Saturday, July 9, 2011

A beautiful woman and a busy day

 At the party (detail)
Acrylic on canvas with gold and silver leaf
36 x 48 inches
Barbara Muir © 2011
This has been a long day running around
helping a friend who is looking for a car.
Now that is a hard job.  My friend has probably
been to at least 6 car dealers in the past
week, and I've gone along for the ride and for
moral support.  Whew!

After leasing a number of cars myself I am
starting to know some of the ins and outs of what
happens.  But here's a tip for the car industry.
Tell the truth wherever possible and be nice.
Ultimately my friend bought a car from the nicest,
kindest, most direct and honest dealers.  The dealership
wasn't convenient, the car wasn't even in the running
before a day of looking around.  In other words,
polite, but not pushy helpfulness (along with good
design and affordability) won the day.

So. Triumph. My friend is getting a reasonably
priced, good and comfortable car, and I can
go back to painting, although I did get some
drawings done today during various long waits.

The painting tonight is a detail from the large
family portrait I'm showing you person by person
with a grand finale in two more days.  Sabine,
the mother of the family, is an elegant and beautiful
woman who manages a demanding and successful
business, and takes care of her family.  She
seems to do so effortlessly, and with style and
good spirits.  It was a pleasure painting her.
Her sequined dress has real silver leaf accents,
and I used 24 karat gold leaf on her rings,
and watch and her husband's ring.

Have a being-a-good-friend day.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh wow! this is really good Barbara. the customer must love it. it's beautiful!
i agree directness and honesty in a salesperson is unmatched!

Nicki said...

You are a good, good friend Barbara. I'm sure having you there made what can be a very stressful experience much more manageable.

This portrait is gorgeous. Sabine's dress turned out beautifully! Can you show a close-up detail of her rings, etc. sometime? I'd love to get a better idea of the gold leaf. I love the gradual unveiling... too fun.

Hugs,
Nicki

Gwen Bell said...

The suspense is killing me! This is so beautiful...can't wait to see the rest.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Sally,

Yes, directness and lack of game playing is the important thing. One car dealer said, "we don't have clients, we have fans." The hype is
almost funny, except to the car buyer.

XO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

Thanks so much. I really love the dress. When I get better photos I'll show you the details. Gold leaf is easy to use. We can talk about how to do it sometime.

XO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Gwen,

Thanks so much. I'm going to post the whole painting today. I love your recent paintings. So glad to see you painting again, I missed that.

XO 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!