Tuesday, June 3, 2025

I bought a beautiful book today

This is a photo of the beautiful cover of
Nikkolas Smith's new book
The History of We
Photo
Barbara Muir

I found out about Nikkolas Smith via Instagram, and started following him
there.  He's an amazing artist, and he wrote and illustrated this beautiful
book about how we human beings began.  It is wonderful.

It was a run around and get things done kind of day, and picking up
this fabulous book from my local book shop was a definite reward.
Thank you Nikkolas. 

Have a loving your life day.


 

Monday, June 2, 2025

The power of drawing

 

The breakfast phone call
8 1/2 x 11 inches
marker on bond paper
Barbara Muir © 2009

I came upon this drawing scrolling through my blog, and I love it. 
I love drawing partially because you can draw anywhere. 
I've drawn in restaurants, on trains, planes, and in my
home whenever the mood hits, or when what I'm looking at is
compelling.

This is a drawing of my son, and sixteen years later it
tugs at my heartstrings. How lovely it is to have children
hanging about in the kitchen. Plus I love the detail.

Have a loving what you do day.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Thinking about sleep

Studio cherries
Acrylic on cradled birch panel
5 x 7 inches
Barbara Muir © 

There's a lot of talk these days about life hacks -- things you can do to make your life
better, happier.  Everyone will agree that one thing that improves your life is sleep.  So
simple, but not really.  What do cherries have to do with the subject of sleep? 
Here's what I said in a former post:

"This post makes absolute sense today.  We have been through
a hard month, and sleep is more important than ever. Being warm and
affectionate without enough sleep is not easy.  So we all need to get enough
of the magic elixir -- a great night's rest.

Funny thing about love—it works better if you get enough sleep.
Hard challenge if you’re a parent of young children, or babies who wake
up during the night, or wake up early, when you’ve gone to bed late
for work.

In recent years I've definitely been a night owl. This started when I began
teaching a once a week evening course. To stay awake I drank coffee. Yes
it works, but to shut off my excited brain is a challenge.  I notice that if my 
sweetheart and I are well rested, we have a wonderful time together.
And if not -- we don't stop loving each other -- but arguments happen
that wouldn't happen if we got enough sleep.

One pretty simple answer I've discovered is that drinking pure, tart,
unsweetened cherry juice before bed helps me go to sleep.  Who gave
me that recommendation? I don't know, but thank you.  And if I also
eat cherries -- fresh in season, or frozen when we can't buy them here
in Toronto -- with some plain yogurt the effect is doubled, and I
sleep like a baby.  

My point is that if both of us sleep well we have a great time. And
I may have known that unconsciously forever, but now I know it for
a fact."

So my image tonight, as we move into June, is of a bowl of cherries. 

Wishing you a joyous day. Sleep well.

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!