Monday, March 18, 2024

The delightful influence of other artists' art

 

Dreaming of Florence
Charcoal on bond paper
18 x 24 inches
© Barbara Muir  

Today I'm posting a drawing I love of one of my models Shakoya confidently wearing a halo.
I was inspired by the art of so many artists in Florence, Italy when I first showed my work at the Florence Biennale.  And I loved the halos.  I'm now religious, to me they just indicate that the person is special and loved. 

I'm working on a painting that is deeply influenced by the art of John Singer Sargent.  We'll see how it works out. The model is sitting in the same pose as Sargent's model, and in a similar background. Her close echo the clothes Sargent's model was wearing and yet
the painting is so different (not just because I could never paint like Sargent), mainly because the model is so now, so contemporary.

Just thinking about how another artist worked more than 100 years ago is fascinating.  The 
current model is not wearing a halo.  But she deserves one for being so kind and patient with me and my ideas.

Have a loving your life day.


Sunday, March 17, 2024

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Steven and I dancing with glow sticks in
our kitchen St. Patrick's Day party

I love this photo from years ago of me and Steven dancing in the kitchen with glow sticks we bought for the St. Patrick's Day festivities we have whenever possible with our family.

Today we'll have a dinner with our daughter-in-law Emily, and our son Sam.  That will be fun. I love how this photo is like abstract art.  So cool. Steven and I just decorated, and the kitchen looks very festive.

I hope if you celebrated St. Patrick's Day you had a great time. Here's a quote from a former blog.

"No I am not Irish, but way back some of my ancestors
fled France for Ireland, and then Ireland for Canada.
So in fact I'm more French than Irish.

One year when my children were small we -- a very
celebratory family -- bought them green toys and hula
hoops, and green candy and had green ginger ale, and
green champagne for the adults, and a tradition was
born. " So Happy St. Patrick' Day.

Have a loving your life day.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Looking forward, looking back



From my Florence Notebook
Journal Sketch
Black marker on bond paper
6 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

Today I've been having a wonderful time working on a painting for an upcoming show I'm grateful to my friend Georgia Fullerton's daughter, India, for posing for me. The painting is not ready to be show.  So I was looking through notebooks to find something I could share, and found this pretty sketch from my notebook I bought in Florence the first time I showed in the Florence Biennale in 2009.

It was a lovely discovery, and I wrote about our time there in some detail. After dinner tonight I was reading to Steven about the wonderful dinners we had -- some in the Trattoria Giovanni, and other restaurants in that beautiful city.

Wishing you a happy weekend.

Have a loving your life day. 

 

Friday, March 15, 2024

Bringing back the cheer



Cottage Flowers
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches 
Barbara Muir © 2017

I'm pretty sure these flowers are from Sunrise Greenhouses in Pugwash, Nova Scotia.  I know that the vase was from a lovely lady who lived down the road from our school house in Nova Scotia, and that my dear friend Paula frequently puts flowers out to greet us when we arrive after our 2,000 kilometre drive, which always makes me feel happy.

It has been a super busy day.  I am tired and it's Friday night.  I started a big painting today that I'm quite excited about, so more to come on that. Right now it's TV
time, and our cats are wailing for their night time snack.  When I get downstairs the dog will be whining, and she will sit and wait until I say take it for her tiny snack.
I can't wait to show you what I'm working on.  But meanwhile enjoy these flowers as much as I did, and still do seeing the painting.

Have a loving your life day.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Happy Pi Day


 Stand Back for the Pie
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2013

On this date I usually feature this painting, because not being a 
math freak, Pi reminds me of pie, and Steven makes the best
cherry pie I've ever tasted.  Because December and January
and February were rough, I ate way too much of every sweet, so I may 
forego having pie today.  Tempting though.  We had a little
conversation about the math behind Pi at lunch today.

In 2022 this painting won first place, and I won a $500 
in a contest with the San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural
Center in California in a virtual exhibition. And that was 
fantastic.

In a former blog I shared this information on Pi
Day:

Last night Jimmy Fallon did funny routines about his audience reciting a
all the numbers of Pi. And they were still at it 20 years from now --
it's a long number.

"According to the Huffington Post Pi Day is named after the
Greek symbol π which is the ratio of the circumference of
a circle to its diameter. The first three digits in Pi are 3
 (this is the third month) and 14 (the fourteenth day)
= 3.14 or Pi.  What better day to eat pie if you get the urge.
 And any way you slice it you will not be alone in your
pie indulgence.

I live with a mathematics fiend, (Steven) who has been
known to sleep with a Calculus text beside his bed at the
ready should he feel like reviewing it with his morning coffee.
He also makes a mean cherry pie -- the point of the
painting. The pie."

Have a deliciously-happy-Pi-day. 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Off to the second opening of All That Jazz at the Heliconian


At the Heliconian Opening today
Me with my work
Colours of Joy
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 48 inches
Barbara Muir © 2024 
(Note: At the suggestion of
my husband, the photographer,
this photo has been edited to focus
on my painting behind me.)

Tonight was not nearly as busy as the first opening of All That Jazz a wonderful exhibition at the Heliconian Club on until the end of March.  I have a painting in a corner of the show, and quite high up.  As you can see in the photo -- the piece of brown in the upper right corner of the painting is part of a decorative support for the roof of the former church that houses the Heliconian Art Club.  So the challenge was how to get a painting with my work in the show.  I had help today from my husband Steven van Schaik, and club member and amazing artist Nola McConnan, who is currently showing in New York City.  

Between the two of them we finally got me at a height that was not too dangerous and you can see my work.  For my friend Miranda in the Netherlands, and my friends in the Florence Biennale I am in the Happy People Pose. And behind me the bright painting of Colours of Joy

I hope you'll get out to see the show this month. I'm still having trouble with Google, so I tried to post a photo of the show and it wouldn't allow me to. If I can put it in tomorrow I will.

Have a loving your life day.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Jumping forward in time


First stop Paris
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 30 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012
(available)
(When I painted this painting I was
thinking about encouraging the model
to go to Paris.  I hadn't exhibited
in Paris yet -- my first time
showing in the Carousel du Louvre was in
2015. But in a way the work was telling
the world that -- hey! I love Paris,
and since I painted this piece, I've visited Paris
a number of times! And I loved it every
time. This seems right for today --
because travel disrupts time in
the best way possible. It looks 
like it's a 5 hour time difference
at the moment between Toronto and Paris. 
And when you go there
it's worth every minute of that difference.)

 I picked up a reference piece from my printer today, and he told me in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't get it done on time.  I said I would. We'll see.  We both laughed because we have a really good friendship. Our clocks jumped ahead by one hour on Sunday morning at 2 o'clock. It's funny how we all love it when we gain an extra hour in the fall, but don't like losing one in the spring. I'm putting this favourite painting on tonight, because I miss Paris.  And I notice, that I can adjust to the 5 hour time difference pretty well when I'm there.

Here are my thoughts from a former blog slightly edited:

"At 2 in the morning on Sundy we moved into Daylight Saving Time.
Luckily for us we started moving into the new time 
on Saturday -- setting all of our clocks, and machines that
would allow it ahead by an hour. So it was less traumatic
Monday, than it is some years when the time changes.

My mother, who had a Masters in Bacteriology did not
like losing that hour anymore than anyone else.  So her
strategy was to change all of her clocks three days before
it happened. We couldn't go that far, but it helped that the
microwave and the car radio were functioning in the
new time for 24 hours before the switch. And yes
we still have clocks that are not digital.

I think of March as the Month of Change, and I found
this thought in an earlier blog that I thought I'd share:

"If you think you can't change remember how long
it took you to fall in love with your first born,
your niece, or nephew, your kitten, or dog, or
your beloved. In my case my affection was
overpowering and instant in every example
above. And you know that each time your
heart made that giant leap toward affection,
your entire world changed. So yes you can
change, and you already have while you were
reading this. So have a soothing drink of milk,
or tea, or hot chocolate, or wine if you need it,
and take yourself back to the canvas, or your
writing, or to bed for a little nap before you
start again. It's all going to work out just fine.

The time to paint is upon us. (And the time to 
travel.)

Have a what-do-you-know-I've-changed day."

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!