Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Talking to friends

Untitled (work in progress)
Acrylic ink and ballpoint pen
on watercolour paper
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2021
(I'll try and get a better photo of
this tomorrow.  The pinks are more
vibrant.)

Talking to my artist friend Flora Doehler today reminded me of why
I miss being around artists so much. She asked me what inspired me to
use red in my backgrounds, and that made me remember the wonderful
art experiences I used to enjoy with my Seneca College English classes, when
we'd visit the Art Gallery of Ontario. The students would pick a painting
to study, and write an essay about that artist’s life, and how it related to the
essay we were studying.

I got the idea of using a coloured background like red, or my more
frequent rust background in my art at that time, from staring at the work
of the Group of Seven. I don’t know which artist in particular used to use
burgundy behind his forests, but even though I’m not a fan of the colour,
I was excited to see how it made the foreground painting pop.

This painting is coming along. Not quite finished. I can see things I would
change if I did it again, but the excitement of this piece was painting from
live flowers, and they may have one day left.

It was a good day in art, I worked at more than one project all day, thoroughly
engrossed in the process, and happy as can be. Given the news, Ontario going
into a state of emergency because of COVID-19, and very sad problems with
our neighbour to the south (America), you could say that was a miracle, and
I am grateful. Thank you to my friends for the inspiring conversations. Stay
healthy, stay safe, and stay creative.

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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!