Banana Dog

Banana Dog

Oil on canvas, 16x16 

Sold

During a slow time in a show last summer in Manayunk, just outside of Philadelphia, I took this photo of a woman and her dog, who is crazy about bananas. The dog - an older guy - was totally and completely focused on the woman's banana, in spite of all sorts of people and activity nearby (which I didn't paint). 

It made me very happy to make this painting. I am still a novice at painting people, but I like the way she came out, and I like the reflections in the window, too, and the people inside the coffee shop. The woman who bought this piece loved it, and is a collector of dog art, so how perfect! 

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 "House of Cards" fans, this one's for you 

Yup, it's the peachoid! And there really is a Gaffney, SC, too. 

Why the peachoid is yellow, I don't know. 

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Pix from the Road

I'm in Pendleton, SC, right now for a show this weekend, and thought you all might like seeing some spring-looking scenery. Pink and white trees are blooming everywhere down here, and the pollen is turning everything greeny-yellow. And it is warm! You all in New England, take heart. It's coming your way.

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Sunrise in Wachapreague on Thursday. 

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Dog of the Day

It's Tyler! He's Erika and Paul's dog, and is sort of the 

brown-eyed version of Jojo. I guess they are step-siblings? Or maybe just cousins. 

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

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A final thought

"There is a basic law that attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. Conversely, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully, his positive thinking sets in motion creative forces - and success, instead of eluding him, flows toward him." 

- Norman Vincent Peale

Storm Rolling In

Storm Rolling In

Oil on canvas

sold

I had the good fortune, while I was in Tubac, to be out and painting on a day when a big rainstorm rolled in over the mountains. 

I like the big warm clouds at the top of this painting, and the way they've blown in, and I like the strip of light that's made its way through those clouds. The afternoon felt like this - a little chaotic, a little dangerous, but soft, also, and rich with the promise of bright sun and fresh, clean air. 

I'm on my way to South Carolina for a show this weekend, and a show in Chattanooga the following weekend. It's a beautiful time to be in the south - spring has already showed up here! Fruit trees are well into the first phases of blooming, and the air is warm already. 

It feels a little soon to be on the road again - I could have used another week at home, it's been so great to be there. But I'm excited about two new shows, and about my new paintings, too. 

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IF YOU'RE ON the Eastern Shore on Sunday, please stop in at the Island House for lunch or dinner and the Artisan Trail fund-raiser. 

A portion of the Island House receipts from the day will go to help build the Eastern Shore Artisan Trail. A silent auction takes place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. There's a social hour from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., and then a live auction starting at 8 p.m. All sorts of artists and artisans have donated pieces for the auction. I've donated a pet portrait, so if you've been longing for one, here's a good chance! For a little more info on the day's events, click here. Wish I could be there! 

And for more about the Artisan Trail program, click here. It sounds pretty cool! 

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Dog of the Day

Here's my friend Catherine Leonci with some of her dogs and some of her daughter-in-laws dogs. 

What an excellent mother-in-law! Looks like a fun time.

Fernando - and the Eastern Shore Artisans Trail

Fernando

Oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

If you're in Wachapreague on Saturday, April 5, please come to the Island House for a day of fun and fund-raising to help establish the Eastern Shore Artisan Trail.

The Island House will donate a portion of the day's receipts to the effort, and artists and artisans in town - myself included - are donating work for an auction and silent auction.

The silent auction runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the live auction takes place at 8 p.m., after a social hour that starts at 7 p.m.

Artists and artisans from Wachapreague and beyond have donated work for the event, which is part of the effort to make the Eastern Shore part of the Artisan Trail Network.

The network is part of the Artisans Center of Virginia, which was incorporated in 2000, as a way to serve the state's artisan community by providing funding and economic opportunities to the states craftspeople and artisans. You can read more about the program here.

So while the Artisans Center doesn't really include artists (though I think it should), an Artisans Trail along the Eastern Shore is bound to benefit those of us who make art, as opposed to craft, just by drawing attention to the bounty of creativity and talent that's here on the Eastern Shore.

I am donating a pet portrait to the effort, so if you've been thinking that you might like a portrait of your pet, here's a way to get one, and help a good cause, as well! These paintings sell for $350; bidding will start, I believe, at $200, so you might even have a chance to get one below cost.

Here's a poster of the event:

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I WON'T BE able to be at the Artisan Trail event, because I will be in historic Pendleton, South Carolina for the Spring Jubilee, my first show of the season here in the east. That show takes place April 5-6.

I'll be staying down in South Carolina for the week after the show, as the following weekend finds me in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the 4 Bridges Art Festival, April 11-13.

My show schedule to date is up on the blog now, with my booth numbers if I know them. I'm planning on fewer shows this summer than last, though at this point, the schedule looks pretty full.

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Peter and I took a drive to Exmore and Willis Wharf on Saturday, just to get out - I realized that, apart from one trip to CVS, I haven't left the house since I got back from Arizona! I asked him to stop so I could to take a photo of the scene below, and when I got out of the car, these geese started honking and honking, creating a ruckus like I've never heard. And they are as silly-looking in life as in this photo.

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Dog of the Day

It's Smokey, a little blurry, but happy and full of life as ever.