Missing my father on his birthday

Portrait of my father 
black marker on bond paper
7 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 

Although this has been a great day making art with family artists,
it's also a hard day in some ways.  My father is in my thoughts.
His birthday was today, and he has been gone too long. I don't
think anyone in my family ever made a big deal of my father's
birthday. Too bad because my immediate family is very celebratory. 

What I've said in former years on this day with some revisions says it all:

"Happy Birthday to my father, who died way too young. I found an
old journal of mine talking about his love of photography, and how
he bought himself the best equipment.  I passed some of his gear
on to my older son, and to a neighbour who was studying photography
at Metro Toronto University. My father's photography is amazing and
does stand the test of time.

Girl pretending to smoke

 a chocolate cigarette

8 x 10 inches

Photo

W. W. Muir

(One of my all time favourite

photos by my father. He worked
almost exclusively in black and white.
His colour photos are good too.

Chocolate cigarettes are not

cigarettes -- just candy. And yes
you can still buy them.  They
call them candy sticks and they're

wrapped in white paper, and look
like cigarettes.  And no that girl
is not a smoker as an adult!)

And his art was also wonderful. I only have one painting, which is in our
front bedroom, and every time I look at it, I marvel at his talent, with
no instruction whatsoever. He read books about art, and that was
how he learned.  I wish he was here.  He was a complicated
man, a harsh disciplinarian in our younger years, and a staunch 
supporter of me and my art, and writing when I was starting out."

He would be delighted that I'm having a show with two friends
this April.  I hear him encouraging me every time I go and stare
at his beautiful painting of flowers. 

Have a loving your family day.

Thinking of spring

 

Robin earns his stripes

Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

Barbara Muir © 

This painting seems right for tonight, because tomorrow's the last day of
February and in March everyone is thinking of spring. Today our immense 

snow banks are melting a bit, it was a slightly warmer day, and very
beautiful.

We had a super time, and are so happy it's the weekend! Yes!

About the grim world news all I can say is help if you can,
and if you can't contribute financially to help,  please do
everything you can in your power to help create 
positive change.  

Have a loving your life day!

A happy day painting

 

Late evening tulips 

Acrylic on birch panel

12 x 12 inches

Barbara Muir © 

SOLD ♥

It's been a deliciously enjoyable day. It's just such a pleasure to get to
paint all day. The work is not ready to be shown at the moment.

Looking through my blog I found this joyful painting of tulips,

which perfectly expresses my mood today. I totally love flowers.

As I said in a former post:

"Through every season, flowers are a necessity for me.
I paint them, I revel in their presence, I need them,
-- they are an essential part of my life.  It's great
in summer when we can just go outside and pick them,
but in winter they are such a supreme delight."

I love this painting and am so glad it sold to an appreciative
collector .  

Have a loving your life day!

This year we've got snow!

Snowy day in Toronto
iPad drawing
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2019

A couple of years ago I wrote on my blog on this day about how worried
I was because we'd only had one snowfall.  No worries this year -- snow, snow,

and more snow.  As inconvenient as that is for drivers who have to clean
off their cars before heading to work, it is the best thing for the environment.

We need that snow to help the flowers and crops in the spring.

There is a beautiful sunset happening as I write this.  I'm working on paintings

for the April show at the Heliconian, The Colour of Light, opening April
3, 4 and 8 and maybe 24.  The last date is not completely confirmed. So

I will let you know when it is.

It is a different winter. Toronto has had more snow than Ottawa, 5 hours 
north of us, and New York City -- way south of us across the border
has had a bigger dump of snow, than our 2 feet of snow.  They got

3 feet on one day!  Still the photos are beautiful.  

Have a loving your life day! 

Happy Wedding Monthaversary to my sweetheart

Steven and me in Paris at Khao Thai
our favourite Thai Restaurant -- 
(No we're not in Paris now --

we're in beautiful snowy Toronto
Not sure when we're returning, but
can't wait Dara and Robelle and
Jean Philippe and Sophie).

Today is the Monthaversary of our wedding day. I know you already
know this, but every month we have a little toast to each other at dinner
on our Monthaversary.  It was a great day.  Working all day painting, and
the piece is working well.

Plus it seems like we may get a 4th opening in April for our Colour of 

Light show.  (Details coming when it's confirmed.)It was a gorgeous
day in Toronto -- thick snow, and sunlight making those beautiful
blue shadows. 

I hope you had a great day.  Got to go and spend time with the 
love of my life. 

Have a loving your life day!

More about love

 

Catherine Scott

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 36 inches

Barbara Muir © 

One of the hardest parts of love is losing someone you
love. It has sometimes been my honour to paint someone

who is aware that they don't have long to live.  And I've
painted people who were healthy then, and years later
that work represents them, as they are gone.  That is 
not my main purpose as a painter, but it's deeply

moving when it happens.  Here's a post about 

the painting above:

"Love -- the lasting kind -- is a deep feeling, compelling,
nourishing, and rewarding. Some of my favourite portrait
commissions were created to add significance to the sitter's
life, and to capture who they really were.

In the case of my portrait of Catherine Scott -- one of
my favourites -- her friends wanted to fulfill her dream
of having a meaningful image of herself to live on and
represent her after her death.  She was dying of cancer.
I was honoured to be picked to paint her.

Detail from the portrait of
Catherine Scott showing her favourite earrings

She sat for me, and was so vital, funny, present --
that I really thought there was no way she would die.
Her portrait was the special gift her friends gave her
on what turned out to be her last birthday.

Every item she wore, every piece of jewelry, every
detail in the painting was to her specifications.  And
I was more than happy to make her happy.  She
was a delight to work with, and sat posing for me for
many sessions so that I could get it right.  I know
that tired her out, but she was a brave woman.

I was at the birthday party when her friends
unveiled the portrait, and that moment will
stay in my mind forever."

Have a loving your life day

Happy Monthaversary of our first date

 

Me and Steven at Cliff Lumsdon Park on
the actual anniversary of our first date.

It's summer in the photo, but not here

in Toronto. It's cold with deep snow
and more expected. A photographer is
setting up a wedding photo in the background
 in this photo.

It's been a very busy day today with family -- making art, listening
to rock, and Vivaldi. We had so much fun.  Now it's late, and
I just wanted to say how happy I am to celebrate our first date
(me and Steven) every month, and of course once a year on

July 22nd.

I hope you had a fantastic weekend, and yes we did.

Have a loving your life day!