Exploring an Idea

These two paintings -"Four in Hand," above, and "Swirling Sky," left, come from an experiment I've been doing. In both, I put much of the paint on the canvas in loose blobs (big loose blobs), and then used my knives to pull the paint into images. 

I love both of these pieces, though neither does precisely what I was hoping to do, which is to pull the whole painting - somewhat abstract, somewhat realistic - from the blobs of paint. 

This is tantalizing to me, and I'm going to keep trying it, either until I learn to master the idea, or I find I'm at the end of this particular road. 

The top painting is now in the home of a buyer, who is deciding whether to keep it. It's 15x60. The lower painting, 20x20, is in a gallery, Art House Charlotte, in Charlotte, NC. Please drop me an email if you're interested in either, or in having me make a similar painting for you. 

Dogs of the Day  

Jojo (above) and Zoe (below) have been gone for just about a year now. I miss them both,  and also I miss Smokey, who died a few months ago, and Sam and Looie, who passed in 2014. It's been a tough stretch, and we knew it would be, way back when. 

But our dogs enrich our lives. They make me laugh, they make me stop and play, they help me love with abandon and joy, and to forgive when forgiveness is required, right away and without rancor. There is always the pain of loss, when you have a dog. That's the price we pay for the love of a dog, the companionship, the countless hours of laughter and comfort. Zoe was a dear girl and I miss her. Jojo was the dog of my heart, and I'll never stop missing her. 

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A Final Thought

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." 

- Pablo Picasso

Morning in Wachapreague - and Success in Charlotte

Morning in Wachapreague

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $100

Sold

When I was in Charlotte in May for a show in the convention center, I met a wonderful man named John. He bought a painting from me, and commissioned me to paint his dog. Magically, it seemed, we became instant dear friends. I felt that I'd known him all my life. 

With his help and guidance this week, I am now represented in Charlotte by Judith Weston Voglesanger. She has a gallery in her home, and holds art events there; places art with clients throughout Charlotte; and is hanging her artists' work at a new wine bar and restaurant in Charlotte called J. Sam's. 

You can check out her website by clicking here (http://www.jwvartists.com/) - and you can also find her on Facebook under JWVArtists .

I'm pleased and excited to be represented in Charlotte, which is a fascinating city that seems to pay real attention to art. And I really like the work of the other artists Judith represents. So, yay! 

Here's the photo I used for "Morning in Wachapreague"

***

AN INTERESTING EVENT coming up in early October is a plein-air paintout at Olana, the Hudson, NY, home of Frederic Church. I am one of 30 artists accepted to paint on the grounds there, and I feel that I am in excellent company.

Truly, I have to say that I am amazed, really, at my good fortune. I look at the work of the other artists in this show, and the other artists represented by Judith, and I am sort of stunned that I am among them. I am so grateful, and truly so surprised and excited.

Since I have a show the weekend of the Olana event, I won't be at the auction itself, but I will have a piece in it, and will be on site painting for two of the days. So if you are in the area and want to say hello, come by on Thursday or Friday morning. And if you want to bid on my piece, or the work of the other artists, please go to the wet-paint auction on Saturday!

And for anyone who is not familiar with plein-air paintouts, what happens is that a number of painters go out into the landscape and paint, then choose a piece and bring it - wet! just finished! - to an auction, and the buyer takes it home as is. They are really, really fun times.

Here's the url of the event - http://cccaartswalk.webs.com/olana-plein-air-festival - and below is a postcard about the event.

***

MY NEXT SHOW is this coming weekend in Wilmington, DE. It's the Brandywine Festival of the Arts, and is supposed to be a good show, and great fun! So if you're near Delaware, or if you want a post-Labor Day destination, come to the Brandywine Festival! 

***

Scenes from the Drive

Beautiful flowers along a North Carolina highway

A cool car somewhere in North Carolina

The sky, as I drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

***

Dog of the Day

YEARS AGO, around the time that my mother died, people began sending emails to another Carrie Jacobson, instead of to me. The difference in our addresses is that I use my middle initial - B - between my first and last names, and she doesn't. 

This delightful Carrie Jacobson, who lives in upstate New York, has gotten a lot a lot a lot of emails meant to go to me - some of them very personal, very private. She has also gotten lots of painting emails, lots of work emails and lots of inexplicable emails. She has sent them all to me with tremendous grace and patience. 

Eventually, we met. She's really nice, smart, funny, individual. I liked her enormously. And she bought a painting from me, too, so how great is that? 

So this is her dog, Vince. And my guess is that he's not as fierce as he looks. 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com  - and don't forget that "B"! 

A Green Thought - and a Nice Southern City

A Green Thought

Oil on canvas, 10x30

sold!

One night this summer, I went to dinner with a friend of my brother's, who I had met a few times but didn't know well. 

We went to a lovely restaurant in Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, and we had a great time, talking about life and hopes and goals and how to reach them. She inspired me and refreshed me - and I needed it. I'd done a series of shows in Connecticut, and they had been good, but hot and exhausting, and I was flat-out tired. But our conversation, and our lovely treat of a supper on a cool outdoor patio gave me the zest I needed to paint and get ready for the final Connecticut shows with vigor and enthusiasm. 

As we were leaving the restaurant, I took a photo of a large planter outside the restaurant. "A Green Thought" is my painting of that planter, and that cool and refreshing evening. 

***

MY HEAD HAS been full the past week in Wachapreague, and I finally realized why. I went by this house, and rolled down the window of the car to take photos of this white stuff climbing in lacy handfuls over everything, and WHAM! my head filled up, just like that. 

The stuff is called autumn clematis, according to my friend and native Wachapreagian Pat. It makes my head a balloon, but it has a rich, sweet fragrance, and it sure is pretty. 

 ***

IF I EVER wanted to live in a city again - and I think that 10 years in Boston was probably plenty of city living for me - but if I ever did, Charlotte would not be a bad choice. It's filled with art, cool buildings, good restaurants, wide ethnic diversity, a football team with a downtown stadium - and no snow.

A Panthers game was starting as I drove through the city tonight, and it made me think of being in downtown Boston when the Red Sox were playing at Fenway. Both stadiums are right downtown, and the excitement of a big crowd going to a big game on a warm night is very contagious and appealing.

***

Dog of the Day

He was loving it! 

April Salt Marsh and a Good Show in Charlotte

April Salt Marsh

Oil on canvas, 10x10
sold

I had an excellent show in Charlotte, and am breathing a sigh of relief and gratitude. A big sunflower painting, a big cowscape, and my beloved "Road to Warwick" all sold, along with three pet portraits and the plein air piece I posted yesterday, which was bought long-distance by a collector (and friend).

I feel very lucky, indeed, as there were not many people at the show.

The folks who bought my paintings were delightful, too! They loved my work; they were open, optimistic and friendly people, and it was just great to have shared the moments that we did, and to have those people in my life. Selling a painting to a person who touches your heart is one of the best feelings in the world.

I did have an experience at the show that brought me up a bit short. Decades ago, at the Mystic Outdoor Art Show, I saw paintings of roads that I really loved. They were moody, interesting, beautiful paintings, and fascinating, too. Through the years, I've remembered them, and that lasting emotion was one of the things that drew me to painting.

The man who made them was at this show, and I found him and introduced myself, and told him my story and how he had figured in it.

He could not have been more gloomy or ungracious or unfriendly. Later, he walked by my booth and I could see from 20 feet that he really disliked my paintings. "Bet these sell," was all he said.

Wow. There was so little joy in this man, I had to wonder why he keeps painting.

Lucky for me, I know why I do!

***

Here are some photos from the show:

 Here's my booth, above, and booths and work by others, below

***

And here's a Dog of the Day, from my friend Pem! 

Want your dog to be Dog of the Day? Send me a photo! 

Afternoon Shadows, and a Prayer for the Mothers

Afternoon Shadows, Mt. Pleasant, NC

Oil on canvas, 10x10

sold

 A prayer for all the mothers:

May love be the road you walk, with your children and your own mom. It might not be an easy road, or a straight one. It might not be paved smooth and even. But it’s the best road, the surest road, the one that passes through the heart.

May you have the courage to hold fast to your convictions and your ethics, and to teach your children the hard lessons, the ones that will help them make their own best choices.

May you find the energy to seek your own inspiration, your own truths, your own beliefs. May you find the strength to follow them, and be the example for those who love you.

May you have the joy of laughter shared, the rich pleasure of solitude, the comfort of family and friends when times are tough.

And may hope and faith be yours, today and every day.

My painting in the landscape, in Mt. Pleasant, NC

***

You can see this painting and others through Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Convention Center in Charlotte, NC. 

The Fine Art Show I'm in is intimate, high-end, lovely. There's jewelry, glass, painting, photography and woodworking. It's a nice show! 

If you live in the area, please consider stopping in - and bringing your friends! If you don't live near Charlotte, but you know people who do, please let them know about the show. 

Thank you!