Happy Mother's Day

I hope you had a great day, whether
you're a mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, friend. I had a lovely day and even worked on a small painting. (Not ready yet).

I'm a mother of two young men, and
couldn't be prouder. They have always been and continue to be two
of the kindest, warmest, funniest,
most intelligent people in the world.
Art matters to me, there's no question about it. But on a day like this I realize that my biggest dream as a little girl came true when I held my oldest son, Christopher in my arms for the first time,
and I felt my family was complete when Sam was born.

As a little girl I hauled around a baby doll wherever I went.
Of course it was societal indoctrination, but for me it
was much more than that. I knew I loved babies. What
I didn't know until I started raising my sons, was that
I would love every age of my children, and they would
be a huge part of why I am so happy with my life.
Thank you boys, and thank you Steven for making my
dreams come true.

Love the people of the world today.

For the love of family

Shorelines, The Gatineau River
My Brother Andrew

12" x 12"
acrylic on canvas
For Sale
Barbara Muir ©

 I'm sure the luckiest artists have families who respect their work,

and encourage their progress. I am especially blessed in that
regard. My immediate family -- my husband and two sons gave
up their living room and dining room to be used as a studio
in 2001. It doesn't matter that when we had our basement
renovated the TV moved downstairs and suddenly the living
room and dining room were vacant. Nature abhors a vacuum
I'm told, and in our house that meant I moved in. But I was
in the way long before that. When I took over the two rooms
I began painting in acrylic. When I was a
watercolour fanatic I frequently occupied the kitchen table,
which was why we had so many lights installed in the kitchen
when we renovated.

But my extended family also supports my art. Their houses
are decorated with my work, they buy my paintings, and are
kind in their comments. I've talked to you before about
the importance of positive influences. My family is
definitely in the encouragement camp.

My brother Andrew and I support each other in
our artistic efforts (He's a writer, was a host on an
Ottawa talk show about art, a conceptual artist,
an excellent painter, and a photographer).
We've also worked together on numerous projects
writing and editing articles, speeches, web sites.

Andy is one of the funniest people I know with
a sharp wit. Working with him is like all the best
working relationships because we laugh so much
no matter what we're doing.

This painting of Andrew is one of my husband's
favourites -- he likes a photographic style. I certainly
wasn't aiming for that, but I did the painting from a
photo reference and maybe that shows. The painting
is a 12" x 12" square. It looks less vibrant here
than it is in real life. One day I hope to paint
similar paintings of everyone I know, and clip
them together to make one huge work.

Have an approving day!