Late night Canada Day!

At the market
Progress Photo
(starting the details on the quilts and
background)
acrylic on canvas
36 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

Steven and I have been working so hard that our big thrill
for Canada Day was getting time to take the dog for a walk
in the local park. It was a spectacular day, and everything
looked amazing. We listened to birdsong, observed the
bulrushes in the ravine, now taller than me, and just
enjoyed the chance to talk without the phone ringing.

After supper we both got back to work, and Steven couldn't
even break to cross the street to see the fireworks our
neighbours let off in the school's baseball field. Sam and
I sauntered over for a few minutes and had fun talking to
neighbours and watching some pretty impressive dazzlers.

I'm working now on my market lady. There's a lot to do.
She is almost finished, although I still need to refine her
face, hands and scarf, then there's the quilts, which I've
just begun, the background scene, and the fabrics on the
table. I have my work cut out for me, and I'll show you
my progress.

From here on in I think it will be fun. This is not my
only project, but I'll tell you more about that another day.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day

Today was perhaps one of the most beautiful Canada Days I've ever
witnessed. Steven and I sat on the back porch and toasted the day
with coffee. The temperature was ideal -- warm without being hot.
A clear blue sky with the odd tiny cloud lifted my spirits. Everything
took on the sparkly glow we associate with summer. Delightful.

I picked more cherries -- a few handfuls then concentrated all day
on painting. I was getting work ready for a show. So here's what I did to one painting -- The Poem, that I worked on all day.

I am finally happy with it, but the two of us struggled. Balancing
staying loose with doing enough to please my eyes is my current obsession. I loved this painting
when it was fresh, and I still like it after I've "fixed it up." But
I may still want to work on it. The top image is the first go,
the bottom my changes.

I hope you had a great Canada Day. If you aren't in Canada,
I hope you just had a great -----------(your country name)
day.

Have a return-to-bliss-day .

Sunday night

It's been a great day, but I still have painting to do.
Tomorrow -- the day before Canada Day, should
be a day off, but I have quite a bit of work to get
photographed for a show, so I'm just doing some
touch ups tonight.

I remember the first time I had a show with
Jennifer Hinrichs, I was shocked at how picky
we had to be about the details. Most of the time
I don't frame my work anymore, which is definitely
one of the great advantages of painting on stretched canvas.
But when we were framing all the time, it was an
agony keeping the glass clean, making sure no dust was sitting
on the mat. The tiniest speck of dust could ruin the look
of a watercolour.

I'm making a few changes to one of my big works, a painting
of my son's girlfriend Megan. The painting belongs
to Megan and Christopher, but it's huge so they couldn't
take it to Korea. I'll give you her eyes tonight, and maybe
the whole thing tomorrow. I know the picture is a bit
blurry. Forgive me,

Have a dreaming-in-blurry-colour evening.