Spike

Spike

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Commission

Winter brushes the Shore with warmth these short December days, surprising and delighting me, bringing hope and life into a time that was starting to feel all too close, too tight and dark. 

Here in Wachapreague, Christmas lights brighten the long nights, and in the day, festive wrapping paper, holiday music and a parade of sweets and treats soften the edges. 

In a fit of cleaning out and tossing out, I find  my Christmas hat, and my Christmas spirit, though the latter has blown in and out a bit, like the summery wind of these past few days. 

Ghosts visit me in this time of joy, this time of celebration of Christ's birth. While I miss them, they remind me that I am grateful beyond measure for what life has brought me, for the time I spent with them, and for the love that makes my heart ache in their absence. What a celebration we would have, if they were here with me. 

Then I know, they are, indeed, here with me. They live on, in my heart, in my memory, in my prayers. It is a time to be thankful for all I have had and all I have now. 

And that includes you. 

***

THE 101 DOGS project is chugging right along! There are spaces left, for sure, but the list is filling up. Yay! 

The project is fun, it's good for art-buyers, pet-lovers and the generous of spirit and heart. You can check it out by clicking here. 

It's too late for me to finish a painting in time for Christmas, but if you want to give one as a present, I can email you a nice gift certificate that you can print and give to the giftee! Click here to drop me a line and I'll let you know how to proceed. 

***

I HAD A GOOD time as the featured artist at the Jack Richardson Gallery in Onancock this past Friday, during the town's Art Walk.

I met lots of nice people who were interested in my painting. Many of them are artists, and it was fun to enlarge my circle of creative acquaintances here on the Shore.

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Dog of the Day 

Yes, I know it's a lot of Koko, but I'm a little in love... 

Here she is snuggling with Smokey, her hero. 

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A Final Thought

"The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting."

- Vincent Van Gogh

Jumping for Joy

 Jumping for Joy

Oil on black canvas, 48x54

Please click here to email me for price and delivery information

Those of you who've been following this blog, and my career, and have supported me and encouraged me over all these years, you know what a departure this painting is.

I've painted pretty straight-on, over the years. Yes, I use wild colors. Yes, I edit landscapes liberally. Yes, I build interesting surfaces that catch the light in inventive ways. But all in all, my paintings have been based in the visible, based in the real.

This painting, and at least one more (almost finished!) find their feet in the land of hope, rather than the land of reality. These pieces have come directly from the people in motion idea, and from the breadth of response that all of us seem to be feeling about the state of the world.

I was going to say, a couple paragraphs earlier, that my paintings have not carried any sort of message to date - but that's really not true. In the face of everything, in the face of all history and all humanity, I do believe in the goodness of people and in the power and fertility of optimism. I think my paintings have expressed that belief, unwaveringly.

And so, to that degree, my paintings have carried a message. It's the same as the message in this one, I think, though this one is certainly more overt.

So what do you think? I'd love to hear your responses to this piece!

***

 I'm the featured artist at the Jack Richardson Gallery this Friday during the Art Walk in Onancock. I think my stuff looks great in his window and up on his smooth gray walls! If you're in the area, please stop by. I'll let you all know how it goes.

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Dog of the Day 

It's Smokey, our big old bear of a dog. And the one who's chosen him is Koko, who's snuggling with him in the photo above. Smokey is Koko's hero, and it's a well-deserved accolade. In spite of his age, his arthritis and some eye problems, Smokey is optimistic, loving, always enthusiastic. And he is very, very soft.  

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A Final Thought

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." 

-Twyla Tharp

Small Fall - and the Art Stroll

Small Fall

Oil on black canvas, 6x6

sold

On the second Friday of very month, the town of Onancock (that's the Big City, when you live in Wachapreague) has an Art Walk. All the galleries in town are open late, artist studios are open late, and many shops are open late, too.

This month, Jack Richardson, a talented and well-known painter who owns the Jack Richardson Gallery, is featuring my art. Yay!

If you're in the area, I hope you will stop in and see the gallery, meet Jack and check out my new paintings in real life. The Walk runs from 5-8 p.m.

***

I happened to be behind a Peter Pan bus a while ago, 

and had to wonder - Just what is Mr. Pan doing? 

Love to hear your thoughts! 

***

Dog of the Day

It's Koko, waiting at the studio door. She's still not a great studio dog, but 

she's beginning to get the idea. She and Abby like it best 

when I have both doors open, and they can include the studio 

on their racing laps through the yard. 

***

A Final Thought

"An artist cannot fail. It is a success to be one."

- Charles Horton Cooley

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. 

***

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

We Three Kings - and a Hat-Stealing Ho-Ho-Hound

We Three Kings

Oil on canvas, 36x48

Please contact me for price and availability

I've not been feeling very Christmasy. 

I've been painting hard, and am excited about my new pieces, "We Three Kings" top among them. (I love the black canvas!) I've been thinking about what I need to do, what I need to paint and what I need to buy for the California Calling Painting Extravaganza, coming up soon!!! (Click here to find out how to sponsor me - and please consider it!) 

I have been, and am always, moved by the real celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, but that is a personal thing for me, and not one generally marked by what I think of as "the Christmas spirit."

I've been thinking about the troubles our now-oldest dog is having, and how tough it's going to be for Peter when I'm on the road. I've been thinking about one family member's recovery from hip-replacement surgery, and the sad and sudden dissolution of another family member's marriage. 

My birth family, the Coopers, had our holiday gathering weeks ago, and it was great, but it was weeks ago. In my own little family here, the season has difficult emotionally for a few years, and Peter and I have not done much for each other for Christmas. 

I told a friend about all this, and she shared with me that she really begins feeling the spirit when she focuses on giving. So that's what I did. I put on my Santa hat (thanks, Ronet Noe!) made some donations, got a couple others ready to go (stuff for the animal shelter and for a church second-hand store). 

Then I put up our Christmas tree, and I went out and went shopping and bought a couple small presents. And it was fun! 

Since I left my regularly paying job, I haven't "gone shopping," except at local thrift stores. You know, I haven't cruised around, looked at everything, tried stuff on, imagined how this or that would look on me, or on him, or on that friend; how this person would delight in using that; how we don't really need this, but wouldn't it be nice... I haven't been a consumer in spirit or in deed. 

But on Tuesday, I was, and it was fun. 

Between the giving and the buying, the Santa hat and the silly dog that stole it (see below), I managed to crack open the Christmas spirit. 

HoHoHo

***

(Thieving) Dog of the Day

I met this dog on the street in Onancock, a cute little town just north of here. Rambunctious, exuberant and thrilled with the smells of our dogs, he jumped up on me, stole my Santa hat, and set about trying to kill it. He managed to put one little tooth-hole in it, and more than anything, he made me laugh. 

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