Saturday, July 30, 2016

Carnival!

Carnival! 
Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125
For 2017 Wachapreague calendar

The past couple years, I've made calendars, and 2017 will be no different! I'm working on paintings for a Wachapreague calendar, to be sold on line and on the ground, at Seaside Antiques right here in town. 

Seaside Antiques is the antiques and art store that my friends Pat Hart and Carol Burnham own and operate, and it's just fantastic. In their travels over the years, Pat and Carol have collected interesting, fun and beautiful pieces, and they are for sale at reasonable prices. It's a great place to poke around, do some dreaming and also do some buying. My Christmas shopping list is nearly complete - and much of it has come from Seaside Antiques!

I made this painting after Peter, Erika, Paul and I went to the Volunteer Firemen's Carnival back in June. I have to say I refused to go on the Ferris wheel, though it looked like people were having fun. I just don't want to be that far off the ground! 

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"We shall do good work at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good work."

Amen to that. 

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Dog of the Day
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

"We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." 

- Bob Ross


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Sunset, Mystic


A Facebook friend, Geneva Renegar, has turned out to be a wonderful photographer. She started not so long ago, well into adulthood, and she often takes and shares truly amazing photographs.

This was one of them, a sunset in Mystic, CT. She didn't use any filters or any digital magic to color the photo - it was what it was!

I asked her if I could make a painting from the photo and she agreed. This painting is sold, I believe - as long as the buyer loves it in person as much as on the web.

It was great fun to make this painting! Mystic is a place I know, so that helped. And I love orange, so that added to my fun, too.

The painting in the inset is one that just sold at the show in Pennsylvania. I made it after the Charlie Hebdo shootings. It's a painting unlike any I've made, and I had trouble finding a spot for it in my booth. But the series of shootings of black men by police, and then the slaying of the Dallas police officers all were happening at the time of the show, and I thought it was the right time to hang it, as a prayer for peace.  I was delighted when it hit home with a couple from Annapolis, and I had the great pleasure of delivering it to them and seeing where it would hang in their home.

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SOMETIMES I CAMP at shows, and while I'm on a painting trip. This is me camping at the show in Crozet. There was another camping area, but it was concrete, and loaded with campers - I loved waking up here in this field, hearing the birds singing, seeing the dawn inch up over the trees, lighting the big lawn and the big sky. 

I hope to do some camping during my upcoming Big Skies Painting Trip, in late September/early October. I have four sponsors already, and am hoping you're considering sponsoring me! Check out my website for information on how to participate. 
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Dog of the Day
Our daughter's dog, Benny, is probably six or seven months old now, but he's still a puppy who doesn't quite have control over his legs. Hope this little video plays - and makes you laugh! 
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A Final Thought

"Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used to be. But a great artist - a master - and that is what August Rodin was - can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is, and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be... and more than that, he can make anyone ... see that this lovely girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew olden than 18 in her heart, no matter what the merciless hours have done to her."

- Robert Heinlein

Monday, July 25, 2016

New London Lighthouse - and a New Painting Trip!

New London Lighthouse
Oil on black canvas, 18x36
 I've never been a big one for painting sailboats, but suddenly, they've appeared in my heart and more or less demanded to be in paintings.

So, here is one of two sailboat paintings I've made recently.

This one is special for me not only because I love it when some subject (sailboats, waterfalls, cows) walks into my little painting world and requires my attention, but also because the lighthouse and houses in the background are in New London, CT, where I grew up.

My mother, brother and I, my dad when he wasn't working, and eventually my sister, too, spent all day, every day, every summer of my youth, at Guthrie Beach on Long Island Sound.

We'd get there at about 10 a.m., and leave about 4 or 5. We'd stretch out in the sun, swim until we were pruney, dive off the raft, play endless games in the water and eventually sail on my Sailfish (pretty much a surfboard with a big sail).

Mom usually packed our lunch, though sometimes we would get lunch from a guy with a truck. The guy would lean out the window of the truck, tipping his head through the opening. Later in life, when we'd see him, his neck was still tipped sort of sideways, as it had been when he leaned out the window. I never knew if it was tipped because of leaning out the window, or if he decided on the food truck because his neck already was tipped and this was a job that could utilize his peculiar anatomy.

When we lay in the sun, we slathered ourselves with Johnson's baby oil, or with some dark tropical something that smelled like coconut. I often had zinc oxide on my nose, which always burned. Sometimes we'd use Coppertone, which at the time, I believe, was a suntanner, not a sun blocker. These days, even a whiff of Coppertone sends me back to Guthrie Beach.

I haven't come down with skin cancer yet, though my brother has, and had it removed and has been in remission for nearly 10 years. I don't go to the beach much these days, but making this painting has brought up a beach urge in me that I hope to satisfy soon.

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AND THE TIME I might get to satisfy it is during the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, Aug. 13-14, in Mystic, CT.

I will be at the corner of Pearl and Main, across the street from the post office, and near the pet shop and bagel place. It's my usual spot, and I'm happy to be there again. Hope you come by and say hello, see my new paintings and maybe even buy one!

The weekend before, Aug. 5-7, I will be in the Uptown Art Festival in Minneapolis, MN.

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Tetons Homestead
Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125

PLANS FOR THE Big Skies Painting Trip are officially underway. It's another of my sponsored painting trips, with sponsorships available at the $125, $300 and $500 levels. I'll be traveling to Montana, Wyoming and perhaps South Dakota, wandering, discovering, and making plein-air paintings for my sponsors.

Here's how it works: Each sponsorship level gets you a different sized painting from the road. The $125 level gets you a 10-inch by 10-inch painting; $300 is 16x16; $500, 20x20 or 24x24. You decide what level you want, then sign up to sponsor me, sending me the funds by check or through paypal. 

From the road, I'll send special blog entries to my sponsors. In these blogs, I'll write about and send photos of places I'm seeing and people I'm meeting. I'll include my paintings, and photos of my paintings in the landscape. When I get back, I'll post all the paintings on a web page, and sponsors will choose their paintings in the order in which they signed up. 

In addition to the blog and your painting, you'll get a postcard or two, a visit if it's possible, and my eternal gratitude! 

For more information, and to see blogs and paintings from past trips, please click here to go to the Big Skies Painting Trip page of the Jacobson Arts website. Questions? Ideas? Email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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Dog of the Day
Met this cutie at the Wickford Fine Art Festival a few weeks ago. 

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A Final Thought 

"Successful art is a collaboration between its creator and the patron, unified in grace."
- Chad Poppleton

The quote was sent to me by a blog reader who collects my paintings, and had just seen my work in the newest edition of "Southwest Art." 

Do you have an art-related quote you'd like to share? Please send it to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Diana, Florence and Mary

Diana, Florence and Mary
Oil on black canvas, 36x60

It's been great to have a break, here in the middle of the summer, but a friend is doing a show this weekend and I find myself wishing that I were doing one, too. 

That's a far cry from how I felt about shows when I started doing them. I approached them with a sense of dread, and a feeling that I'd rather be doing anything else. Anything. 

It was very hard for me to speak in glowing terms about myself or my paintings. It was hard for me to set prices. It was nearly impossible for me to imagine that anyone would part with any of their money to have a painting that I'd made. It was hard for me to believe that I was any good at all.

I'm thankful that all that has passed. From day to day, with varying amounts of certainty, I'm confident in my paintings and myself. I've learned that the best thing to do in the tent is to listen to the people who come in, and ask them about themselves, and what kind of art they like, what they're looking for, what they like about the show, or about this painting or that one. I don't have to talk about myself unless they ask. 

And if someone wants to buy a painting from me, I've stopped worrying whether they can really afford it, or whether it's worth what I'm asking. My paintings are usually in the low end, cost-wise, at pretty much every show. And if the buyer can't afford it, well, it's her decision to make! Maybe stretching to afford it makes it even more of a treasure? 

So this weekend, I'm getting the van ready to drive to Minnesota, finishing paintings for commissions and upcoming shows, and starting to think about where I'll go on the Big Skies Painting Trip.  

And next weekend, I'll bring my new paintings to the Uptown Art Fair, and be happy to be participating in a show! 
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Baby Animals 2017



In my most recent blog post, I wrote about the 2017 Wachapreague calendar that I'm making. I'm participating in a project for the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, too - a calendar of baby animals, put together by my friend and former Patch.com boss Elissa Bass. These two paintings are destined for the calendar. Check out the DPNC website to find out more! 



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Dog of the Day

Met this guy out in Tubac, Arizona, in February. He looks tough but was very sweet. 

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

"One eye sees, the other feels."

- Paul Klee

Friday, July 22, 2016

Dances with the Daffodils


Dances with the Daffodils
Oil on black canvas, 16x16

Yesterday I mentioned that I was a little behind in my posting. Well, this is how far behind. Daffodils! Sheesh! Seems an eternity ago that they were blooming, here on the Eastern Shore. 

These daffs show up every year at Eyre Hall, an estate that's nearly at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, just about an hour south of here. I drove all the way down there, only to find out that I'd left all my white paint at home. Arrgghh. 

But there I was, and so I decided to make the painting anyways. I had some beige that could do for highlights, and I just would have to mix my colors without using white. A challenge! 

The painting is brighter than it would have been with white. The sky is more solid. The daffodils are a bit more monotone than they might be. But the painting has punch, and I think it captures that moment in spring when the earth is just starting to come alive. 


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Saw this sign in State College, PA, home of Penn State and, probably, a fair number of high pedestrians. 
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Dog of the Day 
This cat lives with a nice woman whose house is around the corner from us 
here in Wachapreague. The cat believes she owns the road - and the lawn, 
and the next-door lawn, and the one next to that, too! 

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A Final Thought 

"Art is the only serious thing in the world. 
And the artist is the only person who is never serious." 

- Oscar Wilde


Thursday, July 21, 2016

Sean

Sean
Oil on black canvas, 48x60, sold

I've been painting a lot, and traveling a lot, but I haven't been posting to my blog as much as I'd like to this year. So I'm going to post a couple paintings each post here until I catch up. Some of these have sold, but I think that many of you just like looking at the paintings, and reading about them - please let me know if I'm wrong! Sean was a big, big painting, and I really enjoyed painting him. When you're painting with a palette knife, it's really fun to paint hairy animals. It's a natural, a great fit of tool and purpose. 
Sean went to a woman with an utterly amazing home in Tubac, Arizona, where my dad and stepmother live. The buyer has brought items from around the world - and throughout the centuries - to decorate her home. I'm honored that Sean is in such company. 

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Bill 
20x20, oil on black canvas

I made Bill for someone who said she might want a buffalo painting... and then never came to the show for which I'd made the painting. But it's OK. Many people have asked for buffalo paintings, and it was fun to do, and I am sure Bill will make his way into someone's home. 

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Update

A friend whose husband drives trucks with three trailers (they're called "triples") says that they have "the best safety record of any group on the highway, including law enforcement." There are lots of rules governing triples, she tells me. They can't drive in snow, wind or fog. You can't back them up! And some states prohibit them. So, interesting. Guess I don't need to be so nervous when I'm passing one. 
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Dog of the Day 
Saw this guy at the post office in Wachapreague. He started barking like crazy, of course, when I got close to the car - which was running, with the A/C on, I am happy to report. 

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A Final Thought

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original; whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) ou will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

- C.S. Lewis


Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Handing Off

Handing Off
Oil on black canvas, 30x40

I love this Pony Express painting! I think captures the motion of the riders as well as the beautiful soft and hard colors of the Arizona landscape. I absolutely love this series of Pony Express paintings, and hope to keep painting and selling them for quite a while. 

You can see this painting and more of my new ones in State College, Pennsylvania, during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. The show starts Thursday and runs through Sunday. It's from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. 

I'm on Fairmount Ave., Booth O-20 (That's the letter "O"). Hope to see you there! 

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Triple Yikes! 

Out west, I saw this many, many times. Yes, it's a truck cab pulling not one, not two but THREE containers. Even with all the driving I do, and all the trucks I see, this combination gives me the willies. What do you think? 

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Dog of the Day
My friends Candy and Jeff, who also collect my paintings (yay!), are raising chickens, and sent me this photo for my Dog of the Day. I've had cats, birds and snakes as my DoD, but this is my first chicken. I love it! 

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

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

- Edgar Degas


Friday, July 8, 2016

Farm Sunset



Farm Sunset
Oil on black canvas, 20x20
Please click here to email me for price and shipping/delivery info - or come 
to the Wickford, RI, Art Festival this weekend and see this piece in person! 

It's rare for me to have several weeks off in the summer, but circumstances conspired to make that happen, and it was so very good. I had a chance to unwind, to heal a little from Smokey's passing, to visit with family and friends, and to paint, for myself and the shows, and to finish some commissions, too. 

I'm happy with the paintings I made during this stretch, including this one of the sun just setting near a farm in Iowa. I painted this from a photograph I took at that moment when the sun just edges over the horizon, a white-hot ball inside a red-orange halo, hard to look at and impossible to ignore. I like the way the sun warms the front wall of the barn, and catches on the tips of the pieces of tall grass. It was a lovely rural scene, just outside of Adair, Iowa. 

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THE WICKFORD ART Festival takes place this weekend in Wickford, RI. The show is Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. respectively. It's free and takes place on the streets of downtown Wickford, a picturesque New England village just south of Providence. For more info, click here. 

If you go to the show, please stop and say hello. My booth is No. 82, on Elam Street, the first fair street you encounter, if you drive in from the south. 

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Dog of the Day 
It's Toby! He's all dressed up for the Fourth of July, and is looking dashing, indeed! 

If you'd like 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

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

- Pablo Picasso