Frenchman's Creek

Frenchman's Creek

Oil on canvas, 12x36

sold

This is another of the paintings I made while I was up in Gloucester, MA, last month.

It was morning, a beautiful morning, and I was planning on going somewhere with another painter, but needed to get gas first. There aren't many gas stations out there, and I'd gotten more than a little lost. I pulled into a boat-launch area, shady and cool, tucked away at the start of Frenchman's Creek, as I was informed by a sign.

It was a great place to paint, off the road yet solitary, and about as gorgeous as it gets. The tide came in while I painted, changing everything - another wrinkle in the plein-air pantheon.

I love this painting, the length of it, the breadth of it, the sunshine. It's everything that day was.

Don't forget to check out the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival! It's Saturday and Sunday, in downtown Mystic, CT. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, across from the post office... and I'll have this painting, and other new ones, with me.

Thank you, as always, for reading!

jacobson arts's world headquarters is well hidden in gales ferry, CT

Moonflowers

Moonflowers
Oil on canvas, 12x16
Please contact me for price and shipping information

This week, I had the opportunity to attend a painting class at Dragonfly Studio in Pawcatuck. The teacher is a woman named Nicole Naylor, and I have to say, she is fabulous.

I'd been wanting to do a sunflower painting in a different range of colors - really sort of play with the colors, and the feelings evoked - and though I could see the painting in my mind, I didn't have the nerve to do it.

I can't explain this, really. I have enough canvas and paint that if I waste some, it's not a big deal. There's no one at my shoulder, when I'm up there in the studio, telling me I should do this or should do that, or passing judgment. Heck, if I made the painting and hated it, I could just wipe it off.

And yet, I couldn't begin.

In the class, I did begin. And Nicole helped me, questioning, suggesting, pushing. It was great. She was great.

And it was wonderful to paint with the other women in the class, too, all of whom made paintings that vibrated with life.

Don't forget! Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine, starting at 10 a.m. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, across the street from the post office.

Want to read about how you get into an art show like Mystic? Click here.

jacobson arts is well hidden in gales ferry, CT

Passing Fancy

Passing Fancy

Oil on canvas, 12x48

Please contact me for price and delivery options

One of these very hot days, after the sunflower extravaganza was officially finished, I went back, and sure enough, the fields were still full (and might be, even today... I hope to get out there!)

Cows had been allowed in to one of the fields, and they'd done a number on the flowers. The weather was doing its work, too, August's tropical heat withering the leaves and forcing the flowers' heavy heads to droop, their crown of petals to curl.

But even then, they were lovely, and so I painted, hot and happy and pleased to be alive.

The Mystic Outdoor Art Festival is this weekend! If you haven't been, and you're in the area, it is really worth the trip. Yes, it's a madhouse. Yes, it's crowded. Yes, it's hard to park, and it's always hot - but there is wonderful art, and fine people, and chances are that you will see friends, maybe even friends you haven't seen for years. And whether you buy something or just look, you will come away filled with images and creativity and a renewed sense that this is a good and beautiful world.

jacobson arts's double secret world HQ is hidden deep in gales ferry, CT.

Sunflowers, Day 1

Sunflowers, Day 1

Oil on canvas, 11x14, sold

Clouds rolled in, my first day painting at Buttonwood Farm this year - and I really like the way they brought the colors down just a little. I like the way the clouds and the wall echo each other, and make the sunflowers just that much more intense - because they matter more, I think.

I mean, on a beautiful day, you already have the beautiful day. On a cloudy, humid, gray day, the sunflowers are a surprise, a contrast.

This painting sold before I finished it! A woman from Virginia bought it, and I will be shipping it to her as soon as it is dry enough.

The painting I made the next day sold before it dried - and I never even took a photo of it!

Don't forget about the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival this weekend! It's Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. both days. The show closes at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 5 on Sunday.

I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, near the post office. If you're at the show, please stop in and say hello, and see my new work.

Here is this painting with the sunflowers behind.

Jacobson Arts world headquarters is in Gales Ferry, CT

More Sunflowers

Sunflowers

Oil on canvas, 18x24

Please contact me for price and delivery options

Jill Blanchette and I went out to paint Tuesday at Buttonwood Farm. The big sunflower extravaganza is over (they raised more than $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation!) but there were still plenty of sunflowers.

The heat and dryness is catching up with them, though, and they are starting to tip over, faces turning toward the ground.

I've had crazy success with my plein air Buttonwood Farm paintings! One sold before it was finished. The next sold before it was dry. The third, I still have, and this is the fourth.

I am so happy with this painting! Partly, I think, because I was so happy with the day. It was a joy to be with my old friend, and to laugh, and to know that this friendship has lasted, through thick and thin, joy and grief, over many years.

And partly, I am happy with this painting because it came without thought or effort on my part. It came through me, a gift from God, or the universe, or the muses, or whatever name you'd like. I was a vessel with this one, and it's a cool, fun painting - and the best of experiences.

jacobson arts world headquarters is in gales ferry, CT

Golden

Golden

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Donation for Montville Animal Shelter, as part of the Art for Shelter Animals Project

This golden Labrador needs a lot of help. He has a recurrent urinary tract issue that could come from Cushings disease, (which would be a fairly solvable problem) or from a neurological disorder (a difficult or impossible problem to solve).

Right now, he needs a test to figure out the origin of the issue.

This is a sweet, cheerful dog who's made friends with the kittens in the shelter. He is happy, bounding, galumphing, a real Lab-like guy who would be an excellent companion for someone who has the time and patience - and maybe the money - to care for him.

If you want to talk to Animal Control Officer Chris Martel, call her at 860-848-3529.

the world headquarters of jacobson arts is in Gales Ferry, CT