For Day 3 -- Three glorious companions!

A combination of images of my favourite three

animals in the world -- Timbah the cat, an iPad

drawing, Fiona the cat, acrylic portrait, on

cradled birch panel, Sally the dog,  acrylic 

portrait, on cradled birch panel
Barbara Muir © 2017

My animals were not impressed with being left out
of my Day 2 of the Month of Love post about family.
"Wha-a-a-a-at?" said my Siamese cat, Fiona.  "We are
your family too." And of course that's true. These
creatures make our lives joyful.  They love us, talk to
us, make us go for walks, and want to play.

I agree with Fiona that it's absolutely appropriate on
February 3, to confess that I adore our cats, Timbah
and Fiona, and our dog, Sally.   This post is dedicated to them.

Have a loving-your-pets day 

So many wonderful artists! -- more from the Florence Biennale

It's a week and half since I landed back in Toronto
after a very good flight across the wide Atlantic,
and my thoughts are still revolving around the
wonderful artists I met at the Florence Biennale.

As an artist for the most part working in intense
colour, I was surprised at how attracted I was to
the work of artists working in black and white and
grey scale at the Florence Biennale.

Square 1

Oil on canvas

Alegria, 2015

(We were just about to take the shot

for the Happy People project and

we got called away!  Alegria pointed out

that her name means happiness!)  

This work Square 1, a triptych, consisting of 16
panels each, by Ecuador's Alegria is one of the black
and white works I admired. It explores her thoughts
about the way women have to hide to be safe. Her
paintings were inspired by her daughter's 16th birthday.
Alegria isworried about what her daughter will face out
in the world as an adult woman.

 Rafael Cardona-Acevedo

Untitled sculptures 

Various materials

2015

(Rafael was another artist we hoped to photograph

as part of the Happy People Project on the final day,

 but he didn't have any free time.  Here he

is with a guest, I'm not sure who.)

I'm sorry I don't have a better photo of Puerto Rico's
Rafael Cardona-Acevedo's witty sculptures.  Rafael's
buoyant good mood, cheery smile, and positive
attitude were a treat for all the artists exhibiting near
his work.  His wooden crests with hands playing
with Yoyos, is a wonderful work, and and his bike
as an elephant, is also brilliant.

Kaya Deckelbaum with En'light

Hand manipulated, coloured wire mesh

2015

(Kaya would also have been part of

the Happy People Project, but 

there was no time to photograph

her on the final day because there

were so many visitors.)

New York's Kaya Deckelbaum creates dramatic and
evocative sculptures of faces using wire mesh, which
she tints, and then lights so that the faces also create
shadow shapes on the wall behind them.  We did
not get to do the happy people exercise with her,
but she is very happy.  And she did win an award for
her work, En'light. Her sons and her husband helped
her out at the Biennale, and her family is understandably
proud of her work. Kaya won a prize in sculpture.

Alvaro Gómez with Querencias (close up)

Mixed media on canvas

2015

Alvaro Gómez hands in the air happy

Alvaro Gómez from Venezula displayed two large
panels, featuring beautiful, classical drawings in
coloured pencil on black canvas.  His images play
off some of the iconic paintings of the Renaissance
in an homage to Florence, the heart of that
art movement.  Those paintings and sculptures
continue to move viewers to voyage, as Alvaro did,
across the planet, just to see them.  Alvaro did the
Happy People move, and he also won a prize
in mixed media!

 Stefano Favaretto debates the Happy People idea 

in front of his beautiful photos on marble. 

Stefano goes for happy. 

Stefano Favaretto comes from northern Italy,
and I was surprised to learn that he worked
in Canada, I believe in Calgary as a family
therapist.  His lush photographs, printed on
marble, were a hit with everyone visiting
the Biennale.  His technique involves duplicating
the photo, like a Rorschach image, that reveals
a face, or character in the process.  He has
exhibited in Milan, Shanghai and New York City.
When the Biennale was over he was shipping
photos on slate to a show in Singapore.

Miranda Brouwers and I are hoping to continue
the Happy People project and expand its borders.
If you feel like belonging to this cheerful group,
email me a photo of you with your hands in the air,
and a big smile either at an art show displaying your
work, or in your studio. 

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!

Snow again

Once again it's snowing. It's become a wry joke here --"Oh--what do you know -- it's snowing!" Exhausted chuckle all round, and then back to the shovels, or snowblowers.

Here's a picture I took the other day, of an abandoned bike. Ironically the high icy snowbank imprisoning the bike is in front of a luxurious wall of Ivy.
It reminds me of one winter semester when I was going to the University of Guelph that I decided to live in the country. I rented a farm with five guys just outside of town. The plan was pitched, I remember as a romantic, Utopian idyll -- back to nature. The guys resembled the men in the movie Knocked Up, only not quite as funny -- a collection of lonely, nerdy guys. Entertainment -- none.
The bedroom I slept in had a thick layer of living cluster flies sandwiched between the ceiling drywall and the rafters. The only heat came from a kerosene heater in the living room, which smelled and smoked. The snow plough failed to arrive on time to clear the long, picturesque lane every other day when we were all trying to get to class, and I was the only cook -- and not a good one. After about a month of freezing to the hum of an orchestra of one million flies, I fled the farm, with a clear resolve never to return.

Say what you want about the city. I do. Complain about city drivers. I do. But I would much rather spend the winter in this town, than down any country lane.

Have a cozy day wherever you are.