Monday, December 22, 2014

Poppies - and the Origins Trip


Poppies on Black
Oil on canvas, 12x24

I love painting flowers, and I really love painting flowers on these black canvases. The flowers themselves delight me, with their colors and their depth and their movement. It's a challenge to capture these qualities and make them new.

The other thing that intrigues me is the tension between the background and the flowers. These backgrounds remind me of concrete. The play between the fragile, graceful flowers and the rough, tough background helps make these paintings work, I think. Add in the nod to stained glass, and then that's another level. 

What do you all think of these flower paintings I've been making lately? 

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Origins

At the end of January, I will set out for the Southwest, to visit my dad, do a show in Tubac, Arizona, and go back to where I was born and paint. During the Origins painting trip, I'm going to spend time in and around Fort Defiance, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation in the northeast corner of the state. I lived the first short part of my life there, while my dad was in the civil service. 

It's an amazing, spectacular landscape, rich with deep colors and brilliant light. The rocks and buttes are red and yellow and pink and gray, and the earth seems to go on forever. I'm planning on spending a couple weeks in the area, painting, and I hope you will sponsor me on my trip. 

Sponsorships run from $50 to $1,000, and include access to a sponsor-only blog with photos and stories from the road, postcards from the road, the first look at all the paintings I make, a chance to win a painting - and my undying gratitude. For sponsorships at or above $125, you get all that plus one or more original oil paintings that I make on the trip. 

Sponsors have told me they not only love the art, but also really enjoy the blog. It's the next best thing to taking the trip yourself! A sponsorship makes a great holiday present - for someone else, or for you. I can email you a nice gift certificate that you can give. 

For more information and to sign up to sponsor me, go to the Origins Painting Trip page on the Jacobson Arts website. Click here to get to that page! 

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Dog of the Day

This is King, and he needs a home! According to the Eastern Shore SPCA, he is about a year old, weighs 33 pounds, has been neutered, and is up to date on shots and vaccinations.

 If we didn't already have five dogs, I'd be at the SPCA this morning to bring this guy home. If you know anyone who needs a dog, please let me know! As an extra added benefit, you could spend the night with us when you come to the Eastern Shore to get King. 



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