Monday, August 12, 2013

A hit of pansies and transforming the chair

 A shot of pansies
Acrylic on canvas
3 x 5 inches
Barbara Muir © 2013
My entire  front garden died when I was in Nova
Scotia.  Very sad, and I haven't had time to replant.
But some very straggly pots of yellow pansies made
it through the heat and flooding of July, and are the
only decorative note at the front of the house.  (I
promise to fix this next weekend.)

So this little painting honours those cheery little
plants, struggling to improve the first impression
our house gives out.  I had fun painting it,
and have to say I really like these flowers.  Good job
girls I say.  (They are not really girls, but I like the
sound of that.)

Last ditch art project

It's hard making ourselves work on improving the
place when we're in Nova Scotia.  I was busy
painting, and Steven was reading and waiting for
me.  Then both of us ate a lot, and walked on the
beach.  When was there time for crafts?  Well on
the second last day, inspired by my friend, Diane
Mattinson, who has transformed many things
with a quick coat of spray paint, we changed the
look of an inherited-with-the-place chair that
had always bugged us.
The chair partially painted.
The old burnt orange looked
sad.  White is the new colour.
Now it looks positively glossy with pride.  I
think the July issue of LivingEtc, a gorgeous
housing magazine, pushed white, and we
succumbed.  Steven was going to let me do it.
He carefully covered the legs and arms with
cut pieces of newspaper, and then could not
resist when push came to shove.  A shout out
to you Steven for an awesome job.  (Now about
the wicker furniture on the back porch here!)

The final product - sprayed 
white with leather spray paint
A vast and happy improvement
making all the rest of the furniture
jealous.

Have an enjoying-the-art-in-everything day.

4 comments:

laura said...

Love the white chair--what a difference!
And the pansies are really one of my favorites of your still lifes: so vivid, such a beautiful and uncomplicated subject and use of complements. It's joyful.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Laura,

Isn't that cool. I'm glad you like the pansies. They were fun to paint, in the small glass.

Yes the white made an incredible difference. Now we're working on our
wicker furniture here.

XO Barbara

Unknown said...

thank goodness for pansies...keeping up appearances...this little painting is quite marvelous. My yellow pansies also are resurging after lagging through the hotter month. Wow! I didn't know you could get leather spray paint. What an awesome idea, and such an improvement...i mean really who EVER liked burnt orange anyway?!! i love white(as you know) it is the best colour for making everything new again.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Sally,

Thank you so much. The weather was pretty extreme here in Toronto while we were away. I can see the evidence of that in my disappeared garden.
Hey Sally, French Decor Blogs tell you everything about spraying things. Some of those bloggers spray paint cloth chairs with chalk paint!
Wild! I do love white. Especially
on chairs.

Love your work.

XOXO 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!