Sleepy discussion

 Are you awake?

Charcoal on bond paper

8 1/2 x 11 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

I know my son, a hard working university student,
isn't sleeping enough.  When he asked me to Skype
him today, and I saw that he was snuggled up in bed,
and I was happy.  He was grabbing a rest between
rehearsals for his final play.  As a parent seeing
your child, sleeping, or even resting  reminds you of all
the times you tried so hard to get that baby to sleep
when he was little.  So I didn't mind talking to sleepy
Sam at all.

I did this little drawing to catch the mood.  I may
do a series if I have the time.

Have a getting-enough-sleep day.

Small changes

  

Ray
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 20 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012

"Sometimes the smallest changes make a big
difference to a painting," a friend at the art
group I belong to once said.  Tonight I'm showing
you a painting I started at portrait night
with my group in 2009.  The model was a
wonderful young man who'd just moved
to Toronto from the states I think.  I seem to
 remember that he was a journalist.

 Ray
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 20 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

I don't usually change a painting because someone
makes a comment about it, unless I've deliberately
sought advice, or the person wanting the change
is a portrait client.  But my son didn't like the colour
of the model's T-shirt, so I thought I'd change it.
Now it's blue, and I think he's right -- it does make
a stronger painting.  I also made a few other small
changes, like the bright yellow in the background
 that I put on with a palette knife. I'm happy with it
now.  It's still a sketch, but it has more power.

Have a making-small-changes day

The lovely Shamrock

Lucky Shamrocks

acrylic on wood,

5 x 5 inches

 Barbara Muir © 2012

I was in my favorite flower store the other day
and saw the most beautiful, delicate, spring-like
plant.  When I asked what it was called my
friend Lynn said it was a Shamrock.  Well! I
thought.  The real flowers are a far cry from
the clover inspired greenery I'll decorate with
before St. Patrick's Day.

This little painting is my impression of the plant --
white flowers on pale green stems against
a background of leaves like butterflies. A
delightful discovery.

Have a getting-ready-for-spring day.

The Art Gallery of Ontario x 3

 The Galleria Italia at the Art Gallery of Ontario,

designed by Frank Gehry spans 590 feet along the front

of the gallery and is a beautiful cathedral-like space.

Steven accompanied me on one of my visits,

and sitting on one of the benches in the space

he gives you a sense of the scale.  Magnificent.

I've been to The Art Gallery of Ontario three times in the
past two weeks helping students do research, and
researching myself.  I absolutely love the cathedral-like
space at the front of the building and make a point of
visiting it every time.  It always makes me think that Frank
Gehry is a genius.  And he is.  The gallery is one
of the buildings in Toronto that makes me proud to
live here.  Make sure to see it when you come to town.

Me in front of the letters at the front 

of the building.  It is a Canadian artist's

dream to show here. (It certainly is this 

Canadian artist's dream.)

How I'll look when I know I have

a show inside the building.  Meanwhile

I just love going there.

I may post a drawing with this post tomorrow.  I just haven't had time

to finish it tonight.  Still painting on a large portrait, which is going

well, but slowly.

 

Have a going-to-your-favorite-gallery day.

Too nice to dream of summer

 The red cottage

iPad drawing

(based on a photo by Richard Semik)

Barbara Muir © 2012

On International Women's Day today, I painted
all day, then went to an art store, and then to a party
for women in my neighbourhood.  We talked about
men and women, and worked really hard at being
sensitive and kind about gender differences. I love
that great group of women, and thoroughly enjoyed
the discussions.

You've probably heard that Canadians are nice.
Some of us really are.  We bump into each other's
carts in the supermarket, and it takes five minutes
to move on, because we're so busy saying, "I'm
sorry." "No, no, no, it was me, I'm sorry."
So global warming is a talking point challenge
for us.  In Toronto not having a cold winter really
is a boon.  Who wants to wake up in the morning, and shovel
first a path to the car, and then clean the car off, then
shovel the car out, or ask neighbours, or perfect
strangers to push you out of a snow bank like I
had to last winter?  No one.  But we are nice.  And
some of us even read, so we know about the idea
of global warming and see it happening -- evidence
all around us.

Being able to go out in shorts on March 7 -- albeit
in what was really jeans and sweater weather is
so wonderful.  But we can't help knowing that this isn't
right.  We stand on our back porches saying sorry
to the squirrels.  We put our parkas on anyway.
And tonight we were rewarded with cold temperatures
again that make us long for the place I've drawn on
my iPad.  A balmy tropical paradise.

Have a being-nice-to-Canadians day.
(Especially Canadians living in cold, wintry conditions.)

Summer in March

 Reading about Botticelli

Black marker on Moleskine paper

5 x 9 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

It was a super hot day today -- 17 degrees Celsius,
which is insane for March 7 in Toronto.
But that was what it was.  It was a teaching day
for me, and in between classes I drove out to get
paint. On the radio an interview talked about global
warming and its effects on farming.  Ice wine
is an important product in Ontario, and this year we did
not have the cold temperatures needed. 

But the fluctuations in temperature are bizarre
-- 12 below zero Celsius one day, and 17 above the
next. Flowers which shouldn't come up at least
for another month, don't know whether they're
coming or going -- one day says -- 'Hey girl hey,
come on out and grace us with your beauty',
and the next says, 'winter is here, prepare!' 

I did this little Moleskine drawing today of a model
who sat at my kitchen table on a cold night a couple
of weeks ago.  She is a beauty, and that night had
rather fantastic hair, piled in elaborate patterns
on her head.  Beautiful.

So the weather report from here is that March is
coming in like a lion/lamb/lion/lamb -- who knows.

I hope you are having a wonderful time.  More to
come.  Got to go paint, but cannot show you
anything yet.

March Madness

 View from Highway 401

iPad drawing

8 x 10

Barbara Muir © 2012

Here's an iPad drawing of a scene on the 401
on the way to Windsor from Toronto.  I snapped
a shot on our last trip to see Sam in the play
Emma, based on Jane Austen's novel.

March started out with dinner with two very funny
 friends who get along famously.  So much fun.
 So many laughs.  It feels like March.  The winter is
almost gone -- so there's so much to do to
get ready for spring events.  Yikes.  Got
to go and sleep and then work, work, work.
But I can feel that spring madness coming on.
Yay!  I love that feeling.

Have a-getting-into-spring-madness day.