I'm on holiday -- my thoughts from 10 years ago on this day

Detail Untitled Painting (Work in Progress)

Big reveal on Monday

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2013

Ten years ago in one of the saddest autumns of my life -- our
lovely dog died, and then my mother died -- I was working on
one of my favourite paintings. As I'm on holiday this week, I
thought I'd look at what I was doing 10 years ago. And I was happy
to find this post, which I'm delighted to share with you again.

"The father in this picture embodies what women would
like in a mate for a family.  He is clearly a warm and
loving Dad, and one of the reasons for his family's
exuberance.  He's a fun Dad too, and that will be
clear when I show you the whole painting on Monday.

I'm painting a lot right now for the deadlines that arrive
all fast and furious with the fall. One of the photographs
on our bulletin board of family photos struck me as I
walked by today.  Steven is cuddling our older
son Christopher when he was about four or five.
Both of them look so beautiful, and the affection
between them tugged at my heartstrings all over
again.

My job with a portrait is to make those moments
vivid, so the viewer can feel the energy that was
there at the time.  

To all my blog friends, I apologize for not commenting
this week.  I promise to catch up as soon as I can.

Have a loving-the-children-in-your-life day."