Arivaca Dawn

Arivaca Dawn

Oil on canvas, 20x20

Please click here to contact me for price and availability

In just a few hours, I'll leave Arizona and head east, toward home - and I can hardly wait.

I've had a great stay here, and I'm sorry to go. Dad and Paula and I have spent wonderful time together. The sun has warmed my bones and chased my winter blahs away. I had great fun with my friends Cynthia and Kevin, and their friends (and now mine, too), Ruth and Tim. I saw my Arizona friends, had lunch with Linda and Lois, visited my artist friend Brenda Peo and saw her home and studio. I had a somewhat lackluster but not terrible show, sold a painting afterwards (one of my favorites ever), and made this painting, which I absolutely adore.

I could stay another two weeks or more and still be deliriously happy here, but the pull of home is strong, and I can't wait to get there, to be with Peter and the dogs, hang out with my friends, spend time in Wachapreague, smell that Eastern Shore wind and see that beautiful Eastern Shore light.

So it's the perfect time to leave.

Above, my painting in the landscape. Below, the moment I painted.

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Stuff I've Seen

I suspect I've posted this before, but it makes me smile every time. 

Exit Zero, the last exit in Texas on I-10

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Dog of the Day

Saw this cutie in Florida. Adorable! 

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

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A Final Thought

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." 

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Mesquite

Mesquite 

Oil on canvas, 16x16

Please click here to contact me for price and availability

It was a windy day in Arizona when I set out to paint, and the clouds were low and moving fast. It rained on and off throughout the day, but not while I was painting.

It felt good to paint again after a long, non-painting drive and a long, non-painting show. I'm not wild about the red canvas, and probably won't try it again, though who knows. I think the brightness of the canvas pulls your eye away from the painting. What do you think?

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Stuff I've Seen

I'd love to know the genesis of this sign... but I do know that it made me laugh, 

and think of Doc, one of the twins, who I am missing dreadfully. 

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Dog of the Day

This tough little guy was standing in the middle of the street in Deming, NM, 

determined to stop traffic, in spit of the fact that he's only 6 inches tall. 

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A Final Thought

"ARt never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it." 

- Flannery O'Connor

Arizona Afternoon

Arizona Afternoon

Oil on black canvas, 10x10

sold

I've been to Joshua Tree National Forest in California, and painted there, and loved seeing the strange, twisted trees reaching skyward. Joshua trees don't really grow much in New Mexico, but this Joshua tree-like cactus sure does.  I haven't been able to find out what these are, so if you know, I'd be delighted if you'd share the information. 

At any rate, I fell a little in love with them (the plant on the left in the painting above) and began thinking about how to paint them, as I drove across New Mexico. I've been looking forward to seeing ocatillo (the plants on the right), and saw a ton of them on the drive. So in lots of ways, this little painting is a poem to the dry beauty of the Arizona desert.

You can see it in my booth in the Tubac Arts Festival, which runs through Sunday, here in Tubac, AZ. 

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Shameless self-promotion

One of my paintings has been selected for an online show at Artsy Shark. It's a nice show, with Nature as the theme. To see it, please click here. 

AND, FYI, I'm in my regular booth space at the Tubac Arts Festival, on Plaza Road near the intersection with Burruel. My booth number is B-46. Hope to see you at the show! 

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Stuff I've Seen

See the spiky, knifey things coming out from the hubcaps of this car? Very Batman-like! I made sure I was way over in the other lane when this guy drove past me. 

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Dog of the Day

It's adorable Izzy, with her mom Shirley, at the Englewood art festival. I enjoyed 

meeting both of them, and Shirley's husband, too. Florida had its moments. 

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A Final Thought

"Any form of art is a form of power; It has impact, it can affect change - it can not only move us, it makes us move." 

- Ossie Davis

Egg and Eggplant

Egg and Eggplant

Oil on canvas, 10x10, commission

A friend is crazy about eggplants, and has wonderful art of them all over her house. A year ago, she mentioned that she'd like me to make a painting of eggplants for her, and I was honored. It feels great when someone who collects art wants a painting of mine. It feels great when ANYONE buys a painting! But it's sort of extra special when it's someone who already has a lot of art, and is willing to make space for a piece of mine. 

It is also scary. My art would be hanging beside pieces by well-known Eastern Shore artists like Guy Wilkens,  Danny Doughty, Jack Richardson, Maurice Spector , Mama-Girl and more. 

So I thought about it. Put it in the place in my head and my heart where ideas, desires, plans, puzzles go to work themselves out. And they do! Not on my schedule, but in their own time, at their own pace. When they're ready, they present themselves to me, and I sort of see them, paint what I see, and fill in the blanks. 

Does this happen to you? Do you have an internal back burner that cooks along on its own? It would be great to hear your stories, if you'd like to share. 

A Tubac street near my dad and stepmom's house

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Shameless Self-Promotion

The Tubac Arts Festival starts on Wednesday and runs through Sunday, here in beautiful Tubac, Arizona. It's from 10-6 except for Sunday, when I believe it closes earlier. It's a fun show, with items usually ranging from garlic oil to hand-made shoes, to beautiful baskets, photographs, jewelry and of course, paintings! 

I'll post my booth location in the next blog post. 

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Stuff I've Seen

Now, really. Who doesn't want to live in Niceville? 

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Dog of the Day

Saw this handsome guy in Englewood, Florida. There were great dogs there! 

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A Final Thought

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, 

but their inward significance."

- Aristotle

Chipping In

Chipping In

Oil on canvas, 20x20

Please click here to email me about price and availability

I was horrified to notice that my first two golf paintings (Lining Up the Putt and Sunday Drive) were of men, while a small painting I made (Laundry Day - haven't posted yet...) was of a woman. How sexist am I? Sheesh!

So I made sure that this third painting was of a woman, and an older, gray-haired woman, at that. I love the motion in here, and the explosion of sand and ball out of the trap.

Coach Joe suggested that I offer to make paintings of people golfing in golfers' favorite holes. The 16th at St. Andrews, the 4th hole green at the Master's... Whatever your favorite hole is, if I can get a photo of it, I can paint a golfer like you at the hole.

What do you think? Is this an idea that would please a golfer?

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Stuff I've Seen

While my Florida show was a disaster, my visit was not. I saw Eric and Mary, old friends, and spent time with them at their home on the Suwanee River. While there, I met Ike, a friend who lives nearby. Eric announced that I was a painter, and Ike pulled this statue from a shelf. At the time, the statue was all gold, like the shirt. 

"Can you paint this?" he asked, and I said sure. 

I think it's really cool! 

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Shameless Self-Promotion

This is last year's booth at the Tubac Arts Festival, here in Tubac, Arizona. The show is coming up, Wednesday through Sunday. If you're in the area, please come! I hope to be on Plaza Road, where I've been in the past. 

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Dog of the Day

Here is the delightful Baby Girl, left, with the aforementioned Eric, right. 

AND, I got to drive the four-wheeler. That was fun! 

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A Final Thought

"Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you still have one." 

- Stella Adler

Daisies

Daisies

Oil on canvas, 10x20

sold

Well, the show in Florida was terrible for me, just terrible. I sold one small painting and three pillows, and that was it. The people at the show liked my paintings - but didn't want to part with their money. So I think the bottom line is that Florida just doesn't like me. And that's OK. I will put it on the list with a couple other states I believe I should avoid. 

After the show in the Not-So-Full-of-Sunshine State (it was cold and rainy for most of the show), I headed for Arizona - and am still heading there. For some reason, this trip has seemed loooong. I mean, it IS long - but this time, it's felt long. But I'm in El Paso, getting the oil changed in my van, so I'm almost done with the longest part of the drive - Texas. 

I had to wonder, as I was driving through West Texas, why it is that I love the open nothingness of Montana and Wyoming, while the open nothingness of Texas makes me just long to be gone. 

If you're in southern Arizona next week - and who wouldn't want to be??? - please come to the show in Tubac! It runs from Wednesday through Sunday. I'll let you all know my booth number when I have it, but I'm hoping I'll be in my regular space, on Plaza Road near Bunnuel Street. 

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Stuff  You've Seen

This fun sign is from my friend Laurel, visiting New Mexico. Good sign! If you have a photo of something fun or funny or poignant or just something that needs to be shared, please send it to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com. Thanks! 

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Dog of the Day

Best thing about the Florida show? The dogs! Here's one of my total favorites, Jack, who was with a couple artists in the show. Isn't he adorable?  

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A Final Thought

"There is no great honor than supporting someone's growth 

and evolution as a human being."

- Ellie Burrows