Carrie, Samantha, Miranda & Charlotte

Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte

Oil on canvas, 36x48

Please click here to email me for price and availability

I had the great good fortune in February to meet a young man who wants to give his parents a cowscape, as a present from him and his fiancee before their wedding.

He sent me a photo of some cows in the pasture in front of his parents' home, and I made the painting and am about to send it off to him. I liked the grouping of cows so much that I asked if I could incorporate them into a different painting, and he said OK.

So... Same cows, totally different paintings. Fun!

Which do you prefer?

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Stuff I've Seen

 Wow! Double rainbow Saturday in Richmond! 

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Dog of the Day

Two beautiful Samoyeds at the show in Richmond this past weekend. 

They made me think of my Sam, who passed a couple years ago, 

but who I remember every day. He was one of the sweetest dogs ever. 

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

"Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can." 

- Danny Kaye

Take Me to the River

 Take Me to the River

Oil on black canvas, 36x60

sold

The people of Richmond came out to Arts in the Park last weekend, in spite of lousy weather, cold temperatures, mud, slop and even some downpours. It was an excellent show for me, all because the good folks who live in Richmond didn't let the weather keep them inside. 

A happy buyer with "Take Me to the River."

My first experience with rain at a show was years ago in Mystic, CT. It was either my first or second Mystic show, and while the Saturday was OK, on Sunday, it poured. Sheets of rain. Torrents. Many of the artists packed up and went home, but I stayed. For starters, we lived only a few miles away, and I had nothing better to do. Also, I had committed to the weekend, to being there, and I felt that I should honor my commitment. 

So I sat there in the rain, and lo and behold, sold seven paintings. It was a miracle, really, and taught me a good lesson. 

Rain has ruined a lot of shows in which I've participated - but it hasn't ruined all of them. I'm grateful to everyone who slogged out in the rain and cold and mud, to look at and even buy art. Thank you! 

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Dog of the Day

Saw this guy out in Arizona, guarding the Arivaca Road.

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A Final Thought

"A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because 

all things in nature are dark, except where exposed by the light." 

- Leonardo DaVinci

Looking for Lunch

Looking for Lunch

Oil on canvas, 16x16

sold

Richmond welcomed me this past weekend with arms that might not have been completely open, but at least were part-way there. I came away from this show with some profit, unlike most of the shows I've participated in so far this year. So, yay! 

In addition, the people were very nice, the park where the show was held was beautiful, and the neighborhood was gentle and pretty, brightened by azaleas and warmed by lovely brick homes. 

Carol and Bill from Wachapreague showed up, along with their grandchildren Richmond and Keagan, and that was a great treat. My friend Cynthia Battista, a marvelous jeweler from Connecticut (check out her work here)  did the show with me, and friends Alison Thomas, who makes wonderful photographs and digital art, and John Maurer, one of my favorite painters, also attended.  It was a big show, the weather was beautiful, and it was fun. 

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MY NEXT SHOW is this weekend in Crozet, Virginia, about four hours west of here. I've never done this show, and it seems that it will be interesting. Click here for more information! 

A happy buyer with "Looking for Lunch." 

Clockwise from upper right, it's Carol, Richmond, Keagan and Bill. 

My booth in Richmond

I really like the arrangement of paintings on this wall. 

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Dog of the Day

This French bulldog puppy was pooped! 

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A final thought

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." 

- Henry Ward Beecher

A Small Piece of Land

A Small Piece of Land

Oil on canvas, 16x16

Please email me for price and shipping information

In the dawn light, the raucous birds sing of spring and morning and light the back yard with color and movement. The night hangs on into the day's early warmth, coolness reaching from the still-cold Atlantic up into our sunny morning yard. Above, the sky arcs with orange and pink and yellow, dawn crackling with announcement and a bright and shiny promise. 

Here Wachapreague, the lawns are growing fast, the grass thick and shiny emerald, wet with dew each day. Azaleas and camellias streak our town with color, offset by candy tuft and tulips and the waning daffodils. 

Spring was once my least favorite season. Now, I feel it is the princess, and I am a rapt admirer.

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TODAY AND SUNDAY, if you're in or around Virginia, why not come to Arts in the Park in Richmond? It's a big show, and promises to be fun. It's today and Sunday, 11-6 and 11-5 respectively. I'll be in Booth No. 90... Cynthia Battista, an excellent jeweler, will be in Booth No. 333; Alison Thomas, a wonderful photographer, will be in Booth 81. We'd all love to see you!  For more info, click here. 

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Dog of the Day

This cutie came into the booth at the Arlington show. She is a sweet dog, who has Addison's disease. Her human says treatment is going very well for the tiny girl (she weighs 6 lbs), and that she's living a good, full life.

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

"The greatest fine art of the future will be the making 

of a comfortable living from a small piece of land."

- Abraham Lincoln

Salt Marsh Morning

Salt Marsh Morning

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $100

Please click here to contact me if you'd like to buy this painting

The very first time I wandered into Wachapreague, I fell in love with the salt marsh. It was an October afternoon, and the marsh grasses were golden-orange. The sky was a glorious, thin light-filled blue, a sky I often see and always love, here in this place of clean air and boundless horizons. The ocean was a deep indigo beyond the barrier islands. It was a place I knew right away, and a place that promised endless fascination and discovery. 

The marsh, right down the street, continues to be a source of inspiration for my soul and for my paintings. I've watched it change through the seasons for a few years now, and while I feel I know its outlines, I'm only beginning to get a sense of its character. 

I made this painting from a photo I took early in the morning on my way to a show. I usually go by the marsh on my way to a show and on my way back. It is a ritual of sorts, a minor detour that seems to ground me, and often gives me something to consider, too. 

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RICHMOND, ARTS in the Park, this weekend... Saturday and Sunday, 11-6 and 11-5 respectively. I'll be in Booth 90. Jeweler Cynthia Battista will be in Booth 333, and photographer Alison Thomas, Booth 81. Click here for more info!

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Dog of the Day

Abby, left, and Jojo have become the best of friends. Abby is still a big, dumb puppy (she ate my spare pair of glasses yesterday; the first pair, she ate just before I left on the Origins Painting Trip), but she's smart enough to know that Jojo is the one who will play with her, and snuggle with her, too. 

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A final thought

"There is no art without contemplation."

- Robert Henri

Jake - and a Wild-Sounding Show

 Jake

Oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

I really love this one! Jake has such an expressive face, with big soft eyes and a direct glance that melts my heart a little bit. 

I paint a lot of black dogs - also white dogs - and they generally end up blue and purple, like Jake. It's a way to get the depth, and the shine, the curves and the light and the shadows - and still stay away from black, which deadens and kills a painting, at least in my opinion. 

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THIS WEEKEND, it's Arts in the Park in Richmond, VA. I've heard this is a fun show, sprawling and busy, with hundreds of artists and jewelers and basketmakers and woodworkers, and pretty much anything and anyone else you can think of! I've never done it before, so we shall see. 

I'm in Booth No. 90, in what's referred to as "the dust bowl." Hmm. Hearing that I was in that space, one friend who knows my ways cautioned me not to bring any wet paintings. 

The show is Saturday and Sunday, 11-6 and 11-5 respectively. For more info, click here.

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Dog of the Day

Actually, there are two dogs in the cart... one on the seat, and one on the floor. 

They're both wet, gray-faced and pretty darn happy-looking. 

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A final thought

"Creativity takes courage."

- Henri Matisse

Fiery Sky - and Disturbing Oreos

Fiery Sky

Oil on canvas, 30x30

sold

I have always loved painting skies. Blue and clear, dark and threatening, high and arcing and aching with the heat of summer, it doesn't matter. The sky is the frosting of the painting for me, really, and this sky is one of my best. I'm taking my sun-rings idea and freeing it up a little, channeling Vincent Van Gogh a bit, as well.  I'm very excited about this idea, and am pushing it hard in the paintings I'm doing now. What do you all think about it? 

I believe my love of painting skies started when my dad told me something that a painter had told him - that no one could ever prove that the sky he had painted was not the sky he'd seen. Understanding that had freed him, he said - and when I understood it, it freed me, too. 

A few years ago, I mentioned my love of skies to my friend Candy. Ever since, she and I have taken a photo of the sky nearly every day, and shared those photos by email. We're in the third year of the project now, and it has become one of my touchstones. 

When I'm painting, I am always tempted to leave the sky for last, the way I'm tempted to leave the frosting for last. But it's important to get at least some of the sky on the canvas while I'm putting in the land and the trees and everything else. All the colors influence each other, and so, much as I might want, I don't leave the sky for last. 

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PETER AND I were shopping the other day, and I saw cookie-dough Oreos. Yes, Oreo cookies stuffed with cookie dough. I asked Peter if he thought that was maybe sort of cannibalistic. 

"No," he said. "It's incest." 

Made me laugh. 

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FOR FOKS IN VIRGINIA, I'm in Arts in the Park in Richmond this coming weekend, May 2-3. The show is 11-6 on Saturday, and 11-5 on Sunday. The show is in Byrd Park in Richmond. I'll remind you all again, later in the week, and give you directions and my booth number. 

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Dog of the Day 

It's a mini Australian shepherd, whom I met in West Hartford Center last month. 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

"I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart."

- Vincent Van Gogh