Swirling Sky

Swirling Sky

Oil on canvas, 36x36

Please click here to email me for price and availability

A while back, I made a series of paintings in which I left much of the canvas blank. I loved this look, the pure white blank space, to be filled in by your imagination, or your memories, or your dreams.

And people did just that, when they saw the paintings. The houses were standing at the edge of a cliff, or in the middle of a snowstorm, or nestled into dunes - and there were more stories, more ideas. It was great to hear them, and to talk about these paintings with people. 

But in the end, I stopped making them. It was very hard to sell them. While lots of people got it - and I sold quite a few of them - many didn't, and didn't understand why they'd pay good money for a painting with almost no paint on it. And I do understand that. Also, no matter how careful I was, the beautiful white canvas picked up smudges and dirt from the shows. 

Recently, I exchanged pieces with Judith of JWV Artists in Charlotte, NC, and got my biggest blank-canvas painting back. This past week, I filled it in - and ended up with this painting. I have to say I like it even better than the original. I love the thick, undulating dunes, love the swirl of the clouds in the sky, love the contrast of the two parts together, linked by the houses. What do you think? 

You can see this painting and other new pieces at the Paradise City Arts Festival this weekend in Northampton, MA. The show runs from Saturday through Monday. Click here for more info! 

Here's the original

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Really? Wouldn't you think about changing the name of your town? 

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 Here's the flier I've been working on for the 101 Dogs project. If you click on the flier, you should be able to read everything. Otherwise, click here to check out the project on the Jacobson Arts website: http://www.jacobson-arts.com/#!101-dogs/ci93

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Dog of the Day

My friend Tiffany told me this story. A guy she works with had to euthanize his dow two years ago, and has missed him ever since. The guy wanted an American bulldog, and applied for an out-of-state rescue - and never got a response of any kind, not even an acknowledgement of his application. 

Tiffany told him to be patient, that the right dog would come along and would find him. Sure enough, this dog came in to the local shelter. He got a wash and a dry and went home with Larry to see how it would work. I haven't heard back, but something tells me it was Meant To Be.  

Beach Ball - and My First Award!

Beach Ball

Oil on canvas, 10x10

Commission

Here's the next installment of the very fun series I made for my youngest collector. I'll show you the whole grouping together soon! Whether it's me, or some other artist, if you ever have the chance to commission a group of paintings - or even a single painting! - you will find out how very wonderful it is to be in on the process from the start. It's great for the artist, too. 

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I'm out in Arizona, on the Origins Painting Trip, and I am just starting the real painting phase of it, in and around my first hometown, Fort Defiance. 

I spent a couple weeks in Tubac, AZ, south of Tucson, visiting with my dad and Paula, and participating in the Tubac Arts Festival. There, sales were slow, but I won my first award! It was a general award, inviting me back for the 2016 show. Yay!  

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Dog of the Day

This wolf hybrid was on a leash, with her people, at the Tubac show. A photographer near me thought that maybe it was a German shepherd, but I could tell, even at a distance, that she was at least part wolf. Those amazing yellow eyes are a real giveaway, and her behavior - looking left, looking straight ahead, looking right - again and again and again - that was another giveaway. She was beautiful, but spooky, and clearly a wild animal at heart. I would not have brought her to a show.

Beachscape - and Nice Weather for a Show

Beachscape

Oil on canvas, 10x10

Commission

I love the clouds in this beachscape, and also the foam on the crashing waves. This is one of the six paintings I made for a young collector, who had a great idea for a project for the stairway in her home. I had a great time making the six pieces! I felt honored to be asked to make paintings for such a rich project. 

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I'M OUT IN Tubac, Arizona, visiting my dad and Paula, and participating in the Tubac Arts Festival, which started on Wednesday, and, after the show painting on the Origins Painting Trip. 

Last year, the weather during the show was cold and raw - this year, the first day dawned sunny and warm - even hot! - and there were lots and lots of people. I had a sale the first day, which certainly made me happy. 

Here's my booth: 

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Dog of the Day

In this photo by my husband, Peter Jacobson, Jojo (front) and Smokey get Abby on the ground in a brawling playfight last week. They all love this! 

Beach House - and a Safe Arrival in Arizona

Beach House

Oil on canvas, 10x10

commission

This is the second of the six paintings I made late last year for a young collector. She had a great idea for a group of pieces - and it was a joy to make them, and to see the project come together. You can see the first piece, Seagulls, by clicking here.  

I loved making these paintings, and even before that, thinking about them, planning them, searching for photos, contemplating the project as individual pieces and as a whole. It was a great opportunity. I'll post the collection after I've shared all six pieces with you. 

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AFTER MANY DAYS of driving, for the start of the Origins Painting Trip, I arrived at Dad and Paula's house in Tubac, Arizona, on Wednesday. The drive was blessedly uneventful, free of snow and ice and even rain. I did spend one night in a quite dicey hotel, but that was just about the worst part of the trip. 

I drove down the coast to Jacksonville, and then turned west. As I drove, winter receded, and spring showed up, in the red tips of tree branches, in the greening of fields, in the warming of the mornings and the lengthening of the days. 

I drove, and I thought about life and family and friends and painting. I thought about how to paint all the landscapes I saw, how to match the colors; handle the brushy undergrowth of Florida; the broad, flat browns of Texas; the blue mountains rising from the increasingly reddening earth. 

Peter always says I come back from these trips painting better than ever. I think it's because I spend so much time just looking at the landscape, and thinking about painting. 

Here's me, just arrived at Dad and Paula's

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Dog of the Day

IT'S ABBY, in a very cool photo taken by my very cool husband. 

Want your pet to be the DOD? Email me a photo at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

Seagulls - and Off We Go!

Seagulls

Oil on canvas, 10x10

commission

At the start of autumn, my youngest collector contacted me about a project. She had a new home, and wanted six beach-oriented paintings to hang on her stairwell. She knew what she wanted in each - seagulls, a beach cottage, a pier, a beachy beach scene, two beach chairs and a beach ball, and sailboats. 

It is a delicious, delightful treat when someone comes to me with a project, an idea, something that they want, and they trust that what I will do will be what they want. It's an amazing, juicy, exciting thing to be asked to make not just a painting - that, in and of itself is a delightful miracle - but to be asked to make a collection. 

It took me a while to do these, and I sweated and worried at times - but mostly, I just had a blast! I'll post them over the next couple weeks, and at the end, I'll post them all together. 

I love how these seagulls really look like they are hanging in the air. 

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Heading West

Each of those canvases has two D-rings and a wire on the back. And now, about half of them are black! The process took forever, but I'm all set with all the small canvases for the Origins Painting Trip. The van is loaded, with these smalls and the larger ones, paintings for shows and galleries, all my tent stuff, and clothes for warm and cool weather. I'll be setting off in just a couple hours. Yay! 

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Dog of the Day

You've got to love an older dog, don't you? This is Heather MacLeod's gal

 Gypsy, on the right, and Gypsy's cousin, Daisy, on the left. 

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 

The Red Umbrella - and... Feel Like Hosting an Art Party?

The Red Umbrella

Oil on canvas, 16x20

Please contact me for price and shipping info

I don't remember when I started this painting, or even where I was. I THINK I was somewhere north of Boston - but even that memory is vague.

I've had this painting for a couple years at least - mostly finished, but not truly finished. I think I was afraid of painting the people, though I had sketched them in, and the sketches were really pretty good.

One thing I am learning is that paintings generally need less detail than I used to believe they needed. At this distance, for example, I don't have to worry about the nose on the guy sitting under the umbrella. I need only to suggest that there is a guy (or girl) sitting under the umbrella, and get close with the posture.

So I'm glad I saved this painting, glad I saw something in it, and let it sit until I was ready.

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WOULD ANYONE OUT THERE like to host an art party for me? Ideally, you live somewhere that's not in the sticks, you have a fairly large home or apartment, or basement, or garage, or access to a fairly large space. You have lots of friends who love art and want to buy art for themselves or for their friends and family.

I'd pay for the refreshments, help with the invites, supply the art and be on my best behavior. We'd have fun!

Drop me an email if you think you might like to do this! It's carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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Dog of the Day

The Dog of the Day is... Puffy! She looks all cute and fluffy here, but believe me, she's as tough as any dog - at least any dog in this house. Jojo won't go near the couch when Puffy is relaxing on it like this.

And here are some real dogs having a howling good time: