Spine of the Earth - and Me Vs. Target

 Spine of the Earth

Oil on canvas, 18x24

commission

I've made this painting a few times now, and every time I make it, I think it gets better - and more interesting.

The original painting was a plein-air piece I made on Ocracoke Island, off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was on the way home from that trip that I stumbled into Wachapreague. That detour started a series of events that involved me quitting my job at Patch.com, and ended with us moving to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

I went to the Outer Banks that October thinking that I wanted to paint the ocean, and the place where the ocean met the sand. Instead, I found myself mesmerized by the dunes. They rose and fell like breathing. Pulsed like the earth dancing. Shifted and churned like waves turned nearly solid. The wind blew hard the entire time I was on the Outer Banks and Ocracoke, and I could see it sculpting the dunes, carving them, moving them, grain by grain by grain.

I loved the wild romp of colors, the bright, sun-glinting sand, the deep maroon of some beachy scrub, a million shades of green and gold and tan in the grasses, and all of it churning and swirling and waving in the wind.

Every time I approach this painting again, I capture more and more of that feeling. I see more colors, feel more pulses, paint the wind and sky and rhythmic dunes with more verve and more abandon. Perhaps next fall, I'll go back to the Outer Banks and paint on site again.

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LOOKING FOR INSPIRED Christmas/ Hanukkah presents? Why not buy them from me? I'll appreciate it so much more than Target or Macy's ever would.

For $12.99, you can get a really nice 2015 calendar showcasing 12 of my California Calling paintings. Click here to go to the Lulu site, where you can buy a calendar or 10.  

For $22.79 and up, you can get a book of my writings and paintings from the California Calling Painting Extravaganza. Click here to go to the Blurb site, where you can see all the options and buy a book or two. 

For $50 and up, you can sponsor my upcoming painting trip, the Origins trip. I'll be going back to Fort Defiance, AZ, where I spent my first couple years, and I'll paint the land in and around the town. There are a whole bunch of options, and I promise you will love the blog and the paintings I make! Click here to go to the Jacobson Arts website, where you can find out more, and become a sponsor.

And finally, you can always buy a painting from me, or give a gift certificate for a regular painting or a pet portrait. Check out the Jacobson Arts website, or drop me an email at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com, to find out more.

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Dog of the Day

When I was in Winnsboro, TX, last month I went out painting early one morning. Afterwards, I drove around the neighborhood, just to see a little more. There was pretty much no traffic - just this one truck driving down the drive and out toward the road.... with the farm dog racing alongside. He went as far as the mailbox, then stopped, watched the truck drive away, and headed back toward home. 

Path Through the Dunes - and a New Gallery

Path Through the Dunes

Oil on canvas, 16x20

Available at J. Gallery, High Point, NC

See that last line, everyone? "J. Gallery, High Point, NC." 

Yes! It's new gallery for me, and a very exciting one. This gallery, run by Julie Delgaudio, is on the walls of the very beautiful J. H. Adams Inn in High Point, NC, and the Brookstown Inn in Winston-Salem, NC.

Julie organized and ran the Piedmont Plein Air Paintout, and impressed me from the moment I met her. Though she had 30 artists, dozens of volunteers, bunches of sponsors, tons of visitors and a couple spouses to deal with, she never lost her cool. The event went smoothly, was well advertised, covered in the media - and the town was excited about it.

The galleries are on the walls of these beautiful hotels, so they are not formal on-the-street galleries. The artists Julie has gathered make paintings that I really, really like. I am excited and honored to be included.

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I SPOKE WITH my prosperity coach, Joe Skelly, last night.  As always, he had good ideas, asked good questions and pushed me to strive for more. I just want to put a little plug in here for Joe. He's really helped me, enormously. I encourage any of you who would like to see your business become more successful to get in touch with him. His number is 757-675-6569. You can call or text him.

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MY NEXT SHOW is in Williamsburg, VA, this coming weekend. It's An Occasion for the Arts, and takes place Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Merchants Square area of downtown Williamsburg. I'm in Booth A8, on the Duke of Gloucester Street.

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Dog of the Day

Here are Vinny and Patsy, pushing Zack and George 

out of the best waiting places at the door...

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

October, Ocracoke - and a Wonderful Woman Is Laid to Rest

October, Ocracoke

Oil on canvas, 16x20

Please email me for price and availability.

I love the wind in this painting, and the sky, and the feeling of a raw, strong October day at the edge of the Atlantic. The muted colors of early Autumn, the bright bits like memories of summer, the feeling of change coming, in the air, I see and feel these all in this painting, and I remember. 

And I love the way the dunes rise and fall, like vertebrae on the spine of the earth. I went to the Outer Banks (this was a few years ago by now) thinking I would paint the ocean and the waves - but what called to me was the sand, the dunes, the ground and the sky. 

I had a chance to go back and look at some photos from the Outer Banks and Ocracoke, and painted a couple of them again. This one will be in my upcoming show in Williamsburg; another that I painted is going to the J. Gallery of Fine Art, in High Point, NC. It's a new gallery for me, and I am excited. 

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LORI CHOZIK RUNS Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center, CT, and over the years, I've grown to love her and her family. So it made me very sad to hear that Lori's mom, Shirley, had died this past week. Lori's dad, Harvey, died in the winter, not quite a year ago. 

Center Framing and Art was the first commercial gallery that accepted my work, and Lori has been a fantastic supporter of me and my art for years. She sells my paintings regularly, and has helped me develop a wonderful group of collectors and fans. 

Years ago, when I was just starting out as a painter, Harvey and Shirley were having health issues and really needed someone to be there for them during the days. I ended up with the job, and absolutely fell in love with Lori's parents. 

Harvey was funny, and dry, and very kind. Shirley was sweet and loving and also very funny. Both Lazinsks had tremendous personal stories. They were self-made successes, Harvey as a teacher and founder of a tutorial program, and Shirley as the brains and businesswoman who started and ran Center Framing and Art. And she did it at a time when women just did not start their own businesses. 

We hung around together, mostly. We shopped and cooked, we went for walks and drives, we drank tea, we watched TV, and we talked a lot. Harvey and Shirley would reminisce, and they would tease each other, and banter, and talk about their family and how much they loved them. They quizzed me about my family, and Peter, and the dogs. We shared our days, and they enriched my life beyond measure. 

It makes me sad to know that these two fine people are no longer walking the earth. I am honored to have known them, and to have spent so many hours with them. This world is a poorer place without them. 

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Dog of the Day

It's Shannon Ferguson's dog Tinker! Isn't he adorable? 

If you want your pet to be the Dog of the Day, send a jpg of him or her to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com