I hope you know I love you!

Catherine Scott

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 36 inches

Barbara Muir © 2009

Dear friends,
Spending time with your family and people
you love, matters every bit as much as
spending time drawing and painting.  Yes
there are lonely souls who work at art,
and art that is anything but happy.  But
to my mind, our lives with people who
love us, or cats and dogs, or people we
work with, are what give us the juice to
create.  And that matters.

Apparently purpose according to every
sage happiness writer I've read, is what gives our
life on this planet meaning.  My purpose here is
partly to be a loving wife, and mother,
and friend, and artist and teacher, and
person in the supermarket, and wherever
I go.

Two posts I've seen and read today moved me --
one to tears, and one to near tears.
Read this blog post by the renowned writer,
Rona Maynard.  And watch this video by
Lilou Mace, who graciously let me paint
her for my November show.

It has been a rough week in the world.
I grew up in a generation that believed
love is the answer, but I really didn't
understand what that idea meant until
I had my own family, and understood
that loving takes work, a continuous
back and forth of great times, poor times,
with rewards of joy and laughter in store
that are unimaginable until we experience
them.

So I did not paint today because I wanted
to spend time with family and friends,
 but I will post one of my favorite paintings
of all time. This was painted as a gift to a woman
dying of cancer from her dear friends
who knew she wanted a vivid record of
herself left behind.

Portrait painters get commissions to record
every stage in life.  I felt both honoured and
overwhelmed with this assignment, but
Catherine, the subject loved it so much,
and felt her friends' profound love when it was
unveiled on her birthday. That day I really
understood my purpose on the planet.

Have a knowing-I-love-you day!