More from the bakery

 The Baker

Acrylic on birch panel

5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

I can't exactly say I was feeling stressed yesterday
when I left the hospital while my very good
friend was having surgery.  But I wasn't relaxed
either.  A friend said she'd send me puffy clouds
in a blue sky, and as I headed out for a walk
they were there!  As she lives in the southwestern
United States I was pretty impressed.

But in the midst of what could be a worrying
situation I found a bakery that warmed
my spirits.  It was filled with men drinking
coffee and talking.  And the person having
a conversation with the woman in my
painting last night was this man -- the baker
I am pretty sure.

I've been painting him thinking what a
wonderful face.  I don't know him at all,
but I could feel all kinds of truths emerging
from that face.  When I paint someone
I'm getting to know, the person's stories
fold into the picture.  But with a stranger
(Remember I asked if I could take pictures
for paintings), building the image starts
stories flowing in my mind.  He looks like
a kind man, and I think he is the baker.
Plus he looks loved.  I think when I see
him again I'll find out that everyone in
that shop likes him.

Have a-thinking-up-the-best-stories day.