Influences

My son Christopher gives a
speech at a retirement party
for teachers Heather Speers (left)
and Shelagh O'Sullivan (right) today.

Artists are often asked who influenced them. That used to
be fairly easy to determine. You had a passion for Diebenkorn
and took classes with Skip Lawrence, loved the portraits
of Lucian Freud, couldn't get enough of Mary Cassatt, and
loved Lynn Donoghue. All of that's changed. Now we
roam around the internet and are wowed by dozens of
artists in a sitting sometimes. We regularly visit certain
artists' sites, and they zip us over to a dozen others.
We may still have our passions, but influences are
too many to tabulate.

But I'm thinking about influences in a different
way. We attended the early retirement party today for
two magnificent, dedicated and inspirational teachers
in our sons' lives. They both taught at the public school
across the street our children were lucky to attend.
At that school a devastating infight happened because
there was an alternative school inside a regular public
school, and that was a mistake. (Two schools inside
one is a set up for tension, and the tension shut down the
alternative school.) But after the grim emotional feeling,
and horrible lies about the alternative school were over,
our children were allowed to continue to be taught by
these two lovely teachers until they left after grade six.

One of the women taught mostly grade one, two and
three, and the other grade five and six. They were
balanced, sane, curious, cheerful, praising teaching
geniuses, and wonderful influences on our boys. It
was so moving today to watch kids in their late teens
and 20s, hugging these two teachers and clearly saddened
by the fact that they were retiring. All of the teachers
in the alternative school were friends, so although
the program has been gone for years, these teachers
continue to be close friends.

And what's even more amazing, is that all the parents
from that school, which virtually ended when Sam was
four, are still friends, meet regularly for coffee (they
can find one another every Tuesday at 10:30 in the
morning at someone's house if they're not working), have parties
together, support one another in hard times, and care
deeply about each other. When our children attended
that little alternative school, we all used to say that it
was a community, at the party this afternoon, it was
clear that we still are.

My youngest dropped in to talk to the teachers before
he went off to work, and my older son gave a speech
honouring the teachers on behalf of all the students.
There was no question in any of our minds that these
two exceptional people, deeply moved by the occasion,
had a meaningful and lasting influence on our children.

Have an enjoying-what-influences-you day.

Out with the boys

My men
black marker on bond paper
5 x 5 inches
(a quick sketch from a
photo of Steven and the boys
when Sam was a baby. I like
the exhausted Dad look
on Steven's face.)

My oldest son is heading back to Asia this week so
we went out as a family to have dinner together
to celebrate his trip tonight. We found a restaurant
down by the Lake just west of Toronto. We had about
a forty minute wait, so we sat together on a bench
looking at the ducks and geese swimming in the water
and the yachts coming in and out of the marina. I
absolutely love being by the water. There wasn't a lot
of time for art today, so I did a fast sketch
for you tonight.

I have been reading Alyson Stanfield's wonderful
book I'd rather be in the studio, and I can already
see that it's going to be a life changing book.

Alyson is 100% against whining. I am so with her,
even though it's tempting to whine, and of course
I give in from time to time. She wants us to take
responsibility for our own artistic success. That's
a hard concept, because all of us would like a fairy
godmother to come in, wave a wand and say, "Poof."
or, "Shazam! (cloud of pink smoke) You're a
success." When in fact we make it happen.

Watching my sons across the table tonight I
felt happy about my family. They are funny,
intelligent, talented and loving people.

Have an I'm-a-lucky-person-to-know-you day.
And a Happy Birthday shout out to Suzanne,
my sweet friend.

Featured on City TV

Drawing My friend via Skype

Hi friends,

It's been an exciting and busy spring I'd have to say.

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by Jee Yun Lee,
a reporter with Toronto news station, City TV, in connection
with Skype art. It's a great interview, and you can watch it.

Our family is wildly excited and we all toasted one another
with a little bit of champagne to mark the occasion. Both
Jee Yun Lee, and the camera man Brad were lovely people,
and I'm so happy with the piece.

Check it out here.

The photo tonight was taken while I was drawing
a good friend of mine over Skype.

Have a drawing-your-good-friends day.

The real deal

The Man
black marker on bond
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009
(An unfinished drawing
of Stephen Colbert --
in comedy he is the real
deal.)

Today I had a fine day, and felt like an artist all day.
I love it when a client comes to the house, and
we have wonderful conversations. Everyone who
paints knows that there's a lot of hard work involved
and decisions to make every minute. Here's the secret
-- it's so much fun! This morning my subject
was an animated, intelligent, witty woman and
I think I laughed as much as I painted. I can't
describe how that translated into paint, and you
might not see it in the final work, but I'll know it's
there. I can remember all the discussions about
people, parties, romances, wonderful food, beloved
children, favorite animals and the most exciting cities
in the world. I love those memories, and they leap
out at me when I see the finished work.

When I'm painting I feel like the real deal. So I am
very fortunate to be painting all the time right now.

Have a loving-the-painting-life day.

P.S. If you're in Toronto there's going to be a piece
on me on City TV News at 6 p.m. Friday. Check it out!

Significance

At the market
charcoal on Manila
18 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009
(Sometimes before I begin a painting
I sketch to get to know the subject.
This isn't entirely accurate, but
it's getting there and I like the
mood)

For the past few days as I worked on my paintings
and drawings, gathered material together for submission
to a major art show, and driven through the countryside
to school today to visit some of my friends there, I've
had a word surface in my brain again and again.

Significance.

No. I'm not going through a life crisis...this year.
Significance was just the word my brain stuck on.
Roving around the net to read what other people say
about the word I notice that people frequently separate
the idea of a life of significance from a life of success.

So what's the opposite of a significant life? I'd call it
treading water. When you tread water you don't move
forward or back -- but you do keep afloat. Metaphorically
it's like the hamster ratcheting around the same little
wheel all day. After thinking it through I've decided that
significance is about meaning. The people who test
your happiness at the University of Pennsylvania
identify a feeling of meaning in life as one of the factors
necessary for a happy life. So that's where I ended
up.

Open the door to meaning in your life, and it's like a
flood of light comes through -- knowledge, love,
a profound connection to the planet and the wonders
of the universe, artistic inspiration, and significance.
Then miraculously happiness can come in too.
So I'm going to quit worrying about the fact that
my front door is not yet painted Feng Shui red,
and let it be the door to meaning and significance
even in its battered blue state.

Or I may just walk through it and pick the yellow
pansies growing on the front porch steps.
Today those pansies are significant.

Have an understanding-the-significance-of-your-life day

A long day at the easel

Tonight's art group sketch
acrylic on canvas
16 x 20 (the photo is cropped)
Barbara Muir © 2009

I'm not in the habit of measuring my time when I'm
painting or drawing, but I know today that it's almost
11 p.m., and except for a very fast bowl of soup I've been
working on art since 11 this morning. So I am ready to
sleep. Sleep is important for right brain people, as
we've discussed before, and also sometimes eludes us
at the height of our creativity. But... I have the feeling
I will have no trouble getting to dreamland tonight.

The painting tonight is my sketch from our painting
group. I hadn't seen them for a few weeks, and it
was great to see everyone, and the wonderful work
they were doing.

Have an Hey -I'm-well-rested day.

Loving people

Sam and his friend before the prom
black marker on bond paper
(I still need to fix the bit behind the young man's ear)
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

I am in the middle of a portrait whirlwind. People are everywhere
in my studio, in drawings, photo reference and staring out of
paintings in various stages of completion. I've heard people say
before that they wouldn't know what to do with all those faces
looking at them all day. But I think in my case, part of why I'm
on the planet is to record those faces, and another is to get to know
people, understand them better, and in the case of teaching, help them
to learn and change.

Part of what makes painting people fun, is my clients' feeling of
occasion and celebration. Whether I'm helping celebrate an
event, record a person's triumphs, or just capture the essence
and loving image of a person someone loves, the job is
inspiring. Tonight I did a little drawing of my son and his friend
just before the prom last week. It's not perfect, but it has the feeling
of happy anticipation. That will do for now.

Have an anticipating-life-happily day.