Monday, July 2, 2012

Poppies, Canada Day and Baby's Birthday


 Holiday Poppies
Acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012

I think that should be in the reverse order because the
main thing on our minds today is my older son's birthday.
And of course Christopher will always be our baby. A few
minutes ago Steven and I sat in the kitchen reading my journal
 from the year Christopher was born.  At the time I was working
 selling drawings in coloured pencil and black pen and ink, and
 translating articles from French to English. That is hard to believe
 now when I have to work hard at remembering my French.

Christopher Sleeping 
(journal drawing)
marker on paper
Barbara Muir © 2012

The painting today is of poppies, loosely based on the poppies
in our garden, one of my favorite flowers.
People gather at sunset to watch the fireworks.
We sat on the rocks at the beaches.  The man in
the foreground is holding a dog in a towel.
In the far distance you can barely see the CN Tower.

Yesterday was Canada Day, and Steven and I and Sam went
over to the Beaches to watch the fireworks out over the water.
We go to the water treatment plant at Victoria Park, and watch
the fireworks at Ashbridges Bay from there.  It's far less crowded
and much more human.  One of my favorite things about
the evening was listening to a little four year old girl, who was
lying in the sand proclaiming "oh my that is so colourful, that
is so beautiful! This is a great party!"  Her enthusiasm was
particularly impressive because we waited 3/4 of an hour for
the fireworks to start, and the mosquitoes at the water were
incredibly thick. 
The moon over Lake Ontario at the beaches, Toronto on
Canada Day.
The drawing today is of Christopher from my diary.  Now
I have to go and wrap his presents.  Happy Birthday Christopher.
You rock.

6 comments:

  1. A big, big hug to Christopher who I remember - if you'll pardon the cliché - as though it were yesterday - his childhood, his growing up years with super abundance of laughter and energy that would fill the room whenever he entered and the look of sheer joy on your faces. Such a beautiful drawing of him as a baby and love the poppies too!!!!

    Love,
    Marcia

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  2. Thanks Marcia,

    He is a very energetic and funny guy. Yep. We are lucky.

    You are sweet. Saw a great portrait of you the other day.

    Love,

    Barbara

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  3. I love this drawing of Christopher as a baby. Sounds like you had a fun Canada day.

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  4. Hi Sally,

    Thanks so much. It's fun to go a bit crazy with the flags and fireworks. And in my family any excuse for a party -- we're all over it. Plus I do really love this country.

    I think I'll be seeing you soon.

    XO Barbara

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  5. Oh, that picture of Christopher sleeping is a gem. Needs to be on a wall!

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  6. I totally agree with Kim, that drawing is superb - needs to be on a wall! Very much enjoyed reading your post, even more so as my youngest son arrived in Toronto exactly this Canada Day to spend a few months with his brother. Thank you, Barbara, for always writing so well!

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