



Fall garden riches
8 x 8 inches
acrylic on canvas
Barbara Muir © 2009

My day today began with a drive beside fields turning a miraculous
ochre colour touched with edges of orange, or rusty red, or bright
yellow in places. The trees are starting to turn, and although
the growing city is invading every green space with huge
earth movers, pavers, and who knows what to tear down every
tree, enough beauty remains to lift my heart. The supposed
"greenbelt" around Toronto is a complete sham. Developers
are ripping into land that once belonged to food crops, hawks
soaring, every kind of wildlife, and skillfully slipping between
legal loopholes to cover Ontario's prime farmland with shabbily
built large houses.

This makes me a bit sad. But then I'll emerge from one of
these new vast, empty, treeless neighbourhoods, my mind's
eye filled with a vivid image of the farm that was there just
a year ago, and I'll see the trees. Maybe there's just a stand of them,
four or five, but in places a whole wood flames with orange, red,
and burgundy leaves. Then I permit myself to quit my internal rant
against the destruction of my beloved landscape, and just enjoy
the beauty we still have. That beauty is so overwhelming
that it's impossible to understand how anyone could want
to mow it down. And that beauty makes me want to sing,
dance, and paint.

So holding that great rush of happiness on this very windy
day, I had a marvellous day at school, and now I'm painting
again, feeling vigorous and inspired.

I hope I get tonight's painting done. It's another little flower
painting, a tribute to the market lady's garden. I don't even
know what some of the flowers are. Some huge headed pink
thing, looks like civilized milkweed. But that's the story...

It's finished. Thanks for waiting.

Have a loving-the-beauty-in-your-world day.

8 comments:

Tammy Hext said...

This painting makes me happy. Just the inspiration I needed to start my day. Happy painting!
Tammy

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Tammy,

Thanks so much. I'm really glad the painting makes you happy.

Take care,

Barbara

julie davis said...

Wow! Love the color and energy here, Barbara--talk about seeing the joy in a painting!

Linny D. Vine said...

Gorgeous and joyful!

LeSan said...

A lovely happy painting
Barbara. I know how you feel about seeing such amazing beauty torn down. I can't understand it either. I so appreciate that you see nature in it's majesty and rejoice in the beauty. You help keep that beauty alive by valuing it.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Julie,

Thanks so much. I love your still life paintings. I hope you're enjoying the process now.

xoxoxoxoBarbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Linny,

Thanks so much. I am definitely aiming for joyful. I just love your work. It's wonderful.

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi LeSan,

It is sad seeing the lovely rural landscape ploughed over with houses.
Tragic really. And not even nice houses. But I can't wallow in that sentiment and get my work done -- I have to stay up to do both my art and my teaching.

The writing on your blog is fabulous.

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!