Saturday, April 3, 2021

April -- the month of growth


All the stars that shine
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 48 inches
Barbara Muir © 2020

  2020 was a weird year for art. As the pandemic became more and more prevalent in our news and in our lives, opportunities to show our work in live  settings disappeared. 

But hey -- this painting, which I'd been trying to complete for six years -- got done, and I'm happy with it.  Plus I completed it for the Liminal show at the Heliconian Club in Yorkville, in Toronto, which was on for August and September, 2020. 

I first started the painting because I loved how a mother holding her baby in the star blanket looked at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She let me photograph her, and the baby, and her whole family came to the house to pose, but I didn't get a photo that was good enough to use.  So six years later, I got shots of a baby, and then of another mother, and finished it. And that gave me the feeling of both growth, and exuberance.  

The spring, which we’re enjoying now also fills me with delight and expectation.  Today it was cloudy, with the occasional bit of sun. We went to the lake and were feeding the seagulls when it started to rain. But on the path above the beach it was dry. Then on the way home it snowed for a minute. Bizarre but exhilarating!  Happy Easter if you celebrate.   

Have a feeling renewed exuberance day

2 comments:

Evelyn Oldroyd - painter said...

So beautiful and hopeful❣️ That is amazing to work on a painting fir so long. It inspires me to look at some old stuff I have abandoned 🙃. Than you for the inspiration❣️❣️❣️❣️

Barbara Muir said...

Thank you Evelyn. So often emotion is what holds me back. I so wanted to
paint the original mother and child, but couldn’t get the right reference shot.

Last year I just wanted to finish it.

XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

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!