Two Sides of the Road

I find myself in a time of transition, in life and in my painting, and I welcome it. 

The deaths of Jojo and Zoe in September truly rocked me.

I miss Zoe, and don't want anyone to feel that she was a lesser dog, or that her death didn't touch me. She'd lived with us for 15 years, at least, and she was a good dog. I loved her, and I miss her.

But it was the death of Jojo that cracked my heart. Through that crack, now that Koko has come home, light is shining on new things, new ideas, new approaches.
  

I've decided that I must be bolder. Bolder in my life, in my decisions, in my choice - and maybe most of all, in my painting. 

I made the two paintings on the left on subsequent days. They are paintings of an autumn scene, in a nothing place, just on the side of the road somewhere in North Carolina. 

There's nothing wrong with the first one - except that it's not how I want to paint now. 

Instead of painting the scene, I want to paint truly the feeling. I don't want to make 20 marks if one will do. I want to paint the pulsing autumn colors, the way the light bounces off the trees and falls deep and blue into the shadows. I want to paint the feeling that this is the last gasp of summer, the final, glowing moments of the sunshine and warmth of summer. I want you to reverberate with the feeling, break into the smile, gasp at the beauty of nature, rather than see a nice painting of autumn trees. 

It's hard to do this - especially since I like the first painting! It's a good painting, and it would look fantastic on someone's wall! 

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IF YOU WANT to buy either painting, they're available for five days at a 25 percent discount from their regular $385 price - the Fast Nickel price, which is good through 11/15/15, is $288.75. And this time, I will pick up the shipping. 

You can find the Fast Nickel page of the Jacobson Arts website by clicking here.  Or go to Jacobson Arts (www.jacobson-arts.com), and look for the Fast Nickel page. 

Maybe this will even teach me how to spell "nickel." 

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Dog of the Day

Christine Stark, who fostered Abby and Koko, is now fostering six puppies. They're pretty adorable! If you're looking to adopt a pup, send me an email and I'll get you in touch with Christine. She lives near Asheville, NC, so it's a ways from most folks - but it would be a worthwhile trip, and a fun one, too. I promise!

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A Final Thought

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary."

- Pablo Picasso