Toronto portrait artist Barbara Muir is accustomed to having her subjects come to her home studio.

But recently, she has been using Skype Video to speak with and sketch her friends and family in their homes. She said she finds this intimate since she's talking to people where their computers are: home offices, kitchens, bedrooms.

She explains her approach in this video:

She also enjoys the different camera angles and lighting conditions that Skype Video presents to her artist's eye.

Sometimes, she even captures images from Skype or uses the sketches to do paintings, such as this one of her son Christopher, who is an English teacher in South Korea:

Here are some more samples of Muir's work.

Sam on Skype:

Lyn:

Christopher:

Barbara: