Sadie
Oil on canvas, 12x12
Commission
It's too late to have me make a pet portrait for you to give this holiday season - but it's never too late for a gift certificate for a pet portrait. I love finding, seeing and painting the soul of a beloved dog... or cat... or turtle... or hamster... Sadie came out really well, I think - playful but still serious, girly but still very tough. Painting portraits of pets is a thing of joy for me!
The 12x12 size is $350, and there's plenty of time for me to get a nice gift certificate to you!
***
IT'S THE END of the year, and a convenient time to step back, take stock and set goals.
2014 was great for me. I made paintings that I loved, and took strides to discover new directions, new ways of expressing my heart and soul. I had a fantastic plein-air painting trip, and got to see parts of this amazing country that I'd never seen before.
I participated in 20 indoor and outdoor art festivals. I met hundreds of interesting, enthusiastic art lovers. I made friends with artists and volunteers, buyers and lookers, children and spouses. I found a few serious collectors.
I began not only to get good ideas for creating products to sell, like books and calendars, in addition to my original paintings, but I also managed to make some of these happen.
After a daunting bout of reality at a show in Westport, CT, in the middle of the summer, I found myself infused with new passion and new zeal. I promised myself to make landscapes that were different from everyone else's, or to stop making them. I promised myself to learn to see and use and understand new colors. I promised myself to work harder to understand what it is to be a contemporary artist, and take whatever strides I could - even if my heart was in my throat - to grow in that direction.
At one point, I sent myself an email that just said: "Carrie paint the light." And so I have, and so I shall.
I worked hard this year, but I would not have worked as hard, or had the ideas I had, made the strides I made, or had the successes I've had without you. You folks who have followed me and supported me on my blog, who have bought my paintings, showed up at my shows, told your friends and family about me, written to me, pushed me, questioned me, and been truly and fully interested and invested in my success, you are an enormous part of all of this.
And so I say - WE had a great 2014! Thank you!
I'm sending you all great hopes and good wishes for a joyous holiday season - and a fabulous 2015.
***
IF YOU LIVE IN or near Hartford, CT, or you're going to be there on Friday, here's an event you might consider:
My brother, writer Rand Cooper, sent me this email:
On Friday, at the Mark Twain House, Marlon James, novelist and teacher, is going to be on hand to read from and discuss his new novel, "A Brief History of Seven Killings."
This book, Rand says, is rumored to be a front-runner for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, and he has heard nothing but raves about it. The New York Times' chief book reviewer, Michiko Kakutani, is a notorious shredder who hates almost everything... and she calls the book "raw, dense, violent, scalding, darkly comic, exhilarating and exhausting — a testament to Mr. James’s vaulting ambition and prodigious talent." Rand says the full review can be found by clicking here.
James will discuss the book and sign copies of it. The event is free, but you have to register to attend. Go to MarkTwainHouse.org, or call 860-280-3130.
***
Dog of the Day
It's Muppet, Dave and Maura Ammenheuser's bichon.
He is a great dog, and I got to visit him, and his humans,
on my trip back from Texas.
Want your pet to be Dog of the Day?
Email a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com
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