Happy Birthday David Cohen

Stephen Lewis
Acrylic on birch panel
5 x 7 inches
Barbara Muir ©
completed 2021
(The newspaper photo
this was loosely based on
has been on so many bulletin
boards that it is riddled with
holes from thumb tacks.
Yet it's still powerful.)

Every year I wake up the on March first thinking, 'tomorrow is David Cohen's birthday.'
I don't know why I remember the date, but I do. Maybe because March feels like
the beginning of spring, and there it is.  David's birthday. In many ways David is like
spring -- kind and hopeful as a friend. Here is what I wrote last year, and it still applies.

"I always remember that it's David Cohen's birthday, which is surprising 
because I barely remember most people's birthdays except for family. When
Steven gets off work we'll call together with our dog Sally, who
loves David, and loves "singing" Happy Birthday.

David is a brilliant writer, a passionate activist for every cause that
matters, and a wonderful, kind and loving person. He's my dear friend
Marcia LaBelle's husband, and the two of them have a very happy marriage.

My friend Marcia and her husband, David Cohen,

visiting the show On The Bright Side at the

Wychwood Barns 11 years ago.

I came upon this portrait of Stephen Lewis, and added a few more details
today.  We attended an excellent Massey Lecture by Stephen Lewis at|
the University of Toronto about 15 years ago, and were deeply moved
by his work on trying to get governments to pay for treatments for people with
AIDS.  I know that our friend David Cohen has worked for every cause trying
to improve the lives of people in his community, and across Canada. Like Stephen
Lewis, David is a great Canadian, and I'm sure he admires Stephen Lewis's work.

But to be certain I asked him tonight, and he said that if we ever saw Stephen
Lewis in our walks around Toronto, to tell him that David Cohen in Hamilton
thinks he's wonderful.

It was a beautiful day for David's birthday.   And I am very happy to
have finished this small portrait of one of my heroes."

Have a finishing the work day.

Happy March

 

Crocuses
Photo
Barbara Muir © 2021

Short blog today. Very short. Happy March. There is deep sorrow
about all of the horrific, and sad issues across the globe. This makes
it all the more crucial to appreciate the kindness and peace we have in
our daily lives. 

Thank you to the friends I saw on Zoom today, and talked to
on the phone. And to everyone spreading kindness and love. Thank you.
You give me hope. 

Have a helping each other day. 

Let's make every month loving

Portrait of my father 
black marker on bond paper
7 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

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 Ryerson. My father's photography is amazing and does stand the test of time.

Girl smoking 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.
Chocolate cigarettes are not
cigarettes -- just candy.

And his art was also wonderful. I only have one piece, which is in our
front bedroom, and every time I look at it, I marvel at his talent, with
no instruction whatsoever. 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.

Have a loving your family day.

The comforts of home

The King's Breakfast 

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © 2015

(available)

(I put this painting up today, even though

it isn't about a breakfast at home.  It 
is one of my favourite paintings, and
talks about a breakfast in a hotel

with the one you love -- a first rate

treat in The Month of Love. Plus as
it says above -- it's available. It hangs
on my kitchen wall, exuding joy,
romance, and delight.)

Going about the standard routines of my day today, some not exciting
like doing the dishes, some so much fun -- like reading my good book,
I was thinking of how it would feel to have to walk away from my
home, and happy life. I had a student from Syria a few years ago, who
said you never recover from waking up and seeing tanks roll down
your street.  And other students told similar stories from other countries.
All said how lucky they felt to be able to start over in Canada, but they
missed their homes. 

The family came to make art today.  So much fun.  I always get inspired 
by the activity.  Get out the materials and art happens like magic. We rapid
tested first, and then wow!

We all needed to forget the news for an afternoon.  Our thoughts are all
on the world issues. We want the war to end, and the Ukrainian 
people to regain their peace.  And we want peace for all people.

Have an appreciating your home day.

Loving reading old journals

Summer clouds Wallace Bridge

Acrylic on canvas

40 x 40 inches

 Barbara Muir © 2014

SOLD ♥

I picked a journal out of the bookshelf today at random, and read about staying
at our school house in Nova Scotia when the boys were young. Getting out
of the city, and driving across the country was so magical for us. Our school
house a place of peace —an escape from busy city life. 

In the Month of Love thinking about our wonderful friends in Nova Scotia makes
us happy.  And thinking about the stars so thick in the night sky brings
back memories of night walks with no traffic on the highway.

It is a sad day, and people all over the world are linked in sorrow for Ukrainians
under attack in a horrific, needless war. We drove to the lake and fed the hungry
birds—geese, ducks and one swan. It lifted our sorrow. But our hearts are still linked
to all of the people in the Ukraine, and the rest of the world suffering through war
and devastation. 

Let’s unite for peace.

The world needs a new day

New Day

Acrylic on canvas
36 x 48 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

(The painting I was finishing

when the Oprah Winfrey Show

producers called, and asked

me if I'd like to draw Oprah via Skype.

My answer? Yes!)

I come to this space tonight after watching endless news about the
invasion of Ukraine. There are many things we can do to try and
help, although it feels hopeless given Putin's determination to take
over the country.  One of the things you can do is sign this open
letter from Avaaz.org, who are trying to get as many people as
possible to say they oppose the war. 

Four years ago in this month on this day, I was trying to stay
positive after breaking my wrist tripping on my cat in the
kitchen.  Today my thoughts are very similar.  I am very sad, and
also heartened by the reaction all over the world to this senseless,
totally unprovoked war.  I do believe love is the answer, but
everyone has to be willing to think of the world as our home,
and that we must work together. 

Here are some thoughts I had in the Month of Love after
breaking my wrist, rewritten for today:

What if we woke up every day, thinking about how
to be more loving?  What impact would that have on
our lives?  

What if we could all quit all the hating and fighting,
and realize that we are all one, and fight for each other's
rights -- not stick pipelines in environmentally fragile
zones.  What if we concentrated on, and fought for the world,
and its sustenance, and for equal food, equal rights for everyone
on this little planet?  It is long since time. Way overdue.

Instead we watch people get killed by guns, in schools and
walking down the street, and debate about whether guns are
dangerous.  We know that pipelines fail, and cause enormous
damage, and we keep building them.

We decide whether people are worthy based on their
race, ethnicity, country of origin, sex, age and skin
colour.  In short as people all over this planet we are
dropping the ball, and we need to change -- fast.

If we could wake up every morning wondering
how to be more loving in each exchange for that day alone
what could happen? I believe and hope we could transform this place
we call home.

Have a sending love out into the world day.

Monthaversary of our wedding in The Month of Love

Winter Lovers' Sunset

Acrylic on cradled birch panel

8 x 10 inches

Barbara Muir © 2019

 It seems that love, and the idea of peace have never been more
important. It is the Monthaversary of our wedding, which we
celebrate every month. I don’t mean we have a party (wouldn't
that be nice!), but we have a toast, and wish each other a Happy
 Monthaversary. Silly maybe, but love is the opposite of silly. It’s
 what we all need.

Our thoughts today are with people all over the world who are in
the midst of war zones, like the people of the Ukraine, who are now
 being invaded by Russian troops. This is both horrifying, and insane. 

Take care of each other.