Blue-Sky Sunflowers - and a Lovely Place to Stay

Blue-sky Sunflowers

Oil on canvas, 48x72

commission

One of my goals in all of this is to do fewer outdoor art shows, and earn the rest of our living from galleries and internet sales, painting trips, plein-air events and commissions. And paintings like this one are proof that that plan can become - and is becoming - a reality. 

I love love love this sunflower painting! It is intensely bright and sunny, and while I'd never have thought of doing the upper background blue, I really like the way it offsets the rich colors of the sunflowers. 

What you don't get from the photo is a sense of the depth of the bright colors, and an idea of the size of the painting - 4 feet by 6 feet. It's so heavy I have to take it off the easel in order to change the height of the easel. And the size is one of the things that makes it so intensely sunny and amazing. I am looking forward so very much to delivering it, and seeing it hang in the gorgeous kitchen where it will hang! 

***

I MADE MY WAY to High Point, NC, on Wednesday, for the plein-air paintout that starts today. It was a beautiful drive, mostly west, through lovely, sunny farmland. High Point looks like an interesting city with some bright and well-polished spots, and some fairly large pockets of what look like economically depressed areas. 

The paintout starts today, with what's known as a "Quick Draw," a three-hour event on North Main Street, very close to the hotel. I imagine that part of the Quick Draw is to draw attention to the event, and I think that's very smart. 

The hotel where we are being put up is absolutely gorgeous. And the paintout is paying for our rooms, and for most of our meals. What a treat! 

Above, the front and back of the JH Adams Hotel, where we are staying. 

Here's my room! 

The back entry to the hotel. 

Here's the outdoor patio. 

***

MY NEXT SHOW will be An Occasion for the Arts, in Williamsburg, VA, Oct. 4-5. It's my first time doing this show, and I'm excited about it! I'll be in Booth A-8 on Duke of Gloucester Street. If you're in the area, or planning to be in the area, please stop by and say hello, and see my new pieces! 

***

Dog of the Day

Today's Dog of the Day is Samantha! She's the mother of Puffy, our other cat, and Kizzy, Puffy's late sister. Doesn't she look like Katharine Hepburn, the Dog of the Day from my most recent post? 

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

Ellie, Referrals, and ... Would YOU Eat THAT?

Ellie

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Commission

Ooooh, I really love this painting!

I pretty much love all my paintings - but there are the special ones, the ones that grab at my heart - and this is one of them. And, happily for me, the people who bought it love it, too!

With any luck, those nice people will have friends who will want paintings of their dogs. And their friends will have friends... and on and on.

***

IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS (and I KNOW you do...), please invite them to sign up to get my blog by email or check out my website!

Ask them to like me on Facebook, and follow me on Pinterest! 

Suggest that they go to a show and see my paintings in person. Or suggest that they consider buying one of my pieces for that wall in the living room, or the empty little spot beside the front-hall closet.

Referrals are gold to me! I will thank you with all my heart - and will make sure you get a nice referrer discount the next time you buy a painting from me!

***

I LIKE TV, I admit it.  I went through an anti-TV phase, and for 10 years, didn't own a set. Now, I enjoy it.

But I wonder about what people who make commercials think we are. I swear, if I ever ate anything that sounded like what Kit-Kat bars or Doritos sound like in commercials, I'd have a mouth full of broken teeth. Where is the joy of chomping into something that sounds like kindling breaking in your mouth?

What commercials drive you crazy? I'd love to know!

***

 Here's a restaurant sign that made me smile...

Here's a photo my brother sent me, of four of my paintings in Millwright's Restaurant in Simsbury, CT! 

***

And here's the Dog of the Day - Sienna - with some gorgeous peonies. Sienna lives 

with Melanie, sister of my friend Heather! 

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