The world in bloom

Forgive me for being sentimental but my cherry tree is in full
bloom now, and the apple tree seems to be wanting to make
pink flowers, so the trees in my yard are at their all time best.
I've been working pretty hard, but it's so gratifying to poke my
head out into what was a desolate landscape all winter to see this.

I'm working on a little painting, so I thought I'd show you some of my
yard paintings. I think I have two that will give you an idea of the
contrast in seasons.

Summer in the yard
acrylic on canvas
12 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 2007



Winter Sunset
acrylic on canvas
12 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

It looks like I better get to work on a spring painting before it's all gone.


Have a loving-the-season-you're-with day.

The spring rush

Tulips and Forget-me-nots in the garden

Every year in the winter I imagine the spring as this
slow unfolding of beauty. Then I picture myself
taking long walks and living the contemplative
life. Luckily for me my winter visions of spring have
been far from the truth in the past few years, because
spring is a busy time in the art world. In December
everyone wants to get everything done before
the holidays, and in the spring there's a flurry of
activity to get projects accomplished before
it gets hot, before true summer sets in, before
...the holidays.

The picture today is of the tulips popping up through
the forget-me-nots in our garden. I've had no time
for weeding in the spring rush, but the garden paints
its glorious colours all by itself.

Have an-enjoying-the-rush-to-summer day.

May magic

Notebook sketch of the cats.
marker on lined paper
5 x 7 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

It's hard to imagine that less than a month ago we were
shovelling snow here. My friends in Texas and France
were painting green trees and talking about flowers,
and they might as well have been on a different planet.
All the while I read their blogs as if they were promises.
Spring will come to Toronto, spring will come.

And when it does it's so dazzling, that it's like what
Edward B. Gordon in Berlin complained of in early
spring -- the light was almost too much. But the
most amazing thing is the colour -- everywhere.
Red and yellow tulips popping up out of floods of
forget me knots, flowering trees in white and pink
and yellow. A dazzling green on the lawns, and
people in bright coloured T-shirts and shorts
strolling around like this is normal. So it is.

Cats sleeping
notebook sketch
5 x7 inches
black marker on lined paper
Barbara Muir © 2009

You can come and visit now. The snow is gone.
I can safely take the snow tires off next week.

Have a wow-so-it's-really-happening day!

Catching up on painting

Kitchen Studying
8 x 8 inches
acrylic on canvas
not quite done
Barbara Muir © 2009
(My son's friend is studying for her
finals. I liked her wistful expression)

I'm working on a little painting tonight, and if I don't get it
done I'll post my progress. Spring has hit full force, and
I actually got out for a lovely walk tonight with Steven and
Zoey. The colours just about took my breath away. Lush soft
greens -- that spring green you only see for a week or two, then
warm golden light turning to pink hitting the trees in the late
evening. I feel like I was made for this season, but I know I'll
say that in two weeks when it's hot summer too.

Ten More Reasons To Be Happy

1. I'm painting
2. Life is exciting
3. Sam made supper all by himself -- delicious
4. The red tulips in my garden are rising out of the blue baby's breath
5. I'm really, really finished my school term
6. I saw my Los Angeles family on Skype the other day
7. I laughed my head off with a friend in Tucson on Skype the other day
8. I am really loving my book for about five minutes a day
9. I'm learning new things about art, and about you all the time
10. I am lucky to be living where I do, and watching my cherry
tree bloom.

I could add to that that I feel lucky every day to know the fine
artists and art appreciation people I meet through my blog.
I hope you are all painting like crazy and loving every minute
of it.

Have a flourishing-in-art day.

Sunday and sidewalk art

Spring Table (detail)
acrylic on canvas
12 x 36 inches
Barbara Muir © 2008
(The white at the bottom
of the painting is actually the skirt
overlapping from a girl in another painting
the two paintings can form a diptych or
stand alone.)

It was an absolutely beautiful day today, and
I was pretty busy working on things around the
house, buying art supplies and catching up like
we all do on the weekend. But when I popped
my head out the front door at one point my
neighbours were out with their little daughter,
who is two, helping her draw on the walk up
to their house with sidewalk chalk. Her Dad
was making shapes for her, and she was
bending down very seriously and drawing on
top of the shapes in colour.

I asked them to work on our crooked little
walk too, and looked out later to see a sailboat
and the ocean, and our schoolhouse and a tree.
Perfect. I love those simple shapes.

The painting today is another detail from a
kitchen painting. It's terribly disrupting to
my family when I tackle one of these things,
because I put white paper down over our
kitchen table, and outline where each book,
candlestick, coffee cup, sugar bowl, and vase sits
in the painting. Then when it's supper time I
take everything off, roll up the paper, and start
again as soon as everyone's left the kitchen.
I think that's called plein-kitchen.

Have a happy-disrupting-routines-for-art day.

In praise of praise

Detail of a portrait of Remi
that I painted a couple of
years ago. He was a totally confident and
loved young teenager.
Remi before the Dance
24 x 26 inches
acrylic on canvas
Barbara Muir ©2007

I watched some wonderful parents beam with pride today
as their child, a beautiful little boy talked about his
current passion -- history. Over the years in my work as
a teacher, an artist and in running workshops, when I
meet people who don't have faith in their own
intelligence, talent, even their own worth as beings on
the planet -- the problem is always the same thing.
These people missed out on the lavish doses of praise
that the little boy I met today receives every day.

When psychologists try to say that too much praise is
bad for a child, I completely disagree. The reason I say
that is that I've never met a child, or a grown up
who is unpleasant to be around because they've
received too much praise. I watched Sam, my youngest
son, watching this child talk, and I thought he got
the goods too for his whole life. He was always told that
he was beautiful, smart, and kind. That doesn't mean
we never got upset with him, far from it. It means that he knew
on a daily basis that he was loved and honoured. The
result is a wonderful person, kind and happy, in school
and enjoying the process of growing up.

The artist blog community is about praise. It thrives
on, runs on, rewards on, and is all about praise. In
my own life I can only say the effect of this joyous
dose of daily kindness has been to make me want to
create, to fill my mind with ideas, to make me glad
to be alive. Oddly enough, it's exactly the same with
a child. So I want to thank my older son, Christopher
for re-designing my blog title tonight. I love how it
looks. That particular colour of blue is certainly
one of my favorites, and he designed the new header
for me unasked. What a guy! Should I tell him I
think he's great, or will that make him get a swelled
head? What do you think? Thanks so much Christopher.
You are a talented, sweet and brilliant soul.

Have a praising-your-family-and-friends day.

The Don Valley Art Club Spring Show

The Don Valley Art Club is one of the best art clubs in
Toronto, a city of 5 million at the moment. I joined
because a friend of mind recommended that I
join, and since have developed a community of friends
within the larger club (there are approximately 200 members).
The club hosts three major shows a year, and offers members
opportunities to draw or paint, or listen to talks by art experts almost
every day of the year. Its studio space is in the beautifully
renovated old Brick Works -- which is planned to be a
central cultural hub for the city with restaurants, galleries
and in the summer a lovely organic farmers market.

This weekend our Juried Spring Show and Sale opens
tomorrow (Saturday) at 1:30p.m. It's held in Todmorden
Mills, another beautiful historical site by the Don River.
The gallery is a gorgeous, large space. The public
loves the show because the works range in size from small
to large, in style from traditional, to more experimental
pieces, and the prices are more than reasonable. So if you're
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada please come and check it out.

New Day
acrylic on canvas
36 x 48 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009




Before the Dance with the cat
acrylic on canvas
26 x 48 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

As I've told you I have two large pieces in the show,
and it will be fun to see them there. I'd be thrilled to see
you if you're in the city, and if you're visiting town,
please come by for the opening.

Have a planning-to-see-some-art day.