Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Near Manhattan, Montana

Near Manhattan, Montana
Oil on black canvas, 30x30

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







Monday, November 28, 2016

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



Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Montana Highway

Montana Highway
Oil on black canvas, 12x36

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







Monday, November 14, 2016

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