Summertime!

HERE'S A SWEET sunflower painting that's 10 inches by 30 inches. It's just the right size to hang in a little nook, or in that space between two closets or two windows. If you're interested, this painting is at Center Framing and Art, 963 Farmington Ave., West Hartford Center, CT.

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HAPPILY, A SUNFLOWER painting has been chosen to decorate the brand-new hospital that's being built in nearby Onley. My painting, which will be 36x36, will hang somewhere on the first floor, so that sounds like lots of people might see it. Very exciting!

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MY NEXT SHOW is next weekend (thank God I have no show during this hurricane-stuffed Labor Day weekend!). So, Sept. 10-11, I'll be at the Workhouse Arts Festival in Lorton, VA. It's only the second year of this show, but I heard that the first year was good, so I will give it a try. I'll be in Booth 72, and I'll post a photo when I get my tent set up. For more on the show, click here. 


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BELOW IS ANOTHER painting I should have posted ages ago. I made it in the spring, when the forsythia, dogwood and cherries were bursting forth with color and the exuberance of spring. Some of my favorite collectors bought this piece at the Paradise City show in the spring.

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Dog of the Day 

Met this beauty at the show in Wickford, RI, this summer. He has one blue eye and one brown! 

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A Final Thought

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." 

- AA Milne (via Eeyore)

Thanks again to Lynn Hoins for sending this good quote! If you have a quote about art, flowers, cows, the Eastern Shore or anything pertinent, and you'd like to share it, please send it to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com. Thanks! 

Diana, Florence and Mary

Diana, Florence and Mary

Oil on black canvas, 36x60

Available at Center Framing and Art, West Hartford Center, CT

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

Summer Bouquet

Summer Bouquet

Oil on black canvas, with gold leaf, 30x30

Please click here to email me for price and availability

This painting is on its way Friday to Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center, CT.  I've been in this gallery for longer than any other, and I love being represented by Lori. The gallery moved early this year, and I haven't seen the new digs yet, so I'm excited. I plan to paint in front of the shop for at least part of the morning, weather permitting. Ronet Noe will be there with me, also painting!

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A FRIEND ASKED today about my Abraham Lincoln paintings - an idea I had back in the summer, to paint Abraham Lincoln doing this and that, in 21st century America. I made one painting, of Abraham Lincoln jumping rope with a Muslim girl - and while I really liked the painting, it became clear to me that the Lincoln idea was a short road.

I've found a whole bunch of short roads while I've been on this journey. The underground bunnies, the tiny food paintings, tiny bird paintings, and to some degree, the swirly sky paintings. This last road might pick up again after a little detour, and who knows, maybe I will come back to some of the others.

It's interesting to me to see how - no matter how exciting the idea is - a few paintings in, I can tell whether there's more to go, or whether that's just it.

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Dog of the Day 

It's Henry, Cynthia and Kevin's new puppy, having his first bath. I can name a few Wachapreague dogs that could use a good bath... 

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A Final Thought

"If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint." 

- Edward Hopper

John, Paul, George and Ringo

John, Paul, George and Ringo

Oil on black canvas, 36x60

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

I have no idea why I enjoy painting cows so much. I love how big they are, and how blocky. I love their ears and their knobby knees and how they stare at you when you stare at them. Yes, I eat beef, and drink milk and wear clothing and shoes made of leather and suede, and I make an effort not to think too much about cows when I'm eating or getting dressed. I understand how weak this is of me, but I believe it's possible to love cows and also enjoy all of the above, without driving myself crazy. Well, without driving myself too crazy. 

At any rate, I really love this painting, especially the blues and greens and Ringo's one evil eye. 

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FOR ALL OF YOU living near West Hartford Center, CT, I'll be bringing new paintings to Center Framing and Art, in its new location at 968 Farmington Avenue, next to Max's. Doesn't my sunflower painting look great in the photograph? Lori Chozik, who owns the gallery, says the new location is wonderful. It's smaller, but lots more people come in, parking is easier and it's great to be in a new space. I'll bring the paintings in on Saturday, and will either paint or just hang around for a while, depending on the weather. Please stop in if you can! 

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THIS IS MY favorite news story in at least the past 10 years, if not of all time. The Brits asked people on the internet to name a new research vessel (above). The winning name? Boaty McBoatface. Hahahaha! 

Click here to read a brilliant and hilarious New York Times story about this. It might have been my mood in the moment, but I was laughing so hard when I read this out loud to Peter that I could barely make it through the whole short story.

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Dog of the Day 

Met this little guy out in Tubac. Cutie! 

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A Final Thought

"Great art picks up where Nature ends." 

- Marc Chagall

Hitting the Slopes - and Gallery News

Hitting the Slopes

Oil on canvas, 24x36

Available soon at Center Framing and Art

When Lori at Center Framing and Art (56 LaSalle Road, West Hartford Center, CT) suggested I paint a snowboarder and a skier in action on a slope, I was interested and a little scared. I've never painted anyone skiing - or running, jumping, skating, swimming - and on and on. But she was sure I could do it, and I do know how to ski, and of course, that helps. 

So I set off to make this painting, and I have to say, I really love it. Of course, it's a mile from the abstract-y paintings I was experimenting with last week - but there's no rule saying you can't experiment in a couple directions at the same time. 

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BIG GALLERY NEWS! The Jack Richardson Gallery, in nearby Onancock, is now representing me, here on the Eastern Shore. 

Jack is a painter himself, and has a nice gallery on a small street in Onancock, a pretty village just up the road. He represents a few painters, and it feels like I've found a pleasant home for my work on the Shore. 

That's not all the gallery news, either. Center Framing and Art, in West Hartford Center, will be moving in January from the space it's occupied for 42 years. The person who owns that building, and several others in the area, is going to make them into a condo, so Center Frame has to go. Lori, who runs the gallery, has found a new home just around the corner, on Farmington Avenue (next to Max's Oyster). The new place has better parking, and good visibility - so she's excited, and I am, too! 

 Above, Jack Richardson in his gallery. Below, "Route 13 Barns," (one of my paintings) takes center stage in its new home.

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Dog of the Day

 

These two were defending their car, in Jerrell, Texas.

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A Final Thought

"No great artist ever sees things as they really are.
If he did, he would cease to be an artist."

- Oscar Wilde

New Paintings in the Galleries!

Ducky

Oil on canvas, 16x16

Center Framing and Art, West Hartford Center CT

In the past month, I've distributed a bunch of my new paintings to my galleries. I thought you might like to see what's where. To track down more of my paintings in galleries, please check out the "Available" page on the Jacobson Arts website. 

Trio

Oil on black canvas, 20x20

J. Gallery, High Point, NC

Chillin'

Oil on black canvas, 30x30

JWV Artists, Charlotte, NC

Bonnie and Clyde

Oil on canvas, 20x20

Harbor Gallery, Norfolk, VA

Painter Farm

Oil on canvas, 12x48

Current Reflections Gallery, Wachapreague, VA

Here are addresses and links for my galleries: 

Center Framing and Art

 56 LaSalle Road, West Hartford Center, CT 

www.centerframingandart.com 

J. Gallery

J. H. Adams Inn, 1108 North Main St., High Point, NC

www.jgalleryhp.com

JWV Artists

By appointment, Charlotte, NC

www.jwvartists.com

Harbor Gallery

1508 Colley Ave., Norfolk, VA

www.harbor-gallery.com

Current Reflections Gallery

Main Street, Wachapreague, VA

www.facebook.com/CurrentReflectionsArt

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Dog of the Day

How could you not take these guys for a walk? 

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 

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

Tangled Up in Blue

Tangled Up in Blue

Oil on canvas, 30x30

Please click here to email me for price and shipping info

I love this painting. The colors, the patterns, the background. It sings of spring to me, and summer, and those long afternoons stretching out toward a warm, pink sunset. 

After I'd decided on the name, I heard that Joni Mitchell had been hospitalized.  It made me think of all the folk singers I loved when I was a teenager. In a way, I think I'm doing what they were doing. 

In just a few minutes, I'll be leaving for the Spring Jubilee Show in Pendleton, SC. I had an OK show there last year - not great, but not bad - and I truly enjoyed myself. I met really nice people, the show was organized beautifully, and it was a lovely, small show. Fun! So it's a pretty good way to start April. 

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I visited our daughter Erika (above left, with her wedding dress) and her fiance Paul this weekend. I met our new great-grandson Emmett and saw his mom Samantha (above right). I saw our older great-grandson JJ (above right, with Samantha) and his dad John, our grandson Ashton, my brother and his wife and their daughter Larkin, and I also saw my sister. Whew. And it snowed the whole time, practically!

I also delivered paintings to Center Framing and Art, 56 LaSalle Road, West Hartford Center. Lori and Forrest, below, put all my new stuff in the window. Doesn't it look great? 

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Dog of the Day

It's Anne Pinkerton's dog Trixie! Trixie has a pal who will be featured as DOD soon. 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

"A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm." 

- Charles Schwab

House with the Blue Door - and JoJo, Watchdog Extraordinaire

House with the Blue Door

Oil on canvas, 30x30

Available at Center Framing & Art, West Hartford Center, CT

On an unexpected and fortuitous trip to Cape Cod this summer, I made a couple landscapes I really love. One - Lighthouse Inn - has sold, but this one is available, at the always wonderful Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center, CT. 

Though you can't tell from looking at the painting, I set up to make this one in a boat-launch parking lot in Chatham. I've painted at the sides of roads, I've painted in campgrounds, I even painted in a construction site. I'm not sure I've painted in a place that was nearly as busy as this boat-launch ramp. Guys - and a couple women - drove big and small trucks, hauling big and small boats, in and out and in and out and in and out of this place. They parked, they unparked, they backed up and went forward and jiggered and jogged until they got their boats in the water. And they all looked at me and wondered what the HECK I was doing there. 

The sky went from gray and stormy to blue, and back to gray and stormy while I painted. I really love the sky in this painting. I think it's one of my best ever. 

My painting in the landscape

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Dog of the Day

Yet again, it is JoJo. She has watched me, and guarded me, and stuck to me like Velcro ever since I got home from Montauk. And you know what? No one has attacked me, or made off with a painting, or with me, or with anything from the house or the van or the garage or anywhere! What a watchdog! 

Zinnias - and a Mean Town

Zinnias

Oil on canvas, 30x30

Please contact Lori at Center Framing & Art for price and delivery/shipping/pickup info! 

These zinnias are my newest experiment in florals. The paint is thick and deep and rich, and the colors just sing. I had a great time painting them, and I'm honored to have them displayed so prominently at Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center, CT! 

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ON MY WAY to Indiana, I drove along the so-called National Freeway, Interstate 68 from Maryland into West Virginia. It was a scary drive, because the highway climbs way up into the mountains, and the clouds were so low that, until I crossed the summit, it was like driving in the thickest fog I'd ever seen. 

Just before I got onto I-68, I left the highway to get gas. I found myself in the town of Hancock, MD. This little town really got me thinking. 

Like so many of the towns in that area, it's built on a series of hillsides. And it was probably built when mining was big. That would be my guess, at any rate. 

I couldn't get back onto the highway near the exit where I got off, so I had to drive through the town to return to the highway. The more I drove, the worse I felt for the people who lived there. 

It's not that it was a terrible, dilapidated town. It wasn't a ghetto, or a testament to poverty. I've seen those towns, and they are sad. But this, this was sadder, in a way. It was a town with no future. The thought that this was a mean town came to me - not that the people are mean, though they might be. But the town itself is mean, in what I'd guess is the Victorian sense of the word. 

I compared Hancock to other small towns I've known and lived in, including Wachapreague, and found myself returning again and again to the idea that the town was so mean that it would be next to impossible for anyone to dream of much more than leaving - and even that would be a stretch. 

The experience, though brief, hit me hard. And it left me feeling grateful that I didn't grow up in a place like that, and never had the misfortune to live in a place like that. 

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Shows, shows and more shows! 

The zinnia painting (I love it!) along with a whole bunch of my best paintings, are on display right now, and for sale, at Center Framing & Art in West Hartford, CT. That's the window, below. 

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Also this week, I brought work to the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, in Mystic, CT. Elissa Bass and I had a fun time hanging my teeny paintings and some larger ones, too. The photos below show how it came out. The show will be up through July! 

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And I have two new pieces at Art Gallery H in Tubac, AZ. Here's Audrey Hoffmann, one of the owners, sitting in the midst of my paintings. The new paintings  are on the wall 

closest to  the sunflower painting. 

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I WILL BE in Annapolis, MD, this weekend for the Annapolis Arts, Crafts and Wine Festival, which takes place at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. 

Don't know my booth number yet, but I'll post it here when I do. 

THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND, I'm in the New Milford Historical Society Arts Festival, with my friend, the fabulous jeweler Cynthia Battista. It should be a fun show, and I always love seeing Cynthia and Kevin, and their dogs Zack and George. 

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Dog of the Day

Met this guy - a youngster, four months old! - in a parking lot in Pawcatuck, CT. 

He might look fierce, but he was a dear. 

A Good Harvest - and a Good Couple of Shows

                                  

A Good Harvest

Oil on canvas, 20x20

Contact Lori at Center Framing and Art for price and pickup/delivery options

I never, ever paint still lifes... Until now! 

A friend posted this photo on Facebook, and for reasons I still can't quite explain, I fell in love with it. I started to paint a couple days before I was to leave for the Broad Ripple Art Festival in Indianapolis, and between packing for that show, and Paradise City, and the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center show, and to bring pieces to Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center, I was hard-pressed to finish it. I was so excited about it that I kept slipping out to the studio whenever I had a spare moment. 

I finished it, finally, just last week, during an unplanned one-day stopover at home, in beautiful Wachapreague, between Broad Ripple and Paradise . 

The painting got lots of comments during the Paradise City show in Northampton, MA, this weekend, though it didn't quite sell. But no matter. It looks great in the window at Center Framing and Art! Check it out at 56 LaSalle Road in West Hartford Center, CT. 

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Happy Buyers

                                       

 

THE FABULOUS CITISCAPE painter Teresa Haag O'Neill (check out her website by clicking here,  and her Facebook page, by clicking here) turned me on to the idea of taking photos of buyers with their paintings. I love seeing their happy faces! They made a good show for me, and I am glad to have met them, and grateful for their purchases! 

I had a good show in Indianapolis, too! Here are buyers from that show, and a cool photo of the show grounds, early one morning. 

 

                                                                 

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Dog of the Day

Here's our daughter, Erika, grandson Ashton and new grandcat Potsie, the Dog of the Day. 

Nice calendar in the background, too!