Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Coffee, tea and look at your art!


The Chisholm family
6 feet x 3 feet
acrylic on canvas
Barbara Muir © 2010
(The paintings now hang in a pristine
modern living room, with brilliant light --
so bright the paintings were reflecting the
light in this photograph -- and white
walls like and art gallery. I was
delighted to see them when I had tea
there a few weeks ago.)

I do love visiting my clients and seeing where
they've put my paintings. When I'm creating a
piece my whole obsession is with what I'm painting.
But I'm lucky that during the commission process
I often form lasting friendships with my clients,
so when I visit I am thinking more about them, than
about the art I've painted for them. So it's
touching to learn where people have hung the
work, to see how much thought and care
goes into those decisions.

People often ask if I'll miss a painting when it's
gone. I do feel a small lurch when I pack a
painting up and send it off, either into the
client's car, or into the mail. But I still
have the experience of painting it, and the
gratification of pleasing my client. Plus I
sometimes borrow the paintings for shows
down the line, and then I get to see them again.

Still I love walking into a friend's house and
being told to look at the painting I may have
painted years before. "Ah yes, so there it is.
Hey!" That's a very sweet feeling. My thanks
to all of my clients who've given me that
privilege.

Steven and I climbed up our
cherry tree tonight on two separate ladders.
There is enough fruit in that one tree
for hundreds of pies, but we picked
enough for three -- 12 cups of cherries.
Each bowl of pitted fruit shown here
will become a pie.
I'm hoping we make two pies and a cobbler.
Sour cherry recipes anyone?

Have a knowing-you-are-appreciated day.

14 comments:

Nicki said...

I love this and your description of where it is hanging adds to it's appeal. I'm sure it is the focal point of the room... a real show stopper.

Nicki

laura said...

I can "see" the portrait on a bight sunny wall--the perfect setting.
Some very good friends of mine have at least half a dozen paintings of mine, some going back a way, and they're all hung prominently in their home, which really does touch me every time I visit; so much so that I don't even obsess over the older ones!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful portrait, and fabulously displayed. er, yes...that's a happy feeling.
...on the flip side it's not such a rush when a painting is revealed in a basement or a garage. ha ha ha. thick skin is key.

CHRIS MURRAY said...

i'm drooling-over the paintings and the cherries.

Laurel Daniel said...

STUNNING!!!!!!!! Love it. XOXOXOX

eldon said...

I always miss them. But usually not for long. It kind of goes away when a new one comes along.
OH wait! You meant paintings. OK them too. :)

Gwen Bell said...

I love the way you painted these on 3 separate canvases and then brought them together as a whole. And I know the size really makes a statement on that pristine white wall.

I envy you and your cherry tree! Cherry's don't grow here in Texas and the thought of picking them in your own back yard seems so wonderfully exotic to me.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

Thanks so much. The space is so beautiful, and so large that my paintings look almost tiny on the wall. Plus there are other wonderful paintings in that space, and I feel honoured to have my work hanging with them.

XOBarbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Laura,

Isn't that a great feeling. For that moment you get an affirmation for what you are doing. Yes you are an artist, and yes people love your work. What a super feeling. How someone with paint on every piece of clothing, all over the house, and under every fingernail could ever forget that I don't know. But we do. And the people who love our work give us a big boost.

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Sally,

People don't tend to put my stuff in bad places. I have a friend's work in my basement, because our living room is really down there, and it's over the mantle in a place of honour.
I've taken over the first floor living room and dining room, so the basement is it. Your work is so magnificent I can't imagine someone putting it in the garage.

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Chris,

Thanks so much. The time of reckoning is here for the cherries. Got to make some pies and maybe a cobbler.

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Laurel,

Thanks so much. What glorious paintings you've been making. So crazy about your work.

XOXOXOXBarbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Eldon,

What did you mean? You make me laugh. In our world a new painting comes along very quickly, and the idea is there before the painting, so it's "Next!" But still I love seeing work that I'm proud of.

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Gwen,

I've just been up the tree again picking cherries. It's somewhat hazardous sitting on our rickety garage roof. Steven helps me get up and hands me the colander I put the cherries in. I have to be conscious of what I'm doing all the time, because I broke my ankle the summer before last, and really, really don't want to fall. Still there I am in the dense green shade
jewelled with bright berries, and it's an artist's dream.

xoxoxoxoBarbara

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!