Thursday, January 7, 2021

The vitality of light

Breakfast Quebec City style
Watercolour and black marker
on Arches watercolour paper
6 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012

Today was magnificent. Nothing of great importance happened in my small
world. But the whole day felt like a miracle because after what seemed like a
couple of weeks of dark, gloomy days, the sun came out and gave the whole
world the benefit of its beautiful light.

We had some work going on in the house so I went for a short drive alone.
I parked in a parking lot at the edge of a beautiful trail. I sat staring at the
brilliant blue of the sky, a deep, gorgeous colour that no painting can really
reproduce properly, but I intend to try for as long as I am a painter. I watched
the light hit the top of the very tall trees, turning their branches gold against
the blue.  The trees were reaching for the light.

I looked around my studio for paintings that would symbolize the excitement
of sunlight, and thought maybe my breakfast paintings sometimes
capture the magic feeling when the sun comes into a room in the morning.

That made me miss traveling, staying in the hotels we stay in on our way to
Nova Scotia. And breakfast room service is so wonderful after a long drive late
 into the night. I miss that. There's that first shock in the morning when you
 draw back the curtains in your hotel room. The sun floods in, and there’s a
 knock at the door – the waiters bringing in the food. None of that can happen
now -- not the travel, not the hotels, and if you do travel for any reason here
 in Ontario or Quebec -- no room service. 

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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!