Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Obsessed with Tuscany

At the wedding in Tuscany
Acrylic on canvas
12 x 16 inches
Barbara Muir © 2013
I've been painting all day, but I'm working on a
commission, and I can't show you  what I'm doing
 -- yet. Tonight I went to my art group to discover that
 Marko, a great artist in our group, was posing. Perhaps
 the model didn't show up -- I never found out. Marko
struck a kind of moody Beethoven pose.  And he has
the hair for it.  But Marko is probably one of the
nicest, kindest people I know -- and the farthest thing
from moody.

Yellow it seemed to me was the complete opposite
of moody, which explains his shirt. His tie was
somewhat blue, so I put them together and it
immediately felt right.

It's a dream of mine to return to Tuscany.  In fact
it's one of my dreams to live in Italy for a year. At
my art group I've been inventing the backgrounds
lately.  That's why in my painting Marko is not in
our plain, Toronto studio.  He's in Tuscany at a
wedding and has just stepped outside for a break from
 the dancing, but someone snapped his picture.  That
was my thinking.  Thanks for posing Marko -- another
wonderful night with my friends in art.

Have a going-with-your-dreams-in-art day.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

what fun Barbara...like how you are inventing 'what you want to see'

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Sally,

Thanks so much. I think Marko filled in for the model at least 8 years ago, wearing the same muted plaid shirt without the tie. Back then I was defeated by the muted colour because I like brights. Now I can change it. So that's encouraging. My imagination is getting stronger.

XO Barbara

laura said...

Very striking! I like hearing about how you made your choices ... The yellow makes me think of Arles! (Van Gogh's Arles, that is; I've never been.)
Love the full moon too--goes with the romantic hair!

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Laura,

I was actually thinking about van Gogh when I left the big lines in the shirt. You are psychic. Oh van Gogh!

I'm sure Marko would be surprised to hear his hair described as romantic. I must tell him!


Glad you like it. It is so much fun going to the group and just fooling around after working on commission work.

XO Barbara

Karen Bruson said...

Very nice.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Karen,

Thanks so much. I so appreciate your comment.

Love your work.

Happy Summer.

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!