Third Side of the Road - and Excellent Gift Ideas

Side of the Road C

Oil on black canvas, 16x16

$288.75 until 11/16/15, then $385

Click here to see this painting and two similar ones on the Fast Nickel page

So the bold revolution continues! The painting above, the third in the series, is closer to what I have in my mind. It's not clear in my mind, exactly, because it's a feeling I'm visualizing, not exactly a painting.                                                                                                                                                                             Things that I like about this one, things that I think are bringing me closer to what I'm after, are the size of the image, the added brilliance of the color that comes with that larger image, the reductive steps I've taken in this one, and the trunks and                                                               branches of the trees. 

Here are the first two of the paintings in this series. Please let me know what you think. Which do you prefer? And if you can put it into words, why? 

And don't forget, all three of these are on sale, at $288.75, including shipping. 

This price is 25 percent below my regular $385 price, and will be good through Nov. 15.

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IF YOU'RE LOOKING for a fun and different holiday present, please consider one of my paintings on a bag, pillow, shower curtain - and any number of other things you can imagine. 

You can find these, and many others, by clicking here to reach on my page at Fine Art America.  If you want to explore the site - there's tons of work by lots of artists, and it's really fun - go directly to fineartamerica.com and browse, or search for artists or subjects. It's lots of fun, and there are just the best gift ideas ever there. The quality of the products is very good, too. I ordered many of them this summer, just to make sure. If there's a painting you love, but it's not on the site, please click here to email me, let me know what it is, and chances are, I will have a good photo, and can upload it. 

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Dog of the Day

Saw these doggies in Omaha this summer, one in the front basket, one in the back. 

They were loving the ride, and the attention, too! 

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A Final Thought

"There is no blue without yellow and orange."

- Vincent Van Gogh

"There is no blue without yellow and without orange." (Vincent van Gogh)

Autumn on the Lake

Autumn on the Lake

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $100 

In winter, here on the Eastern Shore, there's generally not much snow - though Peter witnessed the breaking of that rule this past winter, while I was in Arizona. What happens mainly is that everything becomes sort of gray. There's not much sunshine, and there's not much color. 

I was missing color when I made this painting.  I guess it could be brighter, but I don't know how. And believe me, it is at least as bright in real life as what you're seeing here on the blog! 

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Dog of the Day

A couple weeks ago, I was contacted by Anne Pinkerton of the Paradise City Arts Festivals. She writes stories on exhibitors at the shows, and wanted to do one on me. Yay!

The piece came out really well - you can read it by clicking here. 

Anne told me how much she enjoys the Dog of the Day, and she sent me pix of both her dogs. So, meet Trixie! Her pal Hank will be the DOD soon.

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 have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."

- Albert Einstein

October Morning - and Bonnie's Amazing Art

October Morning

Oil on canvas, 10x10

sold

Yes, I love autumn! And yes, I love the morning, too. The light is clear, the shadows long, the day just beginning and full of promise. 

But these mornings, the dawn seems to come soooo late. I know most folks hate the shorter days that we get when we set the clocks back. I have to say I love that sunrise is earlier. I'm usually up at 5 or 5:30, but these mornings, in Virginia, the sun doesn't come up until after 7. 

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MY NEXT SHOWS are in Texas, yee ha! I'm pretty excited. After the first one, in Houston, I will have most of a week to explore and paint. I'm going to camp at a state park outside of Galveston, and explore Padre Island and all that Texas coastal stuff that I've seen on maps, but never seen in real life. I'll post photos. 

The shows are the Houston Fine Arts Festival,  Nov. 1 and 2, and the Winnsboro Fine Arts Market, Nov. 8 and 9. Fun! 

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My friend Bonnielynn Brankey  makes gorgeous paintings (click here to see her Ocean Colors website), and beautiful, luscious hand-painted scarves. If you're starting your Christmas shopping, check out her website and her Etsy store, too!

Above, one of Bon's scarves. Below, one of her paintings! 

Is there an artist or a craftsperson you'd like me to feature on the blog? 

Please drop me a line at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com. 

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Dog of the Day

I've showed this photo of a Williamsburg, VA, bichon to our bichon, Woodreau, about 100 times. Woody is STILL scruffy and grimy. Guess he just doesn't know how to take a hint... 

Autumn Morning - and Xmas Already???

Autumn Morning

Oil on canvas, 10x10

sold

I nearly drove off the road about six times, on the way from Cynthia and Kevin's home in northwestern Connecticut to the show a couple weekends ago at Paradise City in Northampton, MA. The autumn colors sang out, brilliant and clear and voice by voice. It was not the full chorus bellowing out "Hallelujiah," to carry out the metaphor, but a small choir singing an airy, complicated, gorgeous contrapuntal song. 

Finally, it was too much for me, and I got out and set up the easel and painted. I hung the little painting wet - and was thrilled when this mother and daughter decided to buy it. The daughter is an artist, and we all were on so much the same wavelength, it was, well, music to my ears. 

Happy buyers

My painting in the landscape

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Really??? It's not even Halloween. 

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Dog of the Day

Here's Abby, attack dog. She is turning out to be a gentle soul, but I think she'd definitely attack anyone who wanted to mess with Peter or me, or any of the dogs. 

October Afternoon - and Horrible-Looking Bug

October Afternoon

Oil on canvas, 10x10

sold

These autumn days are great for painting - and great for living,  too. For reasons I don't understand, the light gathers up a clear, round quality that, to my eyes, enriches all the colors, all the shapes, all the shadows of the earth. 

The wind blows cool and crisp through the sun-warmed afternoons, and on Virginia's Eastern Shore, the world turns yellow and bronze and gold. Here and there, I see a crimson tree, a flare of orange in a pine-green wood - the merest whisper of New England's loud October voice. 

Yesterday, Jojo and I spent pretty much the whole day in the studio, painting. I'm addressing a lovely series of commissions, and it is a joy to be able to paint dogs and cats and landscapes with the doors open, the October breeze blowing through, and my faithful companion at my side. 

This painting and another new one are on auction at Daily Paintworks. To see my gallery, click on the icon on the right of this posting, or click here: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/carrie-jacobson-4216.

The auctions end on Monday at 8 p.m. 

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WHILE JOJO HAS protected me from pirates, vandals and marauders, she has clearly not kept me safe from huge, disgusting bugs, as you can see below:

I don't know WHAT this thing is, but it was about 3 inches from stem to stern, prehistoric looking, and pretty darn frightening. However, it seemed harmless enough. I put an empty paper towel roll in front of it, and it climbed aboard, and then happily (?) climbed onto a leaf outside - far away from the studio. 

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Dog of the Day

I met Pam at the Stockley Gardens show in Norfolk in the spring. It was a good show for me, and lots of fun. Between then and now, Pam and her fam got Pemba. She's a golden doodle, and Pam says Pemba will fetch sticks all day from the Elizabeth River - no matter how chilly the day. 

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