Tuesday, September 29, 2026

The loss of my sweet cousin


Woman with her cats
Acrylic on canvas with gold leaf
36 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 

It's a very sad day because the beautiful woman in
this portrait died Sunday.  She was my cousin, and she
commissioned me to do her portrait.

I am for sure a portrait painter, plus I also love
painting 
landscapes, still life, and scenes with people,
but I started with portraits, and they are still a
major love of mine. This painting reminds me 
why portraits matter.  

I vividly remember working on this painting. 
My cousin was in the most beautiful blouse,
with her 
cats sitting behind her shoulders,
and 
on her lap. I took many photos with the cats
in the pose, then my cousin came and posed for
me in my studio, and we used pillows to pose
instead of the cats.

The cats were big beauties, and I really wanted
to get them right. My cousin who was incredibly kind 
loaned the painting to 
me for my solo show at the 
Heliconian Hall last year, and when I took it back she
was quite 
ill. But she said looking at her cats who were both
gone, made her 
happy. I miss her so much!

Have a loving the ones you love day!

No comments:

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!