Break it down

Wonder Water Image #3

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

The final image -- sorry

the photo is not a good quality.  I

am learning. It sold in NYC which is nice.

SOLD ♥

How do you draw, paint, a person, a scene, a car, a cloud?
How?  One million different ways of course -- no wait
are there 9 billion people on the planet by now (last time
I looked it was 7). That means currently there has to
be that many ways to do this thing called make a piece
of art.  All valid.

Wonder Water Image #3

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

An earlier stage -- coming together

Then there are the instructors, the rule makers.  They ride
in on white horses, or in Navy and tan Rolls Royces,
or yellow Lamborghinis, and they know everything about
how to make art.  Except for one important factor.  They
have no idea how to be you.  Silly though eh?  (I'm
Canadian -- we say eh)  Seems too simple?  Have you
ever met you except in the mirror.  Even if you have a twin
he/she is not you.

So.  I will give you a really simple answer.  Break it down.
Start with the least frightening part of the new thing you
are attempting. (Not the most difficult.) Sometimes if it's
really hard in your mind, you needs lots of breaks, and
maybe some meditation. And then go back, set the timer
(how long can you be there -- 5 minutes? 10?) and work
on the easiest part.  You may get so lost that when the timer
goes, it's annoying and you don't want to quit.
But every break brings you back new to you, and you get
another aha.

Wonder Water Image #3

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

And two earlier stages -- small steps

Some people are fast and this whole process
might take a day, or even a morning.  But others are slow
and need weeks for the same thing -- maybe even
an equally great result.  Don't ever answer that "So
how long did this take you?" question.  Because it
could have been an hour, and it could have been 30
years.  Both are fine.  Just say you aren't sure. (You're
not are you?  You're making art, not keeping a time
graph!) Smile though.  The whole process is your secret --
and isn't that good?  I think so.

Have a breaking it down and liking it day
Here's a funny video I found on the subject.

Have fun sometimes. Why not?

House in the wind

Acrylic and ink on bond paper

12 x 14 inches

Barbara Muir © 2017

I drew this little drawing tonight because I missed making
art.  I've been sick for the past couple of days.  I saw this
palette paper with a swirl of sky blue paint.  And looked
at a photo of the perfect Toronto house (there is a little
tree I didn't get time for.  The mood hit late in the day).
And thought what if I drew the house on the blue?
Then the car was there, and I just received a gold calligraphy
pen in a Sketchbox box, so there you go.

What is funny is that this little house, which is painted
the grey so popular in Toronto now, is probably worth
2 million dollars Canadian simply because it's on a nice
street downtown, and unattached, and despite the
vicissitudes of my drawing -- in good shape.  The strange
shape on the chair is a coat it seems.

This was fun, and my swirl of paint could symbolize
the strange times we're entering, or the fierce wind
tonight.

Have a having-fun-day.

The best news! Dream Selfie comes home and goes to her new owner!

Dream Selfie -- Wonder Water Image #7

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2016

The story of art, making it, showing it, selling it --
is complicated.  I've been so lucky in the past few
years to be invited to show internationally.  The shows
in Paris (twice 2015, and 2016) in the Louvre were beyond
exciting.  Just being in Paris -- all by itself -- makes my
heart race, with the thrill of it all. And to show in the
Louvre -- amazing.

Showing in the Florence Biennale, in Italy is the same -- a huge
exhibition space in the city that feels like it's the center of
the birth of Western art.  And wonderful artists exhibit in
that show from all over the world.

The back story, aside from creating work you hope will
appeal to the audience in an entirely different world from
your own is a big one.  You need to figure out packaging
that will protect your work, and the best shipping options.
The process requires so many people to advise you,
help you, and do the necessary prep work, to both send it,
hang it, and bring it home.

This painting, which is one of my works at the top of my list of
favourites was carefully packed by the kind and brilliant people
at De Serres art store in Toronto, and packed again, with the
first perfect box going into a larger one with hard foam
protection by Mehrdad at UPS, then flew to Italy to Palermo,
where the careful work of Emanule Pirrone at EA Editore Gallery
helped the painting go to Paris and the Louvre, and back to Palermo
after the Carrousel du Louvre show, then out of Italy via
Leipzig and Frankfurt, Germany, then home to Toronto and
eventually into the home of the new owner.  Who is -- the
outstanding author, and model for the piece, Regan Daley.

For me as the artist the happy news is that the curators in Paris
loved it, the collectors who bought it for Regan (her family)
loved it.  And I fervently hope that Regan will love it,
and all of the above is the best news!

Having a getting-the-best-news day!

Pay attention to Alyson Stanfield

Patti-Anne in the studio with Snow on Cherrywood.

Day 2 of the new year -- thinking about what's coming up in
my art plans, and looking back on 2016 (Hard not to do).
Time, and years and dates are useful constructs for all of
us, but this is really Monday -- and this year I will be moving
more in a day to day fashion.

One of the super moments happened just before Christmas when I was
finishing off the commission I showed yesterday and
a collector, Patti-Anne Fitzpatrick came to visit looking for
a painting and cards.

The artists out there will all know that dressing up is not
our thing.  Not even a sensible goal.  But Alyson Stanfield
says that artists should look good, so I'm glad I was a little
dressier than normal for Patti-Anne.  And also pleased
that the tree had crept into the studio and was dressed in
its happy splendour.

Snow on Cherrywood

Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

Barbara Muir © 2013

SOLD ♥ 

Patti-Anne bought a Cherrywood painting, and several
packages of my art cards.  Here she is standing in front
of the tree.  We had a great morning as she selected her
painting, ultimately falling for this one.

My friend Janet Vanderhoof asked me to add more tips
from Alyson. There are so many and new ones all the
time. I like her suggestion that we should join local art
groups, or show locally.  When I was on Oprah she suggested
ways to simplify my blog.  Her point was that it's about the
art, and web sites and blogs don't need to be fancy with
special type and buttons, they just need to showcase the
art.  She suggests getting excellent photos of your art (working
on that). And she thinks showing in live venues matters,
not denying that you can sell on line.  There is so much more
available through the link above.  Click on her name and
find her blog, and you could read for months.  All of it
helpful.

Have a listening-to-Alyson-Stanfield day.

Goodbye 2016 -- You sure did treat me right!

On the way

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 20 inches

Barbara Muir © 2016

SOLD ♥ 

Today was a glorious sunny day here in Toronto, and probably unlike
any other day in the coming year.  Why?  Because we had a New Year's
Eve party last night that was so much fun!  Great company, great food
brought by our friends, and wonderful wine and champagne.  A friend
treated us to wonderful songs on the piano, and people joined in singing
so beautifully and happily.  So lovely! All evening long there was laughter
and superb conversation.  And our last guests left at 4 a.m.  What could be better?
I can predict that 5 a.m. will not be my normal bed time, and I will have infinitely
more energy in the coming days.

True there was bad news last year, grievous loss of people we love,
family illness -- lots of hardknocks in 2016.  But I see all of the magnificent
times, even in moments during the saddest days of the year, and they stand
out. Hard not to enjoy visiting New York three times, Paris, and Nova Scotia.
The last few weeks of the year were intense in terms of art, and I will show
you some of what happened over the next few days.

Let's start with a commission I finished just on time to be a Christmas
gift.  I was asked to create a typical Toronto scene, not in my happy
style (blue skies, puffy white clouds) you know me.  Although Steven
would come into the studio and say, "Honey this is looking cheerful!"
Oh oh -- hard to keep that positive outlook down.  A good thing.
I am super grateful to my generous collector for helping me step out
of my norm.  Always a good thing.

Thank you to everyone who came to our party, and to all of our friends
and family near and far.  Thank you for making my life a loving,
kind, funny and exciting one.

Thank you to my supporters, curators, and collectors in the art world.
Look around you.  The happy people you know have all got a passion.
It's beyond thrilling when the world celebrates your passion.

Have an enjoying-this-first-day-of-2017  day!

More Paris -- straight up addicted

My plan was to photograph the wonderful postcards I had

of my painting Dream Selfie in the Carrousel du Louvre show,
 in different venues around Paris -- giving my model Regan 
the Paris experience from a distance -- but I ended up being too 
busy in the moment to remember most of the time.  Here's one with Regan
metaphorically enjoying a glass of delicious Sancerre with us
 when we ate at Khao Thai, rue Dauphine on more than one evening.
I did hand out many, many postcards of Dream Selfie both at
the Louvre and around Paris in my travels. Everyone loved them,
which made me super happy.

Yes it rained, and it was still beautiful.

Okay I confess, I have thought about Paris more than is
probably healthy since I landed back in Toronto.  I have
pined for it, longed for it and missed it.  Too much?
Go there for me this weekend, and report back.  Meanwhile
I'll give those of you who can't go a bit more exposure.

Clouds reflected in a bus window outside the Musée d'Orsay

Doing the happy people pose at

the Orangerie Museum in Paris.  This is

the museum specially made

to house Monet's waterlilies, and it

is beautiful.  I am a devoted fan of

Monet's.  I have seen his work in

Stuttgart, Germany -- where I fell

deeply in love with his poplars,

in New York City, where I rush to

see the Monet water lilies (also

magnificent before the museum closes, when

I arrive), in Ottawa, Canada -- last year

his bridges, and in Paris -- Oh Monet!

Steven at the Orangerie with the

beautiful Monet Waterlilies

More of Monet's Waterlilies at the Orangerie. 

Detail from Monet's Water Lilies

Is there more?  So much more.  But I don't want to lose your interest.

Here's a picture of my wonderful friend Miranda Brouwers

 with her painting, Morning Mist

at the Carrousel du Louvre show.

A typical view in our neighbourhood

And that is all for now.  I miss you Paris.  Things have happened on this

side of the Atlantic that make me want to catch the first plane into CDG.

But the truth is I'd feel that anyway except for my wonderful family and

friends, who keep me grounded and sane and happy back here at home --

in Canada.  

Don't sleep in Paris

Down the street from our hotel -- the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral

A friend at George Brown College cautioned me before
I showed in the Louvre last year, not to waste time sleeping in
Paris.

Visiting for the show two weeks ago in the Carrousel Louvre
I knew what she meant.  The city is always alive.  A friend
who lives just outside of the city told us he thought there'd
be nowhere to eat late on a Sunday night, but right in the
neighbourhood on Sunday evening there were people sitting
 out at cafés with heaters overhead -- it was cold -- restaurants
and bars open at midnight.

 It sunk in in this past visit.  If you visit Paris more than once,
you can anticipate the ache you'll feel when the trip is over
 and you're back on home ground, and you don't want to miss
a thing.

But as I told my colleague -- smart people sleep, otherwise the
city is overwhelming.  Soooo much to see. And do.  And eat.
And drink.

Un coin d'appartement (A Corner of the Apartment)

Claude Monet,

Oil on canvas, 1875

One of the things I love is discovering paintings by favourite artists that

I've never seen before like this super detailed, and mysterious painting by

Claude Monet.  It's in the Musée d'Orsay.

The gorgeous restaurant in the Musée d'Orsay where

we ate with my friend Miranda Brouwers 

her husband, Rolf Leemeijer, and their sons Marnix and Hugo.

A superb surprise in the Musée d'Orsay is the beyond gorgeous restaurant above.  

The food was wonderful and we had so much fun with my friend Miranda's

family.  The staff were warm and gracious, you don't need a reservation --

incredible.

This man and his daughter were visiting the Carrousel du Louvre

and I asked if I could take their picture with my painting.  
"Mais oui!" he said, and I did.  

These very expressive sculptures of geese 

were in a gallery window.  I love how they look.

Eclipsed 

Coffee and black marker 

on Clairefontaine watercolour paper

4.5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © 2016

The artist Barbara Muir (yes me) painted this on a small watercolour pad 

while having coffee in the Orangerie café -- but the Orangerie discussion

is for another night.  I was thinking of William Wray and his movie

Gamma Wray, and of a blogger friend I knew I'd meet back in Toronto Verna Vogel,

and this is the result.   A lot of fun I must admit, though you may not get the

connection.  They were in my mind.  Love (do I say love too often?  Is it possible

to love too much?) well I do love the work of both of these artists.  And in this

crazy world I think it's vital to love  art, and beautiful cities like Paris. 

Have a loving art Day!  And have fun!