Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tuesday night at my art group



Art Group Sketch
acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

It's been a long day today starting with my early
morning class. There is always at least one student
trying to lean against the wall, or catch a few more
minutes of sleep in some way, and as I'm not
a morning person, I have to really work hard at
not following suit. Instead I am wildly enthusiastic
to keep everyone motivated, and after class I feel
like I've been dancing the can can for a couple of
hours. Not true of course.

We finally have a little snow, a layer about a half inch
thick that sparkles in the light at night, and makes the
whole city look newly hatched, or redecorated. If we
don't get tons of it, this will be just ideal.

So tonight I went out to my art group and painted
from the model. There are some great painters there,
and a few who paint in a superb, strong, dynamic
style. If I'm lucky I pick that energy up almost
instantaneously and whip up a painting with some
punch. Tonight was one of those nights. I was so
happy to be there. The pose was good for me with
strong shadows and light, and I felt fantastic until
I stopped. I reached a place of -- okay time to quit
and went home to talk to you.

Have an it's-great-to-paint-with-friends day

P.S. I think posting my paintings here and
looking at everyone's paintings on the net
is the closest thing there is to painting with
friends. The only thing missing is the tea and
the music.

2 comments:

Nicki said...

Hi Barbara,

You must have just posted this as I was commenting on another of your entries!

This is a strong, dynamic, confident portrait. And it really sounds like you enjoyed yourself tonight. At one point as I was scrolling down and reading your words the portrait was only visible from the chin down. I actually thought that this section made for a good abstract painting on it's own!

Have a great day tomorrow.

Nicki

Laurel Daniel said...

Amen... today it's like we're meeting for a quick cup of coffee before the day starts (for me anyway). Happiness. I love the energy of this piece, it's very powerful! Have a wonderful day, coffee klatch friend!! XOXOXO

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!