Pugwash's Garden Man (work in progress)
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2011
I'm writing this on my iMac, and have been working
on Macs since I got my first computer. For my purposes
they have always been more intuitive in the way
they operate, and more beautiful looking in every way.
I watched Steve Jobs' address to the graduating class at
Stanford in 2005 again today, and was struck by the
way he explained how the beauty of the Macs had come
about. But the main part of his message that matters
for all of us, was that he had always done what he loved
to do. And he said that when you do what you love to
do it just gets better and better. That certainly applies to
painting. I have loved painting since I held my first
brush at about four, but I love it more and more all the
time. Steve Jobs died yesterday, and my son phoned me
today on his iPhone to tell me how sad he was about this
news.
The painting I'm showing you today is a portrait I'm working
on of Ken Lander, the owner of Sunrise Greenhouses in
Pugwash, Nova Scotia. Two of the varieties of petunias
Ken developed in the greenhouses behind his house on
the Sunrise Trail (Highway 6) in Nova Scotia, are now sold
all over North America through a company called Proven Winners.
One of them, the Supertunia Bordeaux is shown on the left side
in this painting. At first Ken's business mostly attracted American
tourists, and people visiting Nova Scotia who wanted
flowers. His are especially gorgeous, and he is incredibly
knowledgeable about plants. Now his lush, dramatic hanging
baskets decorate the businesses and centers around the town of
Pugwash. But even though his flowers have appeared in
all the major Home magazines, including Martha Stewart
Living, Ken is still a guy intent on making sure you love
the flowers he's selling to you, and living in the moment.
He is a super guy, and someone Steven and I look forward to
seeing every year when we go to Nova Scotia.
Have an-enjoying-your-life-today day.
