Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Beautiful August, horrible cold


Good cat with a good book
iPad drawing
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012

The drawing today is of my cat Timbah, my loyal
companion as I've tried to shake off what started
as a cold and progressed to what my doctor calls
walking pneumonia.  After three long weeks
of feeling quite physically wiped, I am now on
an antibiotic (thank you doctor) and can expect
to be back to my chirpy, zippy self in a few days.

My husband keeps asking me when I'm going to
blog again.  I've been looking at him in desperation,
first coughing, then with full blown laryngitis, and
then this lingering lack of oomph.  So okay Steven
and everyone else.  I'm back, and hope that soon
I'll make up for lost time.  Meanwhile.  Take care of
yourselves.  I have missed you and your work so much.

Have an enjoying-your-good-health day

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sick (sic)


 Breakfast Quebec City style
Watercolour and black marker
on Arches watercolour paper
6 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012
(I wish I could wake up to breakfast in
that spectacular room (free room) tomorrow.
Alas -- back home now. Working.)

Since I got home from beautiful Nova Scotia I have had a very
bad cold.  I know who gave it to me.  My sweet husband.  But
he is better and mine is getting worse.  Since yesterday I've
had laryngitis on top of the sniffles and coughing.  And I say
enough already. Because I didn't mind the cold, but not being
able to talk or get my voice to work -- that's not natural for me.

Add to this the fact that they're tearing up my street to
make new sidewalks and the noise begins in earnest at
7:30 a.m. and you have a formula for missing my school house
and acre of land -- birdsong, peace and quiet almost too
much.  But on the flip side, when I'm better I'll appreciate
my friends and family here, the buzz, the wonderful park
 near me, the trees and yes, my studio.  I was in there
today to finish this little watercolour of our breakfast table
at the hotel in Quebec City last week.  Meanwhile I'm
working on painting, but have limited energy for blogging.
I hope you know that I love your work.

Have a happy-to-be-healthy day.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Whatever you like is right.

 
 School house flowers
iPad drawing
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012
What do I mean?  Here are three attempts at the same
beautiful bunch of flowers sitting on my table
at the schoolhouse.  People who draw and paint
actually get addicted to a certain medium.  That
makes sense.  You buy paint and it costs a lot,
so you stick with that paint, acrylic, oil, watercolour.
But what you are is an artist.  If someone asks you what
kind of artist you are, you don't need a long
explanation.  People are tweeting their whole
lives in 140 characters.  So I paint and draw will
do, or I sculpt.
School house flowers #2
Black marker and pencil crayon on
Arches watercolour paper
6 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012
In this case I wanted to draw because we are
heading out and there isn't time to paint.  And
it doesn't matter which medium I use, or you
use, the main thing is to give it a go.
School house flowers #3
Black marker on Moleskine paper
6 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012
Keep painting.


Have a using-whatever's-at-hand day.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Super artist friends

 
 Steven and me on the beach at Gulf Shore Provincial Park, Pugwash, Nova Scotia
Photo © 2012 Flora Doehler
Dear Friends,

I do feel so blessed to know you, and I miss you out here
where the internet is a special treat, not an accepted reality.
The other day our wonderful friends Flora Doehler and Larry
Knox from Green Willow Studio came for a visit.  We had a
superb day -- ate at the Chatterbox Café and had a great
talk about conceptual art with Norene Smiley, another
fabulous artist.   Then we had a lovely long walk on the
beach when the tide was out.

More art coming.  I will post photos of Flora and Larry
when they send me some.  My camera wasn't working.

Have an enjoying-the-summer day.

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!