Shine your light in 2011

 Ready for joy

(work in progress -- and the name may change)

Acrylic on canvas 

drawing in charcoal

Barbara Muir © 2011

(Starting a painting for an upcoming show.  I'm

referencing the drawing I did about a week or so

ago -- shown below.  The feeling is exactly

what I want to portray, and seems right for

the hopeful start of a new year.  Here you

see the orange/rust ground, the charcoal drawing 

and the background coming in.)

  

The orginal drawing 

Ready for joy

Charcoal on bond paper

Barbara Muir © 2010

 

Stage two filling in the background.  I wanted to

create a sunny upbeat feeling.

Ready for joy

(work in progress)

Acrylic on canvas 

drawing in charcoal

Barbara Muir © 2011

  Stage three, the underpainting blue goes on

the hair and sweatshirt.

Ready for joy

(work in progress )

Acrylic on canvas 

drawing in charcoal

Barbara Muir © 2011

Happy New Year to all my blogger friends.  I've had
a wonderful Christmas and absolutely delightful New
Year's Eve party, and I'm filled with ideas.  One thing
strikes me about my conversations with artists in the past
few days -- and that is this -- we have so much difficulty
believing in ourselves.  So let's step away from that for a
moment and if we're going to resolve anything on this first
day of the new year, let's resolve to see ourselves as brilliant,
to be the people spreading the joy and light, to shine our
magnificent creative lights in our own lives and in
others lives.

1,000 blogs today
I've been listening to this James Taylor song off and
on for the past day or so (listen to it here).  And I love
what he says.
"Shower the people you know with love, show
them the way that you feel, things are going to
work out fine if you only will."

Maybe that's what the blog world can do at its finest,
shower the people you know with love.  I am at 1,000
blogs.  I was trying to think of a contest, or a give away,
or some special thing I could do to celebrate.  But it
seems to me that this is a celebration all on its own.
When I started I could never have imagined this
milestone.  So like the turning of the year, the getting
to 1,000 is a numbers game yes, and also a sign of
hope.  You keep me going with your wonderful art,
your kind thoughts, and your inspiring words.

I say here's to the next 1,000 blogs, and to three more
years with this great community of creative people.
(It took me about three years to write 1,000 blogs.)
Thank you to everyone for the riches you've showered
on me in so many ways, and Happy Happy New Year.

I'll post more stages of the painting tomorrow.

Have a noticing-how-good-you-are day.