Sunday, November 15, 2009

The long road to early



Early Mandarins in a glass bowl
acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009

Eight o'clock is an early hour for a class,
and tomorrow I must be there. I've been
marking papers for most of the day
conscious that they must go in tomorrow,
and I'm up so hellishly early. The odd
thing is that yanked out of bed by the alarm
before daylight, gulping down coffee and
breakfast and hurrying to get ready,
I quite enjoy the morning, and being
up before even this giant city gets
moving.

So I need to go to bed, and tonight's
painting of the first mandarin oranges
of the season may not be completely
finished. I'll give it a serious look
tomorrow before starting a new
commission. Our mandarins
look like small orange golf balls,
and so far don't taste much better.
But they're pretty. Edward B. Gordon
painted opulent Clementines with
glorious green leaves a few weeks
ago. These are their seriously less
lush sisters. I've got them in bowls
all over the house, because their colour
is rich and beautiful, even if they are
a bit dry, and not fully ready for eating.

Have an enjoying-the-fruits-of-life day.

6 comments:

Linny D. Vine said...

Your colors are glorious, Barbara!

Liza Hirst said...

Yes, they sure are! I don't think you have to change anything on this - it is a lovely, vibrant painting. I admire how you paint glass in such an abstract way!
Have a good day at school, my friend!

Gwen Bell said...

Love that glass! Agree with Liza...those vivid abstract shapes are mesmerizing.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Linny,

Thanks so much. So are yours. I keep seeing end of day, and early morning, pink and gold light hitting the tree tops and think, 'that's exactly the way Linny paints them!'

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Liza,

Maybe a bit more shadow, and some green because some of them are green in places. But maybe not. Thanks so much. I actually am just painting what I see. I want to be abstract, but feel constantly frustrating by my
adherence to reality! Funny.

I did have a great day at school -- thanks to your good wishes.

xoxoxoxoxoBarbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Gwen,

Thanks so much. I'm so glad you like my glass bowl. The thing is more than
100 years old, and I think if I paint it 100 times, I still won't tire of trying. It's not quite straight, and when I paint it, it always looks a bit off. But I like that distortion.

xoxoxoxoxoBarbara

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!