Sunflowers After the Storm

Sunflowers After the Storm

Oil on canvas, 36x48

Please contact me for price and delivery options

It's been a long, long stretch of not posting, and I apologize! Thanks to all who wrote to make sure I was OK.

I am! It's just been busy here beyond imagining.

I spent a lot of time getting ready for the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, and then, of course, working hard at the festival. The first day, a brilliant and sunny day, one painting sold. It was bought by a couple from Rhode Island, delightful people who are collecting my work, and I could not be happier that they came to the show and bought another painting! I love knowing that as they walk through their house, they see my paintings, day in and day out. I know my paintings make them happy, and knowing that makes me happy.

The second day, it poured. Poured and poured and poured, and all around me, artists packed up and left. But I had committed for two days - that's what you do when you get into these shows - and so I stayed. And much to my delighted surprise, six more paintings sold. I had a lovely, if wet, day, met a bunch of very, very nice people, and again, several pieces were bought by one delightful collector. What a thrill!

After shows, I rest a little. There's a letdown - and true, bone deep fatigue. So I laid low for a day or two, then started painting, this large and bright sunflower piece, one that I hope will be part of a display soon at Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center.

And then, the hurricane hit. And I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote, filling the Montville Patch with news and stories and photos and videos. I believe I wrote 53 stories between the Friday before the hurricane hit and the following Friday, when the power (mostly) came back on.

And then - surprise! - I had another show. I got into it just before it began, and honestly, up until about a day before it started, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the garage door up to get my stuff out, because of the power situation here.

But the power came on, the door opened and the show went well. Three paintings sold, I worked hard, I met incredibly nice people who were so happy to be away from tropical storms and hurricanes and power outages that they were overjoyed to look at art.

So I am back, and painting, and looking forward to whatever's coming next!

Jacobson Arts is located in windswept Gales Ferry, CT

Frenchman's Creek

Frenchman's Creek

Oil on canvas, 12x36

sold

This is another of the paintings I made while I was up in Gloucester, MA, last month.

It was morning, a beautiful morning, and I was planning on going somewhere with another painter, but needed to get gas first. There aren't many gas stations out there, and I'd gotten more than a little lost. I pulled into a boat-launch area, shady and cool, tucked away at the start of Frenchman's Creek, as I was informed by a sign.

It was a great place to paint, off the road yet solitary, and about as gorgeous as it gets. The tide came in while I painted, changing everything - another wrinkle in the plein-air pantheon.

I love this painting, the length of it, the breadth of it, the sunshine. It's everything that day was.

Don't forget to check out the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival! It's Saturday and Sunday, in downtown Mystic, CT. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, across from the post office... and I'll have this painting, and other new ones, with me.

Thank you, as always, for reading!

jacobson arts's world headquarters is well hidden in gales ferry, CT

Moonflowers

Moonflowers
Oil on canvas, 12x16
Please contact me for price and shipping information

This week, I had the opportunity to attend a painting class at Dragonfly Studio in Pawcatuck. The teacher is a woman named Nicole Naylor, and I have to say, she is fabulous.

I'd been wanting to do a sunflower painting in a different range of colors - really sort of play with the colors, and the feelings evoked - and though I could see the painting in my mind, I didn't have the nerve to do it.

I can't explain this, really. I have enough canvas and paint that if I waste some, it's not a big deal. There's no one at my shoulder, when I'm up there in the studio, telling me I should do this or should do that, or passing judgment. Heck, if I made the painting and hated it, I could just wipe it off.

And yet, I couldn't begin.

In the class, I did begin. And Nicole helped me, questioning, suggesting, pushing. It was great. She was great.

And it was wonderful to paint with the other women in the class, too, all of whom made paintings that vibrated with life.

Don't forget! Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine, starting at 10 a.m. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, across the street from the post office.

Want to read about how you get into an art show like Mystic? Click here.

jacobson arts is well hidden in gales ferry, CT

Passing Fancy

Passing Fancy

Oil on canvas, 12x48

Please contact me for price and delivery options

One of these very hot days, after the sunflower extravaganza was officially finished, I went back, and sure enough, the fields were still full (and might be, even today... I hope to get out there!)

Cows had been allowed in to one of the fields, and they'd done a number on the flowers. The weather was doing its work, too, August's tropical heat withering the leaves and forcing the flowers' heavy heads to droop, their crown of petals to curl.

But even then, they were lovely, and so I painted, hot and happy and pleased to be alive.

The Mystic Outdoor Art Festival is this weekend! If you haven't been, and you're in the area, it is really worth the trip. Yes, it's a madhouse. Yes, it's crowded. Yes, it's hard to park, and it's always hot - but there is wonderful art, and fine people, and chances are that you will see friends, maybe even friends you haven't seen for years. And whether you buy something or just look, you will come away filled with images and creativity and a renewed sense that this is a good and beautiful world.

jacobson arts's double secret world HQ is hidden deep in gales ferry, CT.

Sunflowers, Day 1

Sunflowers, Day 1

Oil on canvas, 11x14, sold

Clouds rolled in, my first day painting at Buttonwood Farm this year - and I really like the way they brought the colors down just a little. I like the way the clouds and the wall echo each other, and make the sunflowers just that much more intense - because they matter more, I think.

I mean, on a beautiful day, you already have the beautiful day. On a cloudy, humid, gray day, the sunflowers are a surprise, a contrast.

This painting sold before I finished it! A woman from Virginia bought it, and I will be shipping it to her as soon as it is dry enough.

The painting I made the next day sold before it dried - and I never even took a photo of it!

Don't forget about the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival this weekend! It's Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. both days. The show closes at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 5 on Sunday.

I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, near the post office. If you're at the show, please stop in and say hello, and see my new work.

Here is this painting with the sunflowers behind.

Jacobson Arts world headquarters is in Gales Ferry, CT

More Sunflowers

Sunflowers

Oil on canvas, 18x24

Please contact me for price and delivery options

Jill Blanchette and I went out to paint Tuesday at Buttonwood Farm. The big sunflower extravaganza is over (they raised more than $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation!) but there were still plenty of sunflowers.

The heat and dryness is catching up with them, though, and they are starting to tip over, faces turning toward the ground.

I've had crazy success with my plein air Buttonwood Farm paintings! One sold before it was finished. The next sold before it was dry. The third, I still have, and this is the fourth.

I am so happy with this painting! Partly, I think, because I was so happy with the day. It was a joy to be with my old friend, and to laugh, and to know that this friendship has lasted, through thick and thin, joy and grief, over many years.

And partly, I am happy with this painting because it came without thought or effort on my part. It came through me, a gift from God, or the universe, or the muses, or whatever name you'd like. I was a vessel with this one, and it's a cool, fun painting - and the best of experiences.

jacobson arts world headquarters is in gales ferry, CT

Golden

Golden

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Donation for Montville Animal Shelter, as part of the Art for Shelter Animals Project

This golden Labrador needs a lot of help. He has a recurrent urinary tract issue that could come from Cushings disease, (which would be a fairly solvable problem) or from a neurological disorder (a difficult or impossible problem to solve).

Right now, he needs a test to figure out the origin of the issue.

This is a sweet, cheerful dog who's made friends with the kittens in the shelter. He is happy, bounding, galumphing, a real Lab-like guy who would be an excellent companion for someone who has the time and patience - and maybe the money - to care for him.

If you want to talk to Animal Control Officer Chris Martel, call her at 860-848-3529.

the world headquarters of jacobson arts is in Gales Ferry, CT

Dusk, Stonington Point

Dusk, Stonington Point

Oil on deep-cradled canvas, 16x20

sold

The days are getting shorter, and I feel the tug of winter settling in.

I know it is a million weeks away, but every day brings it closer. In the mornings I sit here and look out my window and before I remember, I wonder if it's storming, or if today is the day that the sun will not come up.

Hawks nested in the driveway this spring, and had two babies. The parents were vocal,  watching us and announcing our presence and their own for the whole summer. We watched the parents build the nest, catch a multitude of creatures to feed themselves and their babies, and then we watched as the young hawks learned to hunt.

I saw one of them in the yard one day, sort of stomping around on the grass. I thought he had caught something, but in fact, as I looked closer, I could see that he had not. I think he was trying to step on bugs.

I watched him, and honestly, I began to think he was developmentally disabled, too stupid to last in the world he lives in, the world of eat or be eaten.

One afternoon, he caught a worm, and flew off with it, clearly not quite understanding what to do.

Days later, he caught a vole.

Days after that, they all were gone.

I cling to these hot, bright days, live on the glory of sunflower fields, and day lilies and the delightful presence of the summer's crop of hummingbirds, and the knowledge that all of this will go, and will come back again.

jacobson arts world headquarters is in gales ferry, connecticut

Addendum

Sunrise, Sunset

Oil on canvas, 12x16

sold

As my friend Carrie Jacobson so intelligently asked me after my most recent post... which painting had I so serendipitously brought to Art on Groton Bank and sold? (Those Carrie Jacobsons are smart, aren't they?)

So here it is. From November 2009.

You know, I focused on that experience in my most recent blog post, but there was much more to the day. For starters, the fact that AOGB happened at all this year is somewhat of a miracle.

It was started in 2007 by Audrey Heard, a marvelous artist, and friends Lana Orphanides, Judith Winder and Millie Carlson. Audrey and crew ran the show through last year, when Audrey apparently decided that she wanted to devote her time to painting.

For a while, it looked like there would be no Art on Groton Bank. Then Chris Rose, curator of the Gallery at Lighthouse, stepped in, and the show went on.

The work this year was lovely. Friends came to see it, and friends came to be in it. Mary Stepanian of Groton showed beautiful, lively paintings and cards, and had a great time. Kelly Jarvis of Westerly brought her gorgeous jewelry, and had an excellent day. It was her first time at AOGB. It was also Ronet Noe's first time. She's a wonderful and incredibly creative painter who builds up 3-D stuff on her canvases and then paints them - I've never seen anything like it. She didn't sell anything, but she had a good time.

Friends came from work, from the neighborhood, and a woman who works at Jerry's Artarama in West Hartford even came by.

Art on Groton Bank always happens around the anniversary of my mother's death, and so there is always an undertone to the event for me. But I know how happy Mom would be with what I'm doing, and so there is great solace in that for me. And while my dad is in Arizona and couldn't be at the show, I feel lucky every day to still have one parent living and seeing my painting, and loving it.

Jacobson Arts world headquarters is in Gales Ferry, CT

A Charmed Day

 

My booth at Art on Groton Bank

I had a lovely and charmed day at Art on Groton Bank on Saturday. 

I had set up my booth (in the shade! Yay!) and was talking to someone when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a person who looked familiar, but out of place. As in, when worlds collide. 

Sure enough, it was Cindy, a woman who had been at the Wickford show a week earlier. She and I had had a lovely conversation about art, and life, and she and her husband, who was every bit as gentle and sweet as she was, bought a painting from me. 

They live up near Wickford. But on Saturday, they came down to Groton to see Art on Groton Bank, say hello, look at my work and buy more paintings! 

It is hard to express what this means to me. It brings tears to my eyes on this hot Monday morning, really. Any time that a collector comes into your life, it is a blessing and a gift. To have this kind couple go out of their way and seek me out to see more work and buy more paintings is one of the riches experiences you can have doing this, I think. 

But the story goes on! Eric had found a painting that he liked, and Cindy kept looking and looking, and finally asked me about a painting she'd seen on my website. I couldn't get it from her description - so I got out the computer and we looked through the website. Still couldn't find it. 

Eric suggested that she look on the site when she got home, and get in touch with me. While they were discussing it, I remembered that I'd brought a couple extra paintings (my little box of optimism), and I pulled one out to show them. 

This was a painting I'd made of the back yard, as the sun was setting on a gorgeous afternoon. It's always been one of my favorite paintings, and yet it hadn't sold and hadn't sold and hadn't sold. It's one of the touchstone paintings, where my style changed, and so I thought that perhaps I should keep it. So I had put it in a box in the garage and sort of lost it for a while. But for some reason, it showed up and I put it in my box and brought it to the Art on Groton Bank show. 

I pulled it out and said, well, "I have this other painting that I haven't hung," and Cindy turned around and her face lit up and she said: "That's the ONE!" 

Sure enough, it was the one she'd fallen for on the website. 

So this sweet couple bought two paintings from me on Saturday, and made my day on many levels. 

Art on Groton Bank was a lovely event this year, sunny and happy and with a good crowd and sales for many of us. Chris Rose of the Gallery at Lighthouse did an excellent job putting the show together, and I have high hopes that it will continue.

The world headquarters of Jacobson Arts is in Gales Ferry, CT.

A Rising Tide

A Rising Tide

Oil on canvas, 16x20

Please contact me for price and delivery options

Art on Groton Bank is set for Saturday, and it's going to be an excellent day and an excellent show, I do believe.

This is a small show - artists, there are still slots available, if you're up for it - and it is a good show. Audrey Heard and friends dreamed it up, gave it its French flavor, and shaped it to echo the spots in Paris where artists lean their works up against fences, paint and, in Audrey's words "talk the talk of art."

This year is the first year that Audrey has not been involved with the show, and while that leaves folks with twinges of tristesse, it's probably a wise move for her. She wanted time and space to paint. Chris Rose, curator of the Gallery at Lighthouse, has picked up the reins. Several members of the original crew are working on this year's show, adding their expertise and institutional memory to the mix.

So, while this is a small show, it's a fun show, a great way to support the Bill Memorial Library, and an excellent place to see and show and buy and sell ... and talk the talk of art.

The show is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. It is in Groton City, near the Monument, on the grounds of the Bill Library, 240 Monument St. 

Any artist who is interested in participating may contact me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com, or 860-442-0246, or contact Chris Rose, at chrisrose@lighthousevocedcenter.com or 860-705-3954.

And if you're looking for a nice way to spend an hour or two, support the community, and see some nice work, come on by. I am hoping I will be set up in a lovely shady spot!

As always, thank you for your support, and for walking with me on this journey.

Jacobson Arts is in Gales Ferry, CT

Afternoon Trees

Afternoon Trees

Oil on canvas, 8x10

please contact me for price and delivery options

Just a reminder that the Wickford Outdoor Art Show is taking place this weekend!

It's in Wickford, R.I., a lovely coastal village north of Newport and south of Providence. It's a fine-art show, and the quality of work is generally spectacular. I was honored to be juried in.


I'm Booth 78, on Elam Street, a small side street, a little quieter than the main drag. I set my booth up last night, and I think it looks pretty good. I will post a photo during the day if I have time.


The show is Saturday and Sunday, pretty much all day. Click here for more info.

Hope to see you there!

Jacobson Arts is located in Gales Ferry, CT

Summer Field, Newburyport, MA

Summer Field, Outside Newburyport, MA

Oil on canvas, 12x16

sold

The sun was shining on this field, and in the distance, day lilies were blooming around that barn-shaped house. The day was hot, and the sun had that brilliance that it has anywhere near the ocean.

A woman came by as I was finishing this painting and told me that the field had just been purchased by a local greenbelt association, to be kept as green space, open to the public.

She and her dog walked down the path, and I decided to do another painting, a small one I will post tomorrow.

When the woman and the dog came back, he was wet from swimming in a pond in the woods you can see in this painting. He was happy, and wagging his tail, and he shook himself hard before he got into the van.

Time is putting distance between Kaja's death and my heart, and I am grateful. I got through Thursday without weeping, and that is good. My old girl wouldn't want me to be weeping, not for too many days.

And I must get past it, because I am in a big show this weekend in Wickford, RI. I am Tent no. 78, on Elam Street. It is a fabulous show, one of the top in New England, and I am honored to have been accepted. Click here to find out more about the show, or visit wickfordart.org!

It's a fine destination if you're looking for something fun to do over the weekend. If you go, please stop by my tent and say hello!

Thank you, everyone who wrote to me and offered me condolences. Your thoughts and words and prayers mean a lot to me.

The world headquarters of Jacobson Arts is in Gales Ferry, CT

Sunrise, Essex Marsh

Sunrise, Essex Marsh

Sunrise, Essex Marsh

Oil on canvas, 24x24

Please contact me for price and delivery options

I woke early on Saturday, the last day in Gloucester, and made this painting. A new friend, Alicia Drakiotes, painted with me, and we enjoyed the beautiful morning and each other's paintings.


Tired, filled with beauty and with painting, I headed home.


And once I walked in the door, I knew that my old girl's time had come.


With distance, with fresh eyes and with a heart full of love and sorrow, I saw that it was the end for Kaja, and that I had to make it happen. I walked into the house, saw her, burst into tears and called the vet.


Three hours later, she was gone.


I am sad beyond words. I am bereft. Kaja was smart, and she was noble, and she had a sense of humor. She was one of the great ones. She was nearly 15, and she guarded me, and loved me and cared for me unfailingly, every day of those 15 years.


I only wish that death had come and taken her here, in her sleep, in the home she loved. But her heart was too big and too strong for that.


This dog, who had run across the fields chasing deer, this dog who had hiked and ridden and gone swimming with me, this dog who had been the friend of my heart day in and day out, could barely walk. She could barely stand, or sleep or eat. She looked at me and I saw sadness in her eyes. I saw the end.


Her big heart touches mine still, and always will. And while I miss her, and will miss her every day for the rest of my life, I know that she is free from pain and from anxiety and from the body that let her down. I just hope that, in the reckoning, she will not think that it was me who let her down.

Jacobson Arts is in Gales Ferry, CT

Moose

Moose

commission

Our old dog is still hanging on, and most days, I think we're doing the right thing for her. I wonder if it is the right thing for us.

Most days, she has the bright look in her eyes, the sparkle that is hers and always has been. Some days, it's not there.

She is painfully thin, though we spend our days feeding her. She's gotten very picky, knowing, I believe, that we will give her better and better stuff. Peter bought her her own already cooked chicken last week, and she ate it (we feed her by hand) pretty much all by her lonesome.

Most days, she can't get up by herself, but will exhaust herself trying, so it's become necessary for one of us to be here with her pretty much all the time. At night, this often means waking up five or six times, and staying up for hours while she paces.

Her coat is falling out, so there is no more brushing her. We cut off pieces when we have to. The vets don't know why this alopecia has happened, but it shows no sign of leaving. Kaja's once-beautiful plume of a tail is not a mostly bare rat tail.

When I write it like this, it sounds like we should euthanize her. I know it does. But then she will see me coming and take a little hopping jaunt to greet me. Or she will come over and lean against me, smiling with her eyes, as she always has. Or she will follow Jojo into the bedroom and snap at her, in play, when Jojo is too rambunctious.

She is an old girl now, unsteady and slow. Her beauty has spun to dearness, her strength to resilience, and the place she has always held in my heart has grown. 

I watch the old girl walk around the yard, clearly loving the feel of the grass beneath her feet, and the smells that float on the breeze, clearly still loving her plodding explorations, and I think, not today. Not today.

And I pray that death will find her on its own, as she sleeps, one day not too far from now.

the world headquarters of jacobson arts is in gales ferry, connecticut

A Superb Second Day

Mill Valley Road, Hadley - sold

The second day of the show was as fabulous as the first, or maybe even better!

I went out early and made this painting, as the clouds and fog and humidity rolled in. This is a gorgeous area - with bustling little urban villages, strip malls with good stores, and a half a mile outside, gorgeous farmland.

It was a pleasure to set up early and paint, smell the grass and the sky, the scent of cows not so far off, and then go into the hot and crowded Paradise City Barn and talk art with people all day.

Three paintings sold Sunday, including this fresh, local plein air piece. So how GREAT is that?

I am tired today, but I am hopeful and optimistic. I continue to feel blessed. The people who are buying my paintings are not just buying things to decorate with - they love these paintings, and are feeling them deep in their souls. It's tremendously exciting, tremendously affirming - and FUN!

The Paradise City Art Festival runs until 5 p.m. today, here at the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton, Mass. So come! I'm in the Morgan Barn, Booth 317. 

My booth, the second day

 

 

 

 

 

Jacobson Arts is located in Gales Ferry, CT, a village in Ledyard

Harpswell Harbor

Harpswell Harbor

Oil on canvas, 11x14
sold

Oh, I love this painting! I love the red house, especially, and the way the buildings are tucked together, close and tight, facing the setting sun. I can imagine them in shadow in the mornings, and with yellow lights shining out in early winter dusks.

I can imagine them in snowstorms, and with the heavy icy Maine-coast rains pelting and slamming them in November.

There's something about a village, a cluster of houses, a small gathering of buildings close together that always appeals to me. I loved Bolster's Mills, in southwestern Maine, where we lived on and off for 10 years. There were about 40 houses there, and while not everyone got along all the time, when you drove through, you'd think - in this village, they all are friends.

I hope you come see me this weekend at the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton, Mass. I'll be in the Morgan Barn, Booth 317. Please stop in and say hi!

jacobson arts world headquarters are in gales ferry, CT

Training Sheepdogs

Training Sheepdogs

Oil on canvas, 24x30

Please contact me for price and delivery options

I was trolling around the backroads between Fryeburg, Maine, and North Conway, NH, when I came upon a small group of people, a small group of dogs and a harried-looking clutch of sheep.

It was a sheepdog clinic. The canines were young and inexperienced, and a stocky farmer guy was training dogs and owners alike.

It was pretty fascinating. For the most part, the dogs clearly have the chasing gene - but have to learn the commands. One of the dogs was reluctant to chase, and the farmer guy dragged him over near the sheep and exhorted him, and he took off, as speedy and determined as any of them. My guess is that that dog's been yelled at for chasing...

The rest, though, got a gleam in their eye right away, as they went after the poor, overchased sheep. It was great fun to watch, and I'd have stayed all day, were I not supposed to be at a wedding.

It's such a miracle when any of us, humans or animals, finds his true purpose in life. I can tell you from experience that it feels like nothing else. The whole world seems to open up and shine with life, and possibilities seem endless.

Hope to see you at the Paradise City Arts Festival this weekend! I'll be in the Morgan Barn, Booth 317. Please come and say hi.

jacobson arts is located in Gales Ferry, CT

Jersey Girl

Jersey Girl

Oil on canvas, 16x20

sold

Today, I turn 55.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, really. I mean, of course, it's just another day, and I am no older today vs. Sunday than I was Sunday vs. Saturday. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't think of the passage of time, and the passage of my time in particular.

On Friday, I had an assessor come over and look at the stuff of my mother's that's been in our garage for the past two years. Today, I gave my daughter my mother's old spice rack, with spices intact, that I'd been using - even though it didn't fit at all in the spot we have for spices.

These days, all these days lately, I've been watching the ebb and flow of what must surely be the last weeks of my ancient and beloved dog's life.

And today, I turn 55.

There was a time, not so long ago, that the thought of dying terrified me. Life felt like a corridor lined with doors, and I could hear them slamming shut behind me as my choices decreased, day by day.

Sure, the doors behind me are shut - but the ones in front of me are open.

While death is surely approaching, I can say that if I died today, I'd die happy with the life I've led.

And that is saying something.

The world headquarters of Jacobson Arts is in Gales Ferry, CT

Wishful thinking

Last Snow? Oil on stretched canvas, 11x14
please contact me for price and shipping/delivery info

It sure feels like this winter should be over, but it's not. The night turned cold, the rain turned to snow, and I woke to see everything covered in white again.

Still, there's a different quality to the light. And dawn comes much, much earlier these days. It seems to hasten in leaps and bounds, and that feels hopeful and heartening.

I was looking at the blog of R. Garriott ( http://rgarriott.blogspot.com/) a painter of gorgeous flowers, among other things... A painting on her site led me to the work of Taryn Day (http://awakeandpainting.blogspot.com/) and something that she wrote - it doesn't really matter what, and I can't remember anyways - made me look out the window and see, as if for the first time, the scene just beyond the pane.

It's nothing, really, just a tangle of trees and brambles, a stone wall and our neighbor's house in the distance. But the morning sun was slicing through the grove, and leaving streaks of shadow and light on the new-fallen snow - and I knew that this thing I've been looking for the past week was here. I ran down into the basement and grabbed my stuff and hauled it upstairs and painted in a frenzy -

And there is something in this painting. Something in the shadows, in the texture, in the play of light - the next step, it's here.

Thanks for reading!