Looking forward

Looking out the window
black marker on bond paper
6 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010
(This is a little drawing I did of Steven
holding Christopher up to see the birds
at our kitchen window when Christopher was
a baby. I found the sketch in a little
notebook today as I was cleaning up my office.
I love the look on Steven's face, a serious
pride in his baby.)

Hi everyone.

Tomorrow is the first day of school, and I've spent the day
organizing my room in preparation for that shock.

I've been thinking about a lot of things I'd like to
say, but it seems critical to get to bed earlier than the
2 a.m. which has been my normal bed time for the
holidays.

One of the things I hope to write about in depth one
of these days is about all that you've taught me
during the past year. When I do, and I may start
now, I will write at random, as the names come into
my head, and that doesn't mean that I don't care about
you, if you're regularly in my world, as much as someone
else I mention. It just means that my brain is turning
things over and hasn't reached you yet. Please be
patient. Our unwanted friend the Florence cold, as
resurfaced this weekend with a vengeance, and although
my spirit remains cheerful, my brain is fogged.

Flora Doehler: Forgive me Flora for not putting you
on here yesterday when I began this post. You are
like the sun and the moon of my blogging world.
Without you I would never have considered blogging,
or had such a knowledgeable and kind guide. Flora
is one of my favorite artists in the world, and a very
great friend. We have shared so many art shows
together, we share a love of colour, and a love of the
Canadian province of Nova Scotia and the ocean.
I didn't forget you. I assumed that everyone already
knew all of this. Plus Flora writes, photographs for,
and takes movies for one of the best blogs out there.

Aaron Lifferth. Aaron was the first artist I really
noticed in the blog world. I absolutely loved his
style and light, and the way he took ordinary objects
and abstracted them. In 2009 Aaron decided that
he wanted to become a doctor. He applied to medical
school, and his wonderful almost daily blog came to a halt
to my great regret. Aaron could make a saltshaker look
significant. I wish him every success in his new studies
and hope he continues to paint and blog as time allows.

Belinda Del Pescoe: I may have found Belinda through
Aaron, or the other way around. But as a beginning
blogger, Belinda taught me (indirectly) to experiment.
She moved from prints, to watercolour, to drawings
with great facility, switched sizes, and above all seemed
to be having fun, while producing a lot of beautiful
art.

Laurel Daniel: I found Laurel through Aaron, and
have admired her gorgeous landscapes every since. She
seems to never miss a step in her work -- it is always
beautiful -- perfect light, perfect brushstrokes and
just the exact right amount of abstraction. Laurel
is a super blog friend.

Liza Hirst: When I first discovered Liza's blog I
was astounded at the volume of work she produced,
and the many blogs she created to feature her work.
Liza too showed her fellow bloggers that she could
do portraits, still life, interiors, landscapes -- whatever
struck her fancy -- all with the same vibrancy and
grace. I consider Liza a friend and a very important
influence on my life and art. She is a great, intelligent,
beautiful and funny person.

Edward B. Gordon: Through Liza I learned about
Edward. Observing Edward's determination
to produce a new piece of art seven days a week has
built my confidence, given me purpose, even made
me competitive sometimes, and greatly increased my
output. Plus I have learned things about light and
colour from observing his work that I did not know
at all before. I admire Edward's zest for life, his use
of flashes of bright colour, his understanding of
anatomy and the way he creates mood with light.

Theresa Rankin became a blog friend the summer
before last when I broke my ankle. Our styles are very
different, but I greatly admire Theresa's skill, her
joie de vivre, her professionalism and beautiful work.
She is also a superbly vivid writer, and could and should
write a book.

Eldon Warren and I became friends that same summer.
Not long after I started commenting on his blog, he
sent me a wonderful book about the Colorado Boys
Club, an organization that had encourage his painting
skill when he was a troubled child. Eldon is a fantastic
landscape painter in a classic somewhat impressionist style.
He is a warm, kind and thoughtful human being and
a cracker jack writer too.

David Lobenberg: I think I found David Lobenberg
through Theresa Rankin. David is great at portraits,
cityscapes and huge mural commissions. He paints
with gusto and writes with passion and humour, and
is a constant inspiration.

Susan Carlin: is primarily a portrait artist and known
for her classic portraiture style. She is incredibly generous
with her time, doing regular portrait painting demonstrations
on line. I learned an important trick from her. Well I've
learned so much, but I learned that in a line drawing, and
it works in painting too, if you're not sure of the line
of a cheek, or any line, you can put a small dot, or series
of faint dots along the curve and connect them. No one will
be the wiser and you'll have a great line.

Melinda Esparza: Melinda captures the feeling and tone of
the landscape around Tucson in a way that is completely
unique -- powerful, emotional, abstract, fantastic. Her
work is vividly alive like she is. But that's not all, she
can paint a portrait that would leave most painters in the
dust. Her skill is astounding. She is a warm and considerate
blogger, kind friend and a writer with a keen eye and heart.

Edgar Schrock: Edgar not only paints beautiful, and
thoughtful paintings of the Arizona landscape near
Tucson, he writes evocative and thoughtful blog
posts about issues in art. When I read his entries
I am both moved and challenged. Edgar gets me to
think.

That's it for tonight. I am moving in the direction from
early to later. So I am including the people I discovered
first and then going through my memory.

I'll continue my praise for you tomorrow. Thank you to
everyone who has ever commented on my blog. You have
made a huge impression on me, kept me thinking and
painting, and have given me the priceless experience
of being friends with people all over the world.

Have a thankful-for-your-life day.