A tiny joyous discovery -- and art that inspires

Summer exuberance

Watercolour, acrylic ink, black marker

on watercolour paper

4 x 6 inches

Barbara Muir © 2020

A friend and I met at the Art Gallery of Ontario yesterday --
our large, beautiful, public gallery.  We wandered through a
few shows, marvelling at works we've long admired, and
some we'd never seen.  Things had been moved around since
I visited last, and some of the galleries painted in fresh
new colours.  It made me realize how important background
colour is to how the art impacts me.

But I meant to tell you about something else.  I found a little drawing
today on watercolour paper, that is supposed to be turned into
postcards.  You'd have to be a million times faster at painting than
me to be able to whip off postcard paintings when you were
on holiday, and casually send them to all your friends.  Still
I was captured by the size today when I'm working on a
huge drawing, and had some fun using watercolours and
acrylic ink, to make it more dramatic.

Have a loving what you do day.

A beauty from last year -- summer celebration

Sky high summer joy

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2019

(Available!)

I finished this painting last January (2019) when we had  the rare treat

of a "snow day" and my Monday night class was cancelled.  This doesn't 

happen often in Toronto.  Right now we've as close to no snow as possible 

in January, and the month is over tomorrow.  I love this painting for how well it 

expresses my total happiness driving by summer fields on our way to

Nova Scotia in the Maritimes.  

And of course clouds have been my passion for years.  This month I've

been working almost full time on an ink drawing on canvas -- a portrait of 

my best supporter.  I will definitely be able to show you soon, because it 

goes into the Figure Drawing show opening at the Heliconian

Club at 35 Hazelton Avenue on Saturday, February 8 between 1 and 4. 

 I will be there, and would love it if you came out to see this drawing on canvas. 

I've learned a lot working on this.  More on that later.  Meanwhile if you

could use some summer fields plus clouds in your life, contact me.

Have a loving what you see day. 

Small works on a brilliantly sunny day

Untitled (work in progress)

Acrylic ink, acrylic, and ballpoint pen

5.5 x 8.5 inches

Barbara Muir © 2020 

Last year I joined the oldest women's art club in Canada
 -- the Heliconian Club -- a wonderful decision.  I've met such
super people, and been in some amazing shows.  I have been
lucky to be able to show my large works in the club's
beautiful space on Hazelton Ave.  I love working large,
and wish I had a studio space (in my home) that would let me go
even bigger.

I also enjoy working smaller.  This little painting was
inspired by a photo of the overwhelming abundance of
flowers in my house at the end of summer.  In fact my kitchen
looks that way now with miraculous white double lilies,
a late blooming amaryllis, gorgeous red tulips, and a cabbage
rose in full bloom.

But in summer, it's all local, from my garden and a wonderful
gardener who sells at the Brickworks market.

Whatever size I'm working in, I'm aware that the creative life
is a gift.

Have a loving what you do day. 

On the easel -- what I'm working on.

Untitled (work in progress)

Literally photographed on the easel

Acrylic pen and paint on canvas

3 x 6 feet

Barbara Muir © 2020

Happy Tuesday.  It was a day of a thousand mess ups,
until I went for a walk with a dear friend who told
me the trick of deciding to end the conversation about
all that was going wrong right then.  When she said that I
looked at the little park we were walking through and as always
trees and even gloomy clouds are comforting.  I went home
to my studio and tackled the part of this piece that's been
driving me mad -- the face.

Before I did I went to the art store and saw the lovely Anna,
who calls me Anna for fun. She helped me get some great supplies
 -- acrylic pens and brush cleaner. Plus she is funny, and that
was something I needed so badly on this complicated day.
I'm drawing this portrait on a 3 ft. x 4 ft. canvas with acrylic
pens. It's the whole figure, and seems to be a long, slow process,
but I'm feeling confident now that it will be ready in time for a
show coming up!  More on that later.  And I think Anna, and
my friend, and the subject of this portrait turned the day around.
It's been a wonderful night, and I'm excited again about my work.

Thank you as always for being out there. I'm trying this because
I said I would.  And I am learning so much!

Have a loving what you do day. 

How process changes -- finding a reference album

Sean
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 36 inches

Barbara Muir © 2007
SOLD ♥
(The painting is much lighter
than this.  I photographed a 
photo to get a clearer image
than I had on record in my blog.)

I've talked before about how wonderful it was painting
Sean for a set of three portrait commissions of his two sisters,
Madeline and Elizabeth and him.  The other day going through
shelves of stacks of sketchbooks, and pads of watercolour
paintings, I discovered an album of photos for portraits
and the portraits that resulted from a combination of
sittings and photos.  It was fascinating. All of this information
packed in an 8 x 10 inch photo album.

Today if I take photo reference, I work from large prints
made by a wonderful local printer.  I am working on a large
scale portrait drawing (3 x 4 ft.) right now -- not finished
enough to show you yet.  And the printer made me a bunch of
large scale images to use, that put together would make
one big photo.  I can refer to them as needed, and work from
a smaller image of the whole figure.

The studio in 2007 and Sean the model.

He borrowed the white shirt in each

session from my son.  

Sean was a treat to paint, as were his sisters.

So finding these small photo references made me
realize how quickly technology happens.  I painted
Sean in 2007, the last of three portraits that had
to work individually and together.  Together it
looked like the three children were sitting on a
couch.  The idea was that when they grew
up they could own their individual portraits.  That was
13 years ago, so I think Sean would be 28 now, and I
hope he is having a wonderful life.

Have a loving your life day.

A very happy day in our family!

In the City

Acrylic on canvas

36 x 48 inches

Barbara Muir © 2016

SOLD ♥

I'm showing you this painting today because I first shared it with
you four years ago around the time of a major event in our lives.
The painting was going in a show on January 29th, and I was close to
finishing it.  In fact it was done.

My dear friend through Skype, and blogging and the Internet, Howard
Wolinsky, a wonderful writer, and photographer regularly takes
gorgeous photos of one of his favourite parks near his home in
Chicago.  One beautiful shot was the inspiration for this
painting -- which I think was a huge turning point in my attraction
to cloud paintings.  This one took it over the top, because the
inspiration was so fabulous.

The reason this day is special to us as a family, is that this is the day
that Alice Isabel Vincett Muir was born. Our first grandchild.  And today
was her fourth birthday.  It was love at first sight for Steven and me, and
that love has grown exponentially in four years.  She is a wonderful,
darling child, and has filled our lives with joy.

Alice at her birthday party,

with Daddy and Mommy

and baby Madeline in

Mommy's arms.

Happy Birthday Alice!

Last summer another magical day happened, when her sister, Madeline
was born.  And now we are doubly blessed.  After Alice was
born I wrote about how life just gets better and better.  And I do
believe that is true for me.  We have hard times, and deep sorrow,
and illness like everyone else, but we have been so fortunate to
meet and know, and befriend such kind and supportive, talented
and funny people.  Today we celebrate one of them.  And in fact
there are two more.

Have a loving your family day.

The power of art friends -- Franco the Creator Mbilizi

The quiet violence in light

oil on canvas

18 x 24 inches

Franco the Creator © 2018

Don't ever underestimate the power of art friends for an

artist.  Your art friends (and all of your friends of course)
keep you going, hold you up, push your mind, hear
what you're saying, see what you're doing and get you.
Amazing!  The feeling of bliss when you talk to
someone joyous, funny, an excellent artist, and
deep in the "process of being an artist" can't be
measured.

That was my conversation with the wonderful artist
Franco the Creator (Franco Mbilizi) tonight. Franco
loves my work, and sees things in it that I don't
see myself, and might not even have thought of.

Franco's current work deals with, "curiosity around what
it means to live a truly fulfilling intention-lead life, that
exists beyond current socio-political confines of religion,
colour, race, class and sexual orientation to birth a new
self that reaches inward for strength and reconcillialtion."

Franco became friends with me and Steven in New York
City when Franco came to see an art show I was in.  At
the time I was exhibiting a large food still life, and Franco
was intrigued.

We saw one another again at another show in NYC,
and I have been a fan of Franco's work since I saw
the first image.  Born in Malawi Africa, Franco
now lives in Chicago, and paints scenes like no
other artists. It feels like they are about the way
life is going on the planet.  They are both
cataclysmic, and divinely inspiring at the same
time.  I always think -- "yes -- exactly!" when I
look at Franco's work.

Untitled

oil on canvas

36 x 48 inches

Franco the Creator © 2020

Aside from being a genius artist, with a massive
volume of work, acclaimed in many magazines,
and avidly collected,  Franco is brilliant and funny
and a complete delight to talk to.  So that makes
him the ideal topic for tonight.

Have a loving your life day.