A toast to 4,000 blogs. A big number -- 4001 today

 

Me in the Porcelain Museum in

Florence, Italy pointing

to some cream jugs that were my 

favourite in 2009 when I showed

my work for the first time in the

Florence Biennale

Photo

Steven van Schaik © 2009

Yesterday I was busy with family, so I almost forgot that it was the day of my 4,000th
blog. I know that my blogs are sometimes just a run down of the day's activities --
kind of like a grocery list.  But in my artistic life they've had a major impact.
And I am so grateful for that.

What's happened since I started blogging?  Okay -- well I got to
be on the Oprah Winfrey show drawing Oprah live via Skype.  That
was big news. I was in the Florence Biennale twice -- in 2009, and 2015 -- an
amazing experience.  I met so many wonderful people there. 

I've shown in the Carousel du Louvre show 3 times, in the Louvre Museum in
Paris France.  I've exhibited in New York City 10 times.  I've met people, and
am friends with people all over the world through both my blog, and 
participating in international art exhibitions. 

So there's a start.  It's been a great time.  And even though blogging is not
as popular as it once was, I will keep on blogging.  So many wonderful
things happen because I do.

Thank you to everyone I've met on my blog journey, and to my husband,
Steven van Schaik for going with me to these exciting events and for
toasting me with champagne tonight.  4,000! (oops 4001).

Have a loving your life day!

4,000 Blogs! And a day filled with love in The Month of Love

True love means 

springtime in any weather

Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

© Barbara Muir 

I almost forgot to check!  Hey I've published 4,000 blogs! A wonderful
day today making art, and dancing with our young family members.

The best.  I'm super tired right now, so here's what I said in a former post 

slightly revised about this month.

"Steven, my husband and I are big fans of February, the Month
of Love. One way to take the chill off this, at the moment, very cold 
month (-3 Celsius/ 26 Fahrenheit) is to recognize, and be thankful
for all of the love in our lives from our family and friends. 
And I think we are very lucky.

This Valentine painting shows a little bird, and that makes it
right as a Valentine for Steven because he loves birds so much.
At the moment our Christmas tree is wired to the fence and full
of bird seed, and the birds love it.  We do have to clap when we
let the dog out so she won't catch any non suspecting bird. But
she's 12 and losing her eyesight, so they are pretty safe."

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Have a loving your life day!

Happy Month of Love

A Lovebird acting as a banner.

The original (on the left) is 

Acrylic on canvas

8 x 8 inches

January had its hard moments with a family member going through

treatments, but also so much fun with openings and birthdays.
World news being quite awful I am so happy to be in the Month of Love.
I do love the first day of the Month of Love. And this has been a 
fabulous day -- an opening at the Heliconian Club of the Drawing from Life
show on for the month of February. I had so many great conversations
there.  So much fun.  An amazing life drawing show.

A few years ago, I decided that I would start thinking about
February as the Month of Love, not just the month for Valentine's
Day, but for a whole month of hearts, which I love, flowers and
happy thoughts when possible.  That can be a challenge. 

I ordered cards from my wonderful printer who has gone to Hong Kong
for a month to visit his brother, and I sold some of the cards at
the opening today. 

Meanwhile spread love wherever, and whenever you can. People
need love and affection. Your posts and work make me happy, and
help make me love my life, even when the news is grim. Thank you.

Have a loving your life day.

 

In a world that gets stranger by the minute -- I thank you for my happiness!

 

End of day at the prettiest house
This was the early stage of the work

Acrylic on birch panel

5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014
(This house -- like a white clapboard farm house,

was the prettiest house in the 
neighbourhood.  Unfortunately it

was sold to buyers who knocked it

down and built a big box of a house.
Sad. Still I'm happy I painted it

while it was around, and that the work sold!)

 10 Reasons To Be Happy 

"I've used the exercise 10 Reasons to be Happy which
I made up, but it may not be original, to great effect
when teaching.  At the start of a class I'd pick 10 people to
go the front and start a sentence with, "I'm happy
because", and then say why.  I explain that the
reason could be very small -- as in, "I'm happy
because there was enough salt for my eggs this
morning."  Invariably the people who came to the front
of the class, said their reasons, and let the class
clap for them -- got happier. It sounds like psychobabble magic,
but in fact it's the same principle as blogging and
showing work for artists, and as writing in a journal
and then reading it aloud to friends or people
in a writing group.  It gives people a voice.

Voice in art and in the world matters.  Getting a
chance to think about what makes you happy,
shifts your focus to the positive, and as I've told
you before, the former happiness teacher at Harvard
University, Shawn Achor, says that when we are
happy we think not only more creatively, but
better.  Here's today's list:

1. My wonderful husband.

2. Our family -- Christopher, Megan, Sam, Emily, 

Alice, Madeleine and James.

2. Our animals -- Sally, Fiona and Monet
3. My friends both here in Toronto, and around the world
through the art world.

4. My life as an artist
5. Our walks at Lake Ontario

6. Our neighbourhood
7. Our city -- I love Toronto.

8. My good health.

9. The art groups I belong to -- The Heliconian, and The Don Valley Art Club.

10.You! Thank you for everything!!!
Have a thinking-of-ten-reasons-to-be-happy day!

The best thing about International shows -- wonderful friendships!

 

Journal Sketch
of my friend Miranda Brouwers
marker on journal paper
6 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2024

I spent the day painting today.  Last night I watched a podcast (with visuals)

by Nicholas Wilton, and it was just perfect for me as I paint for my solo
show here in Toronto in April. I had delightful conversations with fellow
artists today, and worked on two different paintings while I did.

This post from last year seems perfect for tonight.

"If you ever get the chance to show in International shows,
I hope you do it.  Of course there is so much to learn -- how
to navigate, what to send, how to manage shipping, where
to stay.  And the most wonderful part of the whole experience
is the friendships you make that last.

This is a really rough, quick sketch of one of those friends
for me -- Miranda Brouwers -- an amazing artist, and 
fabulous friend.  We met in Florence Italy at the 2015 
Florence Biennale, and formed what we called The Happy
People group, to cheer other artists on through the 10 days
of exhibiting.

We showed together again at the Louvre in 2016. And have
kept in constant touch ever since. Miranda is currently
devoting her work to beautiful cards, T-shirts, invitations,
and art that helps people celebrate the important moments
in their lives. I will do a more refined drawing another time.
Meanwhile have fun Miranda."

That says it all.  And every time we talk on the phone (once
a week most of the time -- the call starts with both of us laughing.
Such a treat!

Have a loving your life day.

Valentine cards

 

My Love bird Valentine's cards.
(I'll try and get a better photo tomorrow
I'll be selling them for $20 Canadian for 4.
All four will be in every pack with envelopes)
The inside message in all 4 cards is -- (drum roll) --
Happy Valentine's Day

Left to right:
Robin's Message of Love,  The Lovebird, 

True love means springtime in any weather, and 
Happy Valentine's Day from the Bluebird
© Barbara Muir

Life is fairly hectic.  But there were some nice notes today.  I have
the dates for my openings/receptions in April.  (The snow today would
fool you into thinking that's far off.)  Not true.  I will share those soon.

So I was painting, thinking, planning -- then I picked up these sweet
Valentine's cards from my printer, and felt both happy (because
I'm going to sell them in packs of 4, and happy because they are
so sweet.

Have a loving your life day!

Working on being happy -- a full time job!

Fruit singing in a footed bowl 

Acrylic on birch panel

12 x 12 inches

Barbara Muir © 

This painting seems appropriate for tonight's blog.  I am as busy as it seems I

always am at this time of year, so here's some thoughts on happiness from a
while back.  Incidentally one of my phone calls today was with a 
magnificent artist who is struggling with COVID.  She says that she and her
husband relaxed about wearing masks going out in public and bam.  So it's

not gone.  

The Happiness Trick

Is there a trick to happiness?  Yes.  People have written books
about how.  But there is a secret to being happy.  We have to
allow it.  I heard about this phenomenon called the "Nocebo
response".  In medicine it is related to telling a patient that
they will not get better. This message apparently has such
profound effects on the person's mind that she shuts the door
on hope, and may get rapidly worse.

My great happiness magic for today is to talk yourself out of
it.  Of the depression you could get because in this city the sky 

has been grey except for one hour for what seems like most of a month.
(Actually today (January 28, 2025) it was quite sunny for a while in
Toronto, and then a lot of snow.) And in painting of the fear that you
can't do it.

Try this.  Instead of freaking out about what you can't do,
start with "This is easy!"  Just repeat that a few times, and
watch your shoulders quit tightening into a vice grip.
(In the case of COVID, if you have all of your vaccines, and
wear a mask in public you may avoid it.)  And as for painting 

or drawing -- we need to take a look at how tough things are in
the world, and let ourselves know how lucky we are to be compelled
to make something, and to have the freedom to create."

Today I managed to get two coats of gesso onto a good size canvas.

And I sorted through my images and found some things
I would love to paint.  Here's to happiness!

Have a loving your life day. 

Drawing from Life 2025

 

Modelling in Paris

Acrylic on canvas

16 x 20 inches

Barbara Muir © 2024

This is one of the paintings I'm showing in the Drawing from Life exhibition on at the
Heliconian Club this month.  The opening is Saturday, February 1, from 2 - 5 p.m.
I painted the initial painting at my Tuesday night art club meeting for the Don Valley Art Club.
On art group nights I have exactly an hour from the time my husband,

Steven drops me off, until he picks me up.  So with set up, and the group's 10 minute 
break, and clean up, I have about 30 -- 35 minutes to get a portrait. The other painters

are so stimulating, that it sometimes works out. Then when I go home, if I'm pleased 

with the painting, I keep on working on it as I did with this painting.

But when I went to make the image stronger for the show the subject looked so
lonely. I had photos of a beautiful garden we discovered in Paris, and I

decided to change her location and let her be in Paris.

Have a loving your life day.

Memories of last year with a loved one in hospital

Dynamic duo

Pencil sketch on letter paper

8.5 x 11inches

Aaron Chan © 2021

Last year at this time a beloved family member was in hospital.
So many hours were spent trying to keep spirits up, and 
be supportive.  One day I met this amazing artist.  What a 
treat -- Aron Chan. Here's how I described things last year:

"During our long days at the hospital with our family member,
we were so lucky to meet some amazing people who worked in
the ward we were visiting.  One person, Aaron Chan stands out 
because in a brief conversation we learned that we were both 
artists, and he showed me his super drawings of his health care
colleagues. He asks permission to take quick photos of friends
at work for reference.

He says, "There's no way I would be able to get my coworkers
to stay still, with their heavy workload."

Have a loving your life day. 

Movie night and life lessons

Breakfast in the hotel

Petit-déjeuner à l'hôtel

Acrylic on canvas

4 canvasses

36 x 48 inches

6 feet x 8 feet total

Barbara Muir © 
(I was thankful to see
that the napkins were on
the left. This is a big

painting. Lol. I've shown
it to you before, and it 
inspires me today. And yes
this polyptych (four canvasses) is
available if you need a cheerful work
for a big wall.)

We enjoyed an early very happy birthday party for a family member today— so fun.
This is movie night for me and Steven. I hope we can find a good, funny movie
-- so necessary as a break in the current world.

My blog from last year on this date had some great pieces of advice. I think they
still hold true this year so I may share them.

Artistically, I’m getting three pieces ready to be delivered for a show on Monday
morning. I’ll let you know the details of the openings for that on Monday.

"Some advice and lessons I've learned

#1 I was setting the table the other night, and thought about my very
well mannered friend teaching me that the napkin goes on the left
side.  I'm sure my parents, who were very proper, knew that, but
now I am fastidious about it.

#2  These suggestions are not in any important order. Tidy the kitchen
before you go to bed, so that there isn't a mess in the morning. The day will
be more positive. 

#3  Wash your paint brushes after you use them. An artist friend who does
beautiful work said that she takes care of her equipment, because 
it's expensive to buy new brushes all the time. I hear her voice
every time I almost forget to wash my brushes.

#4  My grandmother-in-law taught Steven and I to make up from
an argument before bed, and always to kiss one another goodnight.
Good advice Oma, and we try to follow it. 

#5  One of the best bosses I ever had taught me, and the teachers on
his team, and all of our classes to love ourselves.  He said you can't
truly love another until you love yourself.  That was and is pretty radical
teaching for college classes, but boy did it ever work. 

Compared to the statistics for North American college students,
(50% of college students take 6 years to complete a 2 year diploma) between
75 and 93% of our students went on to get university degrees after
finishing college in 2 years.

#6  My mother taught me to try to enjoy each day as it comes. And
thank you Mommy -- I do.

#7  A friend in Tucson, Arizona, said to learn from the dogs.
Forward, forward. Dogs rarely look back -- they are always 
excited about what's ahead. Smart animals. (Easier to follow
this one on a walk, than in life when we don't always have
control of where things are going.)

Maybe that's enough for one day.  It is a special day in our
family tomorrow -- a sweet person's birthday.  And I feel lucky to be 
alive and happy."

Have a loving your life day.

Delightful coffee with a good friend

 

Around the table

Charcoal on paper
Jennifer Hinrichs ©

I had coffee today with a good friend who is an amazing artist.  If you don't know the
work of Jennifer Hinrichs, check it out.  We talked about art, our families and life,

and had so much fun.

I had my first show ever with Jennifer in her house.  We were such innocents that we

thought we'd be flooded with visitors and sales, with hardly any promotion. So we
learned a lot, and we kept exhibiting, and kept learning of course.  Jennifer has worked
as a magazine designer, illustrator, painter, and art instructor.  She is awesome.

Bonus I saw two more friends in the supermarket where I buy my groceries.

I hope you had a great day. Happy Weekend!

Have a loving your life day.

How I make the day go well

 

Journal Sketch

marker on journal paper

6 x 8 inches

Barbara Muir © 2025

For the next few months it looks like my main activity will be painting.
I'm getting work ready for a show that's due Monday, January 27, and
then beginning new work for a solo show in April.  So I do need
to go back to practices that help me.  I've learned them from all kinds

of people here, in my own life, on Instagram and YouTube, and in

classes I taught (that's right teachers learn from their students too.)

1.  Making a list of six things I want to accomplish in the day
really helps me to get them done.

2. If I write 2 - 3 pages in a journal, and do a sketch in my journal
I feel like the day has begun well.

3. Drinking a lot of coffee. Minimum 3, maximum 5.

4. Taking time to read.

5. Looking at what other people are doing creatively on Instagram, 

and YouTube.

6. Going into the studio, turning on music I like, and painting.

All of that happened today, so it was a great day.  And to cap it off
we went to Robbie Burns night at the Caledonian with friends, had

a great meal, listened to the bagpipes, watched highland dancers,

and had so much fun. 

Have a loving your life day.

Happy Monthaversary to my wonderful husband

 

Irises celebrate

Photo

Barbara Muir © 

Somehow I wrote my blog, and it disappeared.  Okay!
Here's what I wrote last year on this day:

"This is a special day for us, because this is the date that we celebrate
every month -- the day of our first date. 

A friend asked me what we did on our first date.
The answer is we went out to dinner at a restaurant on Yonge
Street south of St. Clair that's no longer there. It featured a D.J.
and dancing.  

A friend of mine worked as a server there, and she brought us Singapore
 Slings -- which I don't think we ever had again.  

Steven walked me home. And we have been "dating" ever since. 
We married 11 months after our first date, and the wedding
Monthaversary is in two days on the 24th.

The photo today is of beautiful irises on the kitchen table."
And yes there are irises on the kitchen table today.
Have a loving your life day. 

This feels right for today

 

The happiest view 

Acrylic on canvas

36 x 60 inches

Barbara Muir © 2017

Tonight I had my first session this year with my art group, and I got an okay portrait
painted in the 40 minutes I had to paint.  (As I've said before -- my husband drops

me off, and picks me up exactly an hour later.) The model was fabulous, and it

was so nice to see everyone again. 

I was looking for a painting with happiest in the title and this came up.
It hangs above the couch in our TV room, and each time I see it, I know

it needs more work.  So that will probably happen before I put it in my
solo show in April. I love the painting. The clouds are just right -- my 
focus when I painted it. I love the clouds in Nova Scotia.

I decided to take some deep breaths today if anything about the world was
driving me crazy, and to notice what is beautiful.  It was a bright,
sunny, very cold winter day here in Toronto, Canada.  So we felt lucky.
I saw friends in the morning, painted during the day, and got to see my 
art group.  All in all a pretty perfect day.

Have a loving your life day.

The message of the Mandevilla

The Mandevilla has a message 

Photo

Barbara Muir © 2025

I am bona fide not a gardener. But I've had incredible success with some plants
that I have no business having success with.  The Mandevilla plants that we brought
in when the temperatures plummeted, now in our front and back bedrooms, are 
thriving.  This one is climbing to the ceiling and wants to invade the room.  The curtain
is held back to give it light, and the light beside it is on full time in the daytime.

In the summer the plants are covered with beautiful, white blooms.  Last winter the one
in the front bedroom was in my studio and bloomed all winter.  It helped me through
a very hard time when a family member was in hospital.  This year it's just growing
for now, and so is the beauty in the photo.

Today was supposed to be the saddest day of the year.  It was also Martin Luther King
Day.  Although I could have been sad, as I sat writing my journal beside this plant,
it had a message -- "Keep Growing."  So I will.  And I worked on a difficult painting
today, and made it much better -- as it grew.

I hope you had a good day. What?  Yes that's all. Keep growing.

Have a loving your life day.

All you need is love

Morning  in Korea

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © 

(I love this Skype painting
based on a very rough Skype

photo from when my son and his
wife (then girlfriend) were 

teaching English in Korea fora year. 

 Even the though the connections were

sometimes sketchy -- Skype let us keep
in touch, and the Skype sessions 
seeing each other meant so
much to us.)

The image tonight seems right because my son and his wife spent a
year teaching English in Korea, and loved their life there.  And
the painting shows how much they love each other.

It is a supremely frightening time in the world, and for some reason,

a line from a Beatles song I heard while waiting in line at the grocery
store keeps coming into my head over and over.

The line is "love is all you need." The world really needs us to work on
being more loving. That sounds corny as all get out, but it’s true.
We need to quit warring, and competing, and trying to be the best, and
start caring more for other people, other cultures, other countries, and
for the whole planet.

A tall order, I know. Unrealistic probably. Essential yes.

I feel lucky to have been able to teach people how to be kinder to 
themselves, and more cooperative with others at the college level.

And to have learned so much from my students about their worlds --

what they loved, the different parts of the world they'd seen.
The benefits for all involved were dramatic. The lesson learned --
caring about others helps your life.  

Thank you to everyone who has cared about and loved me, helped me,

bought my art, and taught me so much.

Have a loving your life day.

Happiness in art

 In the park
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 36 inches
Babara Muir © 2012
SOLD ♥

I'm sorry that I don't have a clearer picture of this family portrait that I love.
It was a Christmas present for the father, and delivered on Christmas eve

that year. The children were amazing, and I was inspired by the mother's

love for her children and her husband.  Her husband was very moved

by the painting.

That is one of the great pleasures of being an artist -- understanding the
collector's wishes and making them happy.  I'm thinking about happiness tonight.
Last year at this time was a very hard time in our family.  And despite
worries and fears about what's happening in the world, it's important

to value and enjoy the times when all is well in your life.  It is, and
thank you so much everyone who makes my life so good.

Have a loving your life day.

Keeping on working and having fun

 

Napping with the cat

Watercolour and marker 

on watercolour paper

9 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 

I love this image, which as the weekend approaches is exactly right for this 
evening.  A nap?  Ideal.  

It's been a sweet day -- a nice long walk with a friend, kind people everywhere 
I went today. And then a friend called about Robbie Burns night, and we're

so looking forward to celebrating that.  Which is funny because my heritage
is half Italian/French, and half Scottish, and overall the French and Italian
seem to win out.  But hey -- once a year -- a bit of fun with friends. 

Got to go back to painting.  

Have a loving your life day.

Super tired -- time to dream

Doing the happy people pose at

the Orangerie Museum in Paris.  This is

the museum specially made

to house Monet's waterlilies, and it

is beautiful.  I am a devoted fan of

Monet's.  I have seen his work in

Stuttgart, Germany -- where I fell

deeply in love with his poplars,

in New York City, where I rush to

see the Monet water lilies (also

magnificent before the museum closes, when

I arrive), in Ottawa, Canada -- 

his bridges, and in Paris -- Oh Monet!

For no obvious reason I was tired today. I painted on several paintings, and
had fun working on them, and everything is good, but I am beat, and can't

write a lot tonight.  

However, when it's dream time -- there's one place I'd always want to go --
Paris. Yes.  To my friends there thank you, to my friends here who 
understand my love of that city -- thank you.  To everyone who supports

me here, thank you, and have a good sleep, enjoying your dream travels.

Have a loving your life day. 

What I thought I'd write about and then -- I saw this

 

Studio lemons in a glass bowl 
Acrylic on cradled birch panel
12 x 12 inches
Barbara Muir © 2017
SOLD ♥ 

I've been painting on and off all day -- at the moment a slow process, and I was going
to write about a sketch in my studio.  But then scrolling through my blog, I saw
this painting, and it made me so happy.  That bowl of lemons sits on our kitchen
table, undisturbed unless someone has a bad cold.

And it is beautiful. One of my goals as an artist is to share the beauty I see, and
certainly the beauty I see on a daily basis. I like everything about this work,
so I hope it gives you a lift. 

Now -- back to work.

Have a loving your life day.

A great exchange

Airplane Shadow

Oil on panel
10 x 10 inches
Barbara Muir © 2024

I don't usually do exchanges with artists, partially because my house is full of paintings,
and also because I want to sell my work.  But when Vivian East, a phenomenal artist,
offered to exchange any painting I wanted in the Off The Wall show with my Bunny in the
Poppies painting, I jumped at the chance (not literally) to get this magnificent work which
reminded me of flying over the fields in France heading to Paris.

Bunny in the Poppies
Acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © Revised 2024

So we did it.  We exchanged these two very different paintings, and I am so happy we did.  Apparently Bunny is very happy, and so is Airplane.

Have a loving your life day.

We could all do with some flowers

Tulips for Tucson

Acrylic on watercolour paper

10.6 x 13.8 inches

Barbara Muir © 2015

Scrolling through my blog I found this painting I like, that I posted last year on

this day.  January 2024 was a rough one for us because a family member
had surgery, and a week later nearly died of a staph infection.  January 2025 is
proving very hard for people in Gaza, Ukraine, all of the conflict zones, and people
dealing with the fires in L.A.

Our hearts go out to everyone dealing with incredible devastation. 

We are extremely lucky to be well this January, and grateful.

Have a helping where you can day. 

Seeing the work of an Instagram friend, Monica Ikegwu, and an exciting exhibition

My photo is far from perfect, but

these are Monica Ikegwu's two
spectacular paintings in the Culture
exhibition currently on at the AGO in Toronto.

When Monica Ikegwu announced on Instagram that she was going to have 
paintings on exhibit in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, I was so excited

that I'd get to see her work in person.  I told her that I couldn't wait to
see her paintings, because I am a total fan of everything she creates.

We visited the gallery yesterday, and saw these beautiful pieces.  Everyone 

looking at them was in awe.  People were posing in front of the art, so thrilled
with seeing her work.

I got home and DMd Monica about the wonderful response to her work.
The entire Culture exhibition was excellent.  As I said yesterday, I met
some wonderful people and had great conversations at the gallery.

I can't wait to get back and see Monica's work again while the show is on.

Close up of Closed

by Monica Ikegwu.

It is oil on canvas

2021

I came home and looked up videos of Monica talking about her work, and loved 
watching them.  I hope you make a point of going and seeing the Culture exhibition,

and as Monica's work is at the entrance, you can't miss it.

Have a loving your life day.

Galleries are inspirational

This was the painting I used for the 

Happy Art Award.

Back when I created this award people were 

giving each other awards on blogs,

so I created my own. I now follow 953
people on Instagram, mostly artists,
so it would be quite a task to name each of
them and describe their work.  Let's make
it more general, and just as important.
All of you get the Happy Art Award because
you make me happy, and here's the link to
the original blog about it.

Breakfast at the Skylight Diner, NYC

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

SOLD ♥ 

I'm thinking about L.A. and worrying about my relatives there.  The fires
are horrific.  It's been a tough week. So Steven and I headed down to
the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the Culture show.  More about that
tomorrow, but it's movie night tonight, so I can't write much more.

We had a fantastic time at the gallery -- met amazing people, saw

magnificent art. 

Have a loving your life and helping others day.

Portraits matter

 

Before the Dance in the White Dress                    After the Dance in the White Dress
Both Acrylic on canvas
Both 24 x 24 inches
Both Barbara Muir © 2008

My upcoming solo show at the Heliconian Club in April is called The Art of Celebration.
My life as a painter has been all about celebrating the things I love in my life.
These two paintings celebrate my beautiful niece Chloé who posed for me for these
portraits about getting ready to go to a dance, and falling asleep after the party.

I love the paintings, the light and expression.

Sadly my niece is no longer with us.  She suffered a severe depression over
mistaken thoughts that her boyfriend was cheating, in October 2017, and ended
 it all.  He wasn't and was broken hearted.

Have a doing what matters day.

A Pivotal Day

My friend Peter
Work in Progress
Portrait sketch
14 x 16 inches
acrylic on canvas
Barbara Muir © 2010 -- 2025

(I love this portrait of Peter Adam
done in my art group, and
would like to do some work on
it for an upcoming show.  Thank
you to the artist Mitchell Johnson
for teaching me that that was
possible.)

I feel strange talking about the joys of my life,
with fires burning in L.A. and wars going on across the
ocean. But in some ways this was a critical day in my
art life in 2025.  

My studio is the only place in the house big enough for
a Christmas tree.  And so the tree came in. Beautiful, and
I don't want to lose it, but as a symbolic gesture of work
starting again (although I've already worked on sitting
two openings this year) the garland came off the fireplace,
and my table started to fill up with my paints.

The easel went up.  I started painting something for an
upcoming show.  I got reference images from my
favourite printer, and welcomed him back from his 
vacation. 

It is all happening. Welcome 2025.  

Have a helping when you can, and enjoying
your life day.

Still available

 

Pansies are perfection

Acrylic on birch panel

5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © Revised 2024

It was the last formal opening of the Heliconian Club Off The Wall show.  I sat the
opening with several other artists, and had so much fun.

This painting and several others are still available, and extremely reasonably 

priced, as the idea of the show was to give nice low prices so people could buy
the work for holiday gifts.  And what about buying your favourite person something
nice for Valentine's Day.  I mean prepared is good eh?

If you'd like to see the show, contact me at barbara.muir@sympatico.ca, and
I'll find out from the staff when we could have a viewing.  

Have a loving your life day.