More from the early stages

 

 Untitled work (work in progress)

Drawing and beginning of the underpainting 

(This section in black)

Acrylic and willow charcoal on gessoed canvas

36 x 48 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

This painting will be of a delicious breakfast we had in
Quebec City.  I think the people who deliver the
breakfasts are brave, and the staff do such a lovely
job of arranging things on the little cart tables they
serve on, that you want to invite them to stay,
talk about art and have a coffee.  In French?  Okay,
bien sur.  But of course they have work to do, and
I did too.  I had to take the photograph of this delicious
meal for this massive painting, and then eat the breakfast.
It was certainly a happy occasion. Imagine out the
window was the entire beautiful city of old Québec.

This is the top right quadrant of my big painting.  I am
starting to put on the underpainting very roughly.
It's a busy day today, so I don't have much more to
say except watch this spot.  I do hope you'll come out
to see this work, and a number of other paintings
on the theme at the opening at Studio Vogue at 216
Avenue Road in Toronto on December 1.  The opening
 runs from 5 - 7  so we can  go out for dinner, or party
afterwards too.  Can't wait to see you there.  This big still
life will be finished and there to greet you.

 Untitled work (work in progress)

Drawing and beginning of the underpainting 

(On these sections in black)

Acrylic and willow charcoal on gessoed canvas

72 x 48 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

Steven holds the upper and lower right portions of
the painting so you can get a concept of scale.
Together the pieces are 6 feet high, not quite the height of the
kitchen cabinet they are resting against.
It's birthday season here, so the balloons will have
work to do until nearly the end of November.

Have a planning-for-future-artworks-day.

Start and keep going

 

 Starting the big one -- lower right hand quadrant.

Photo by Steven van Schaik

Image on canvas

Barbara Muir © 2012

I remember David Hockney talking on CBC about scale and
the issues involved with painting something large scale.
Now he was talking about really, really big work.  But he
is 6 feet tall, and I am 5 foot 4.  Big difference.  So having
big ideas is a theoretical and practical problem of
execution.  Yesterday I began drawing the images on the canvas
for my big work based on my reference photos.  The local printer
I go to creates large reference images for me.  So helpful.
Steven took a shot of me drawing this one.  I've got to say
I am super excited.  My friend Suzanne and I read a wonderful
novel, probably eight years ago.  If anyone knows the author
and title please let me know.  It was about a writer who decided
to become a school teacher instead, and was not good at it.
After a few months she started having dreams about an
excellent school teacher who told her how to dress, act
and treat the children.  That worked.  Her motto was
"Start and keep going."  I think of this all the time when
it feels like something is too big, or too difficult to do.

Have a starting-and-keeping-going day.

Studio Vogue December Show -- Save the date

 

Hi everyone,

I will be exhibiting some new work on the topic of
food on December first in a show at Studio Vogue
Gallery 216 Avenue Road, in Toronto that promises
 to be delicious.

Please save the date Saturday December 1, and
come out between 5 and 7 p.m. to see some wonderful
art.  I can't wait to see you there.  It will be
a great way to begin the holiday season and one
of the most festive months of the year.

Have a putting-this-date-on-your-calendar day

International Artist Day in my world

 The Morning dance of pepper and salt

Watercolour and marker on Arches

watercolour paper

6 x 10

Barbara Muir © 2012

Hi wonderful artists around the world who
I am crazy about, and Alyson Stanfield who asked how
we are celebrating International Artist Day,  I am glad
I spent the day focusing on art, and talking to artists
both in Toronto, and in the U.S.  Art and travel to
other countries for shows is hugely on my mind, and
I'm planning a major piece that I showed you my
canvasses for last night.

Other than that the business of art goes on.  I am
working on several commissions and planning for more.
There is so much going on that my head is spinning.
But I come here, to meet with my fellow blogger
friends, and blog fans to settle down and realize
that I am the luckiest of all people to know you,
and to be able to dream and plan about our super
lives as an international artists. 

So get back to me,  and to Alyson Stanfield and tell
me (and Alyson) what you did today to celebrate,
and what you're planning.

Have a loving-the-whole-world-of-art day.

Going big, and getting serious about food

Four canvasses getting ready to become one

really big painting.  My son Sam, who is 6 ft. 3 

agreed to lie down next to the canvasses in

the tiny space left in that part of my small studio

to give you an idea of just how big this new work will be.

Fun eh?

Tonight's image is the very, very first stage of going big.
I mean really big.  Over the next few weeks I will be
painting a painting on these four 36 x 48 inch canvasses,
that will fit together to make one 6 foot x 8 foot image
of a table top laden with food.  That is taking food really
seriously.

The inspiration for this massive, huge, gigantic, piece
of art, is a request from my gallery owner in Toronto for
paintings about food for my December 1 show at
Studio Vogue.  Yes it's a group show -- and I will be showing
this massive work, plus several smaller, but just as serious
explorations of my love of one of life's truly amazing
pleasures -- food baby.  Yes food.  Gotta have it, so do
you.  But seriously.  I love the possibilities for abstraction
coupled with detail in this subject, so watch this space
as I go ahead with it.

As Mike Dooley says "are you thinking big -- I mean
really big?"  "Good because that's exactly how much of
it you're going to get."  Well I am Mike thanks to you,
and have been dreaming of, thinking of, planning this
work for a few months.

 Squirrel making quick work of our pumpkins

 

The idea

The squirrels' revenge.  And this was just

the beginning of the squirrels' art project.

Nature keeps you humble.

On a lighter note.  We bought five small pumpkins
a week and a half ago to decorate our front porch.
But our local squirrels were still angry that they didn't
get any of my husband Steven's pumpkin pie on
Thanksgiving Day, and they destroyed our pumpkins.
They made our porch look like a garbage dump, or a wild
squirrel pumpkin party.

Have a thinking-big day.

So Much Fun!

Talking on Skype to the students at Meriwether Lewis 

Elementary school in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

photo by Andrew Sherogan

Today I was a Skype guest at a Virginia Public school.
Through the miracle of Skype (and it certainly has
been a miracle in my life) I traveled to Virginia
and met a brilliant and lively group of students.
They are studying art with Andrew Sherogan, a
great artist himself.  And his passion for teaching
showed in the intelligent questions the kids asked me,
and their extreme enthusiasm for the subject.  Andrew
wondered before the interview if they'd have any
questions, or whether they might need to be prompted.
 But every hand was up and waving every time the students
had a chance to ask me something new. So I want to thank
 Andrew's class for being awesome interviewers.

Can you draw my T-shirt?

(One of the questions from a boy at the end of the talk 

so I did. ) 

Black marker on Drawing paper

8 1/4 x 11 3/4

Barbara Muir © 2012

Here's a little drawing of a couple of the students who
talked to me just before we said goodbye.

What an exciting and inspiring event for me.

Props to Andrew and the super kids in his class.

Have a loving-talking-about-art day.

More Skype and a wonderful art teacher

 The teacher

Skype portrait

Watercolour and marker

on Arches Watercolour paper

6 x 10 inches

Barbara Muir © 2012

Today's painting is a small portrait of a really special
teacher.  And I'm not just saying that because he
found my work and likes it, and because I'm
talking to his class in Charlottesville, Virginia
tomorrow.  He is great because he wants children
to feel the way that he does when he's painting, or
making art, and he doesn't want them to have their
creativity squashed by rules, or by everyone doing
the same thing at the same time.  So he's set up
art centers all around the art room in the school he
teaches in, so students can explore art in their own
way.

Awesome.  Tomorrow I am having a Skype
conference with the grade four class to talk
about creating portraits from Skype.  So I
did a little sketch of their teacher, and may do
another before the talk -- because I haven't
nailed it yet, but I still like the feeling.

In other news I finished a commission today
that I've been working on for a while.  So.
whew.  More on that at another time.

Have a-being-excited-about-the-work-you-do day.