A hot lemon kind of day

 Hot lemon on a silver tray

watercolour and marker on 

Arches watercolour paper

10 x 6 inches

Barbara Muir © 

I seem to have (no I actually have) caught a cold on my romantic long weekend away
with my sweetheart.  I was fooled by the fact that Steven sneezes all the time, so I

didn't take that seriously, and he was on meds I thought for his allergies, but really because

he had a cold! He didn't know that was what it was. Now I do.

So it's a short one today.  I'm sitting in my studio surrounded by giant canvasses waiting for

my attention.  And I reassure them as much as possible, that it's all going to happen. It is.

Meanwhile more hot lemon with maple syrup, and powerful, positive wishes for a quick
recovery.

Have a loving your life day!

17 years of blogging -- 17 Gratitudes

Before the Dance

Acrylic on canvas

4'x6' 

Barbara Muir © 2008

(One of the many things I've learned

 in 17 years of blogging is how
to take better photos. But this
 is the original painting I put on
 my first blog.)

I started this blog 17 years ago today -- which seems completely
unreal.  It actually feels like yesterday.  My friend Flora Doehler
was blogging, and tried to get me into it, but I resisted. Thank 
goodness I did begin it on this day -- the blog has been a major force
connecting me to wondrous events in my life!

Today's blog gratitude list

1.  Thank you Flora for suggesting that I start a blog. You were so right.

2. Thank you to my son Christopher for getting the blog
going.

3. Thank you to all of my blog friends, many of you remain
friends after all these years, and we meet on other social
media.  Plus I have met some of you in person, and it has
always been wonderful. And some of you I talk to
on the phone once a week if at all possible.

4. Thank you to Howard Wolinsky who saw my blog in
2008 and interviewed me on YouTube about blogging.  His
interview got me on the Oprah Winfrey show.

5. Thank you to Alyson Stanfield, the Art Biz coach, who
calmed me down before I went on the Oprah Winfrey show
with excellent advice.

6. Thank you to Oprah Winfrey for letting me draw her
via Skype in 2009 live on her show, and changed my art life.

7. Thank you to the art collectors and galleries who have 
supported me along the way. Amazing.

8. Thank you to all of the artists out there blogging, using Instagram,
YouTube, TikTok and Facebook, for your exceptional art, excellent
ideas, and inspiration that has kept me going in the art world.

9. Thank you to the wonderful event organizers who have
found me through the blog and invited me to show in Florence,
Italy, Paris, France, New York City, Niagara Falls and
my home city of Toronto, Canada. You have made my art
life miraculous.

10. Thank you Alyson Stanfield for your wonderful book--
I'd Rather Be In The Studio for the book's excellent advice.

11. Thank you to the Don Valley Art Club in Toronto for
its weekly drawing group sessions, where I've loved 
painting and drawing with fellow artists on Tuesdays and getting 
material for my  blog. 

12.  Thank you to the Heliconian Club in Toronto for its
wonderful exhibition space, and for having me as a member.
My work will be in a solo show -- The Art of Celebration
opening on April 5 between 2 and 5 p.m.

13. Thank you to the beautiful young women who posed
for the painting in my first blog, which you can see tonight.

14. Thank you to my early art teachers at OCAD who got me
working in a way that could make the art I wanted to create, and
to every in person, and online art teacher I've had since. You make
a huge difference.

15. Thank you to the wonderful art podcasters I've watched (yes
visual and audio) recently, who have kept me focused and happy
during the difficult times we're living through.

16. Thank you to all of the people who have collected my art and 
bought my cards recently.  I am so grateful.

17. And first, not last, thank you to my family -- My husband, immediate
family, and a wide group of sweet relatives here in Toronto, across Canada,
and in the United States.  Thank you!

By the way if you see this painting at Seneca College, King Campus,
I would like it back.  There was talk of buying it, but that didn't happen.

Have a loving your life day!

The long journey

Steven and me on a boat cruise with the artists in 

the art show Carousel du Louvre on

 the Seine in Paris 

We are wearing T-shirts of my painting

that was showing in the Louvre in 2022.

In the background -- The Eiffel Tower

Photo: © kind stranger 2022

Today we travelled home from a weekend holiday in Ottawa.  It was a strange time,
and lovely and sweet at the same time.  For quite a bit of that vacation we sat talking,
or watching TV, or the constant heavy snow out the window.  And it was wonderful
 -- the peace and quiet -- no need to do anything.  Delicious food and time with my
brother and his wife, who are so much fun.

So now we're home, tired and happy, and ready for the exciting things that are going
to happen in the next few weeks in our lives. 

Have a loving your life day.

I am still incredibly grateful to Skype

Look at this

Acrylic on canvas

Barbara Muir © 2011

(Christopher my son, shown

here with his wife Megan,

who was his girlfriend then.

from a painting created during my

Skype painting series.

24 x 24 inches

Skype was the first technology that

let me see family when they were

far away. In this painting they were

teaching in Korea.)

Today as it is Valentine's weekend for me and my sweetheart, Steven,

I'm going to post a piece I wrote last year that is just as important this
year.

"None of what happened in the past 16+ years of my art career would have
happened without Skype.  I started using Skype to talk to my son in Korea.
He and his girlfriend (now wife) worked teaching in Seoul, Korea for a year. 

I loved not only the ability to see my son and his girlfriend from across a
14 hour time difference, but I also like the distortion, and the breaking
up of the image when the connection wasn't working at its best. It made
for an interesting portrait dynamic, and I painted a few portraits based
on our conversations.

Ultimately working with Skype images got me interviewed by the
amazing writer and photographer, Howard Wolinsky, who was
writing a Skype blog at the time.  His video interview got me 
noticed by Oprah Winfrey's people, and on the Oprah Winfrey show
via Skype drawing wonderful Oprah Winfrey herself.

And all of that lead to art shows all over the U.S. and Europe. 
In this Month of Love I honour how love can power exciting
changes in our lives."

Have a loving your life day! 

Saturday night -- movie night, wonderful dinner with family -- Happy Valentine's weekend

 

An Amaryllis in the kitchen -- with tulips
trying to get in the picture

Photo

Barbara Muir © 2025

It is movie night.  Had a super dinner tonight with family. So much fun.

And now we're going to watch a movie.  So like most Saturdays I won't

have much to say here.

Sending you this beautiful photo of an Amaryllis blooming in our kitchen.  A 
fond memory from the start of the year, and flowers for you on Valentine's 
weekend.

Have a loving your life day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you had a great day.  Very busy over here, and lots of love all day.

Here's what I said in a former post about the day, which works today too:

"In our house Valentine's Day is huge.  We decorate, we
talk about our favorite food, we eat more chocolate
than is at all wise, and in recent years I do a painting
for my own cards.  I love the idea of celebrating love.
That force for good is an incredible power, and I
can't thank my family and friends who love me enough
for the kindness, encouragement and wonder they've
brought into my life. And I thank them for giving me
the pleasure of loving them."

Thank you for your sweet support.  You all mean the
world to me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Have a loving your life day!

 

A snow day in Toronto

Snowy day in Toronto
iPad drawing
8 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2019

This was the most important topic in Toronto today -- the snow.  My car is in a snowbank,
and I tried to dig it out, unsuccessfully.  So I concentrated on the sidewalk and shared
driveway.  Our neighbours on the other side of our semi shovel our sidewalk, and we
shovel theirs.  

The snow, as difficult as it is (two cars cannot drive on our street at the same time at the
moment), is a nice distraction from world news.  And the children are very happy.
No school.

Have a loving your life day.