Sunday, April 10, 2011

The strange sketch

 Evening nap
Art Group Sketch
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 20 inches
Barbara Muir © 2011
(I'll try a new photo of this in the
morning.  The red isn't right.)

At my art group I am lucky to be able to admire
my fellow artists as they paint so skillfully.  One
of the artists I love to watch is Frank Pasian, who
normally paints three, or four gorgeous, powerful and
quite abstract portraits in a three hour session.
His process is amazing to follow, and I am always
inspired seeing his bold brushwork and clear,
strong images.  The other night at my art group
Frank stopped painting.  Unheard of.  I started teasing
him about the Monty Python skit about painful
childhoods, where each person keeps trying to
outdo the other in misery.  My favorite word
in the skit is "Luxury".  So Frank could not
get inspired, and I said "Inspiration is Luxury."
Of course I was joking.  But I turned out this
strange alternate sketch to the one I posted the
other night, mostly so I could surprise Frank.

It does show how differently the same subject
can be portrayed in one session.

Have an enjoying-fun-with-your-fellow-artists day.

3 comments:

Nicki said...

This is an interesting exercise, Barbara. I often wonder how different a painting might be if I painted it on a different day or in a different mood or in different light- these things all affect our choices as we work. This is fun to see two interpretations from the same evening.

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

Kind of you to say so. I dashed off this painting sketch, and it was liberating because I am working so hard at some of my paintings now, and at my teaching work. So blam -- there it was.

I love your wonderful work.

XOBarbara

Linny D. Vine said...

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more....weird and wonderful!

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!