Seven Palms

Seven Palms

Oil on canvas, 18x36

Please click here to email me for price, availability and shipping/delivery

After a few miserable shows in Florida a few years ago, I'm going back in late January for a show in Englewood. It's put on by an artist, and I was invited, so it feels different, and it seems to have a positive potential. So I thought it would be a good idea to make some Florida-ish paintings. This was my first, and I have to admit, I really love it! Of course, there is my delight with the color pink. Palm trees are fun to paint, and I had a ball with this one. The small pictures are details from the big piece - but I'm going to paint a couple small ones just like these, soon.

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Ha! There's some kid's song that has this town name in it, and I laughed out loud - and sang the song about a zillion times - when I saw it.  I tried to upload an audio clip of me singing it, but I couldn't figure out how to do it! 

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Dog of the Day

Here's Vinnie, just chillin'...

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A Final Thought

"He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist." 

- Francis of Assisi

Kim's Farm

Kim's Farm

Oil on canvas, 40x40

Commission

A long and wonderful project has come to a happy end, and I'd like to share the story with you. 

At the start of the fall, I got an email from a woman I'd met at a show in Omaha. She wanted a painting of the Nebraska farm where she grew up. She wanted a big painting, with heavy texture, of the farm and a cow or two. 

Unlike many artists, I love doing commissions. Ones that are projects, like this one, are especially fun and intriguing to me. Maybe this comes from working in newsrooms for so long and seeing how the energy and ideas expand and improve when others are involved. Kim sent me a bunch of photos of the farm, but for some reason, I couldn't put the photos together in my mind into a cohesive whole. The poor woman explained it to me, walked me around the property virtually, and answered my questions again and again, and still I couldn't see it. 

So I decided to actually go and see it. I knew I could pass relatively near the farm on my Big Skies Painting trip. Kim gave me directions, and on my way back, I stopped in and saw the farm. 

It still was not without its issues! First, I drove right by it and got more than a little lost. I called Kim, and she suggested that I facetime her - and she was able to look through my phone at the landscape around me, and direct me to the right place. 

I walked around, took a bunch of photos, and, when I got home, made a sketch of the farm. Kim had a couple ideas, I had a few more, and I made a small painting. It was at this point that we both realized that I was situating the farmhouse incorrectly. I had my norths and wests mixed up. It took a while of patient Kim's coaxing and explaining before the whole thing fell into place in my head - and then I was able to paint. 

I had some ideas while I was painting, and Kim had some ideas, and we communicated back and forth, and in the end, this is the painting I made - and the painting she loves. 

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2 pancakes

2 eggs

2 bacon

The most incomprehensible sign ever! And it's been up for years. Hahahaha!!! 

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Dog of the Day

Toby (the dog) and Ira (the human). I met them in a hotel somewhere this summer - Indiana, maybe? Ira rescued Toby after the dog escaped from a fire, and was abandoned by his humans. Toby is old now, partly deaf and partly blind, and much loved.

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A Final Thought

"Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult." 

- Hippocrates

Happy Holidays!

Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to David's town, Bethlehem, in Judea, because he was a direct descendant of David, to be registered with his future wife, Mary, now in the later stages of her pregnancy. So it happened that it was while they were there in Bethlehem that she came to the end of her time. She gave birth to her first child, a son. And as there was no place for them inside the inn, she wrapped him up and laid him in a manger. 

I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyful Kwanzaa and  Fabulous Festivus, and thanking you for bringing such joy to me! 

Pink Spring

Pink Spring

Oil on canvas paper, $65 matted

It's chilly here this morning, and the Christmas lights are up in town - but yesterday, I found myself painting spring! In part, it's because I got some new paint and wanted to check it out, but I know I also painted spring as a kind of therapy against the dullness of winter here in Virginia.

Please don't misunderstand! It is great to be in a place where 20 degrees is considered brutally COLD, and where we see snow geese more frequently than we see snow. I love this soft Eastern Shore winter - but I don't love the drain of color from the landscape, the grayness, the monotone.

In New England, the snow causes all sorts of problems and headaches - but all that snow sharpens the sunlight, bounces it along the scratchy branches of the bare trees, the dark hearts of the evergreens, bringing out the most of the few colors winter affords.

But in not so much more than a few weeks from now, when the spring bulbs begin to poke up, and the tips of the trees start to turn red, and the lawn begins to green up, not so far from now, color will flood back to the Eastern Shore, while the long, dark stretches of the north country will still be covered in winter.

It was those spring colors that lighted my imagination the other day when I painted this. It was a memory, a hope, a small song of praise.

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A Contest! 

PEOPLE OFTEN POINT OUT that I use a lot of paint - and I do! So at the end of March of this year, I started saving the caps from my used paint tubes. I'm going to save them until the end of March 2017, then count them. Anyone who wants to play, please send me an email with your guess. The one who comes closest without going over wins a 10-inch-by-10-inch painting of their choice! 

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Dog of the Day

From left, it's Henry, George and Jasmine, wishing you all Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Good Kwanzaa, and Joyous Festivus! 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com. Holiday-oriented photos are particularly appreciated! 

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A Final Thought

"When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss art. 

When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money." 

- Oscar Wilde

Foothills

Foothills

Oil on panel, 6x8. $75, including shipping

I'm trying some smaller pieces for 2017 (and the end of 2016). Some of these will be on panels, like the one above, and suitable for framing. 

Others will be on paper, and will arrive matted, and again, suitable for framing. I might even try framing some, but my hope with these is to keep prices low. 

The small paintings are much harder for me than the big ones! Strange, eh? Most artists have a fear of large canvases. For me, the small pieces are a struggle. That's another reason I'm going to focus on them in 2017.

I'm also going to be bringing some prints with me to the shows - but if you want prints at any time, you can go to Fine Art America (fineartamerica.com), search for me, and order prints in whatever sizes you like! 

What do you think about this idea? Is $75 a reasonable price, in your world? 

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I really should have gotten off the road and checked this one out! 

Maybe I'd have found D.B. Cooper living there... 

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Dog of the Day

I know I've featured this creature as a Dog of the Day before, 

but she (or he) amuses me endlessly. 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Please send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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A Final Thought

"The first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. 

To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art." 

- Chuck Palahniuk

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Double Four Time

Double Four Time

Oil on canvas, 36x48

Please contact me for price and availability

If this painting looks familiar, it's because it's not the first time I've painted this particular group of cows. Might be my favorite group ever! I've painted them before - and plan to paint them again. The light and shadow on them is bold. Their expressions are fantastic. They lend themselves to a bit of abstraction. Perfect! For a while, it worried me that I felt compelled to paint the same cows, the same salt marsh, the same idea. Then I remembered Monet, Degas and, for the mystery-readers among you, Kurt Wallander's father. 

There's something delightful in painting the same whatever again and again. Some of the fear vanishes; I know I'll be able to make the painting because I've already made the painting. I don't have to worry about seeing the details or understanding the light - I've already solved those problems. 

Of course, there's the worry that because I've already painted it, the new piece will be stale. But I believe that keeping that possibility in mind will help me avoid it. 

One other note - When I just had the cows painted, I posted this painting on Facebook and got so many positive comments that I'm going to start a series of small paintings of cows on black, and see what happens. 

The just-started piece is below. Above, a detail of the finished piece. 

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thought you might like to see me as a conehead! 

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Dog of the Day

It's Henry, Cynthia and Kevin's German shepherd-Airedale mix, 

wishing you all a Merry Henry Holidays! 

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A Final Thought

"Art is the proper task of life." 

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Chloe and Kaylee

Above, Chloe

Below, Kaylee

101 Dogs Project!

The State College Art Fair is a huge event, so big it's hard to walk in one day. And it is very, very difficult to get parking anywhere near your booth. 

I was on a pretty, residential street, and it was a nice spot, though there were no shops or anything nearby, and so, no coffee - or so I thought. 

The first morning of the show, as I was just aching for a cup of Joe, along came two adorable little girls with a red wagon holding a giant coffee urn and all the fixings. Sales of coffee went to support a local charity, they told me. I bought a cup from them as they made their way down the street, and another cup as they made their way back up. They told me refills were free, but I insisted on paying. 

They told me they lived right up the street, and since there were no port-a-potties in my general vicinity, I asked if it would be possible for me to use the bathroom in their home. Sure, they said. Their parents opened up the house to artists all weekend. I gave them $10, which they insisted I didn't need to give them, but it was for a good cause and I was grateful. 

Later that day, a very pretty woman came along and asked if was Carrie. When I said yes, she said that every year, she invites a couple artists to use parking spaces in a building she and her husband own next door to their home. I was one of the ones she was inviting. Yay! 

I used their bathroom during the weekend, and got to know the family a little. I also got to know their dogs, two Newfoundlands who were sweet and funny and utterly enormous. It was with great pleasure that I painted them for the 101 Dogs project! 

It's too late for any 101 Dogs paintings for this holiday season, but if you want to give a gift certificate for one, drop me an email and we will work it out. (carrieBjacobson@gmail.com)

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It's "Kerosene" in the lower sign, but "Kereosene" in the upper one. Huh? 

The store owner said he'd never noticed the different spelling. 

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Dog of the Day

Shy service dog in the Lowe's in Pocomoke

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A Final Thought

"The chief enemy of creativity is good sense." 

- Pablo Picasso

Near Manhattan, Montana

Near Manhattan, Montana

Oil on black canvas, 30x30

Please click here to email me for price and shipping/delivery info

There's something about the West that reaches into a deep part of my soul and releases something that lives there. It's a thing I love, this thing deep in me, but not a thing I can easily name. It's some mix of feelings of freedom, courage, confidence and a deep, abiding love of the landscape itself, the sky, the mountains, the grasses and plains.

In the landscape of the West, I feel strong and tall, square-shouldered and unburdened. I feel that I could ride a horse, write a book, hold my own in a conversation with anyone.

Most of all, in this landscape, I feel that I can paint. On this most recent trip, I felt that feeling again and again, day after day, and it was wonderful. I painted enough out there to recognize the feeling, learn where it is in me. And back home, in spite of all my fears and worries, I've been able to call that feeling to the surface and carry it with me.

Nothing is as clear here as it is on a painting trip. There's family here, Peter and our dogs and cats. Friends. Distractions, chores, errands. But the point of the trips, one of the main points, is to bring home all kinds of things that I found Out There. And happily, I've been able to do just that.

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AND NOW, for a short commercial.

WACHAPREAGUE CALENDARS are $19, and you can get them on the Jacobson Arts website.

I have to say, the calendars came out great.  12 paintings of beautiful Wachapreague, one for every month of 2017. Click here to reach my website, Jacobson Arts., where you can buy them. 



PRINTS, NOTECARDS, PILLOWS, shower curtains,Fine Art America. You can go to the main page and then search for me, or click here to reach my page. If there's a painting you'd like, and you don't see it on the page, please send me an email (carrieBjacobson@gmail.com) and if I can get it on the site for you, I will.
 


PATRONAGE PROGRAM. Maybe you're a person who owns a business, or a string of businesses. Maybe you're a person with several homes. Maybe you're a person who would love to give a grand present to a spouse, or is looking for great gifts for a whole group of people. Maybe you're a person who would be intrigued with the idea of becoming an even more significant patron of the arts.

If you are any of these, or any combination, let's talk. I'm looking for three patrons to enroll in my program, at $25K each. Yes, it is a lot of money, but it will buy you a lot of art, made especially for you, or for people to whom you'd like to give art. To find out more, click here to visit the Patronage Program page of my website. You can email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com, or call me at 860-442-0246.

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Really? Pre-sliced? What on EARTH does that mean? 

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Dog of the Day

He was small, but he was serious! 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? It need not be a DOG! Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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A Final Thought

"The first mistake of art is to believe it's serious." 

- Lester Bangs

Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel

Oil on black canvas, 36x60

At Center Framing and Art, 968 Farmington Ave., West Hartford Center, CT

I've been busy, traveling to Connecticut to visit with family, paint outside Center Framing and Art, have an early Thanksgiving/Christmas party, visit with Erika and Paul and their whole family, then come back to beautiful Wachapreague and have Thanksgiving here with Peter and the devil dogs, WHEW! I took a few days off afterwards, just to get my head to stop spinning. 

I hope you all had good Thanksgivings, whatever kind of Thanksgiving you had. 

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HERE'S A QUESTION for you: 

Many people have told me they pretty much never read what I write here. They just look at the painting, scroll down to the Dog of the Day, and go on. If you'd prefer pretty much just the painting, the DOD and maybe the quote, and only the rare bout of verbiage, that's fine with me - but let me know, would you? Please use the comments below to voice your opinion. And you will not hurt my feelings, I promise! 

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Dog of the Day

Couple of cuties, dressed up for a summertime show. 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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A Final Thought

"I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

Montana Highway

Montana Highway

Oil on black canvas, 12x36

Please click here to email me for price and shipping/delivery information

When you drive out West, this is what you see, day after day, mile after mile. Sometimes there are mountains behind the hills. Sometimes there are hills behind the hills. Sometimes you're on such high plains that, basically, you're in the clouds. 

I love this. I love the empty highway, the horizons that stretch away forever, the sun-bright fields and scrub and the way the clear, clean light heightens the colors, lengthens the shadows, brings my heart and soul to life. 

It's a tough place, a lonely place, a hard place, surely, to build a life. Winters are long and very cold, summers are brutally hot, jobs are scarce. But spring and fall bloom in the West with rich colors, gorgeous foliage and the promise of our best America. 

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Found the dogs' favorite town... 

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Dog of the Day

Met this puppy this summer in Omaha. Bet he's all grown up now! 

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A Final Thought

"Art without emotion is like chocolate cake without sugar. It makes you gag." 

- Laurie Halse Anderson

Some Big Skies Painting Trip paintings

 Hi, everyone! Hope you can forgive me for being quiet for so long. I was on a painting trip - the Big Skies Painting Trip - and much as I wanted to do my regular blog, I was overrun with painting and traveling and posting the trip blog.

You can read it now, if you like - it's at BigSkiesPaintingTrip.blogspot.com - and you can see all the paintings at the Big Skies Paintings page on my website.

It was a great trip to a gorgeous part of the country - I went all the way to Wisdom, Montana, and back, painting pretty much all the way, once I got past Chicago.

I saw beautiful places, met interesting people and had big breakthroughs in my painting. Who could ask for more?

I'm home now, and have rested and recharged, and started painting in the studio again, but I thought you all might like to see a few of the pieces I made on the trip.

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Dog of the Day

It's Koko! I missed her so much while I was gone, she's the Dog of the Day. I missed the other four, also, but thinking of Koko brought me to tears a couple times. I got a hero's welcome when I got home. The jumping, barking, licking and absolute dog delight was wonderful! 

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A Final Thought

"A picture is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know." 

- Diane Arbus

Max and Katie

 Katie and Max

Oil on black canvas, 12x12

101 Dogs Project commissions

I met Max and Katie's humans while I was in Minneapolis this summer. They told me that Max and Katie had passed, and they missed them tremendously, but for the moment, weren't going to add new dogs to their lives. For the first time in years and years, they said, they were able to travel as much as they wanted, and while they were sad to be without dogs, they were certainly enjoying their freedom. 

I know the dichotomy so well. When we travel together, which is rare, dealing with the dogs is a huge part of the journey. Bringing them changes everything, sometimes for the better, but usually for the more complicated. 

Right now, I am in Wyoming, on the Big Skies Painting Trip, and Peter is at home with the dogs. Peter is not a big traveler, and I am just lucky and grateful that he's willing to deal with the hooligans.  

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The Busy Bee

"Longmire" fans! I spent a few days in Buffalo, Wyoming, on which the town of Durant is based, in the books by Craig Johnson, and the "Longmire" series on Netflix. I had breakfast at the Busy Bee, where Longmire and friends, and pretty much everyone in Buffalo, dines. 

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Dog of the Day 

Yup, today's DOD is the cutest little kitten ever! 

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A Final Thought

"I would like to paint the way a bird sings." 

- Claude Monet

Thanks to Lisa for the quote and the photo!