Thursday, April 20, 2017

A strong inner voice -- and the ecstasy of beauty


Untitled (Work in progress)
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 30 inches
Barbara Muir © 2017
I went for a short walk tonight in the freezing cold rain.
Spring is trying its best, but blossoms were blowing off
trees.  Someone else would find it grim.  Yet in the
few minutes I was out I saw raindrops on branches,
and jewels of light shimmering on pine trees like
decorations.  The visual hits kept coming.

As I walked I thought about the people we can encounter as
artists who try to make us feel like we don't know
what we're doing.  Or try to define us as a certain "type of
artist." It's a strange job.  My advice is cultivate lovely
people to support you -- I am lucky to have those people
and thank you so much. Plus work on getting a strong
inner voice.  Not always easy in the face of our own and
others' thinking, but vitally important.  Artists need to
talk themselves into it, into carrying on, into feeling
happy.  That voice matters.  The one that says -- 'yes
it's coming along.'

This painting is almost done.  There are a few things I'll
work on.  But it's doing what I hoped it would do --
express my love and wonder for the east coast landscape
I revel in each summer.

Have an enjoying-who-you-are day.

4 comments:

Mary Lou van Schaik said...

Gorgeous painting, Barbara! I love the scale, the grasses waving in the wind in the foreground, the bold blues, and those luscious hints of turquoise in the clouds. And your message about listening carefully to one's inner voice reminds me of Rumi,
"What is the deep listening?...
...The branches of
your intelligence grown new leaves in
the wind of this listening."
Love - Mary Lou

Barbara Muir said...

Love this Mary Lou,

It is always a point of trying to stay calm when the paintings move from the inside world --
my studio -- to a show space.

And it's even more demanding when they're moving from inside my head, and onto the
canvas. Then I really have to listen as you say.

Thank you for your glorious comments, and your kindness.

XOXOXOXOXOXO Barbara

cohen labelle said...

This is such a lyrical piece. It does project a feeling of tranquility which you obviously must have felt in spite of the pressure of a looming deadline. Beautiful work, Barbara -- to me it looks ready for show space now.
xoxo, Marcia

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Marcia,

I do feel calm and happy when I hear from you! Thank you so much. I so love your work.

XOXOXOXOXO 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!