Thursday, March 3, 2011

Aren't we lucky?

View of Toronto and the CN Tower from the south facing 
lookout at the Art Gallery of Ontario

Yesterday was a learning day for me.  I went to the
Art Gallery of Ontario to meet a fellow artist,
and we  took in the Paterson Ewen and
David Blackwood exhibits.  Mid-afternoon on
a Wednesday was a great time to be there,
and people were easy going and friendly.  A
woman in the Paterson Ewen exhibit turned to
me with a big smile on her face and said, "Aren't
we lucky? Of course I answered, "Yes we certainly
are!"  There was so much meaning in her question.
Winter Walk (work in progress)
Acrylic on canvas
14 x 16 inches
Barbara Muir © 2011
(Blocking in the light areas)

I'm sure she'd seen me laughing with my friend
over tea in the member's lounge, but it seemed
like more than that.  We were lucky to be seeing
this magnificent exhibition in a beautiful gallery.
We were lucky to love art, we were lucky to live
in a peaceful country like Canada, we were just
lucky to be alive and to agree that we were lucky.

I felt so moved by her question that I wanted to
ask her her name so I could quote her here.  But
I immediately realized that her name wasn't
important.  It was her message and impulse
to share with me in that moment that mattered.

Winter Walk (work in progress)
Stage one 
Acrylic on canvas
Barbara Muir © 2011
(I started with a blue over black ground,
then drew a rough drawing of the scene
on in yellow watercolour crayon.)

Today has been a non-stop wonder from start to finish,
but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.  Right now
it's very late and I have been running all day.  Until
tomorrow:

 Have a meeting-the-most-wonderful-people-in-the-world day.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Barbara, i love the 'Winter Walk'. For a minute i thought i was looking at a David Milne or something. it has a beautiful simple woodblock sort of quality. fantastic. Isn't Patterson Ewing amazing. i have been so impressed with his work for about a decade when i first discovered it.Lucky you (and that lady) for getting to enjoy it.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Sally,

Thanks so much. It is going to get a bit more complicated, but that is the feeling I was going for. Yes Paterson Ewen is amazing. I am lucky, and lucky to know you!

XOBarbara

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!