National Cereal Day -- here's my favourite breakfast!

Served to perfection

Acrylic on canvas

10 x 10 inches

Barbara Muir © 2013

I was driving home from buying some groceries
when I heard that today was National Cereal Day.  Great
I thought, because I knew I wouldn't have time today
to do any new work, but I thought this painting
would be perfect.

My favourite breakfast (and I'm not sure it's cereal)
is oatmeal that I make in a pot.  I love the way
hotels serve oatmeal with berries.  When you stay in
a hotel that understand the beauty of a room service
breakfast, it's hard to imagine anything more
romantic.

For Valentine's Day, belated because of health
issues in my family, I had breakfast overlooking
the Byward Market in Ottawa.  The waiter
set up the table.  There were real silver utensils,
and beautifully pressed cloth napkins (white),
with a white tablecloth.  Large water glasses
filled with ice, and of course a hearty full
classic breakfast for my husband.

The Byward Market Ottawa

Barbara Muir © 2017

The Market was iced in snow about two feet
thick, and even that looked romantic.

Have an enjoying-National-Cereal-Day day.

The significance of portraits

Woman with her cats

Acrylic on canvas with gold leaf

36 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © 

I am a portrait painter for sure.  I also paint
still life, and landscape and scenes with people,
but I started with portraits, and they are still a
major love of mine.

Today a collector called me to tell me that one
of the cats in the portrait I did of her with
her pets had died.  She said it made her
feel better seeing his portrait on the wall.  This
touched me profoundly.

I remember working on the painting so well -- the
woman was in the most beautiful blouse, and her
cats were arranged behind her shoulders and on
on her lap.  I took lots of photos with the cats
in the pose, then the subject came and posed for
me in my studio, and we used pillows to pose
instead of the cats.

The cats were big fluffy beauties, and I really wanted
to get them right.  The cat behind her shoulder died
a couple of weeks ago I'm sorry to say.  My photo
of the painting, taken when I had barely begun blogging,
is not so great, but I am proud of the work nonetheless,
and glad that it's given my client something to comfort her
at this sad time.

Have a loving-the-portraits-you-buy day.

To the Gallery -- after searching for Sunday markets -- super!

Woman drinking tea

Black marker on Fringe drawing paper
9 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches
Barbara Muir © 2017

Today we'd planned to go market shopping.  But when we showed
up at the market  the advertised market event was nowhere
to be found.

It was a freezing cold, but beautiful sunny day, so we headed out
for lunch and then a brief tour of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
That was a delightful way to spend the afternoon.  I got to see the
Tom Thomsons and look at them in a brand new way.  I knew that
he stylized his paintings, but I saw techniques I've never noticed
before and I have stared at his work dozens of times.

Top the day off with a captivating sunset, and a huge hawk circling
the hydro towers as we drove home, and it was a perfect
day.

Have a loving-the-new-things-life-presents day.
The woman in this drawing is enjoying the delicious tea
they serve at the gallery.

Hooked on you -- and the man again

A man
Line drawing -- black marker on bond paper
8 1/2 x 11 inches
Barbara Muir © 

Whoeee -- it is the coldest it's been all winter here and

everyone is in shock.  That feeling goes along with the

strange feeling of having to go out and buy sunscreen

because it was eye-blindingly sunny today. We all

feel a bit like we've been smothering under a grey

blanket for all of January and February (but it was

warmer under there) and all of a sudden -- brilliant

light!  We love it, but we're unprepared.

So it has been the kind of day a Saturday should be --

super busy with market shopping, and then having

dinner with friends.  I am still working on larger
paintings, but I wanted to blog all the same.  

Plus I decided tonight that I have not said enough about

how much I appreciate what Stephen Colbert has

continued to do opening his show, to lighten my

mood on the depressing state of the world -- 

especially the one he has to wake up to and present

as comedy  (a tragi-comedy of errors) every week 

night.  

I like the loose quality of this sketch from the year 

I was on the Oprah Winfrey show Skype sketching her.  

And I know my underlying reason for drawing Colbert 

so many times, aside from the fact that I could freeze frame 

his show on my iMac and draw gestures -- was that I wanted

to be invited to be on his program too  -- The Stephen Colbert

show.  Now I enjoy watching him on The Late Show,

and am more than content to simply enjoy his superb

humour.

Have an enjoying-humour-in-your-life day. 

Taking a break and dreaming of Florence

Dreaming of Florence

Charcoal on bond paper

18 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © 2009

Our winter which has been kind and reasonable
took a plunge into the super cold weather we
normally expect in January and February, but
have been sweetly seduced out of expecting
this year.

We were having some work done on our
kitchen today, the ceiling painted, which is a good
excuse to edit things on the high shelves, and
a good excuse to escape into thoughts of where
it would be nice to be.  I do love Florence,
and found this drawing I did of one of my
favourite models after returning from the
Florence Biennale in 2009.

Such sights we saw.  Like an opera singer
standing all alone in the middle of a piazza
at night singing with no one around.  She was
in a beautiful dress, and we heard her when
we were around the corner and down a narrow
side street.  She was magnificent.

Have a dreaming and planning day.

David's Birthday -- and salad

Silver salad servers at work

Black marker and watercolour

on Fabriano watercolour paper

4 x 5 1/4 inches

Barbara Muir © 2017

It's our friend David Cohen's birthday, and he probably
wishes that I didn't remember the occasion even with
concussion brain, and didn't sing Happy Birthday to him
over the phone. (I'm no singer!) But he is a wonderful person,
super writer, great photographer, and married to my dear
friend Marcia Labelle (an amazing artist, and sculptor.)
I am not that good at remembering dates of birthdays, but
David's sticks in my mind. So Happy Birthday David.

I love the salad servers in this picture which I inherited
from my mother, and we use them every night to serve
salad.  Steven makes a delicious salad, and cuts carrots
like a professional chef.  On my night to make supper
(we alternate nights) I serve his leftover salad, and
anything else he cooked that I can possibly reheat.
(Not a cook sorry).  I hope David had some salad
with his birthday dinner -- along with cake of course --
maybe not at the same time.  Cake deserves ice cream.

So I did a little drawing of a typical salad at our house
 -- this one in a glass bowl, and now it's a watercolour.

Have a Happy Birthday Party -- with salad!

On the Highway -- Spring is coming Mr. Snow

Best summer drive

Acrylic on canvas

12 x 12 inches

Barbara Muir © 2017

Happy March 1 -- wow that went by quickly.  March doesn't
know whether to come in like a lamb or a lion, and was
way too warm today 16 degrees Celsius, or 60 Fahrenheit.
But now there are chilly winds, and apparently we may
see snow (it has been an almost snow free winter in
Toronto.)

I am planning to hit the painting highway in the coming
month, and get working on some larger pieces, so I
may not be able to join you every day.  I know I have
loved the Month of Love, and don't worry I love the rest
of the year too.  The painting today is a highway view --
lovely trees against a bright field, the kind of sight that
always lifts my spirits.

Have a joining-me-on-the-painting-highway day.