Cardinal in a Dogwood Tree

Cardinal in a Dogwood Tree / Oil on black canvas / 5x7 / $68

Please email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com if you'd like to buy this painting

THE CARDINALS HAVE BEEN FLOCKING to the feeder, and it makes me happy to see them.

The males catch my eye, always, but it's the females I find myself watching, and enjoying their subtle colors, the way their plumage blends with the still wintry, mustard-colored grass. In fact, thinking about them this morning, the way they flit and flash and tilt their heads, feathers showing orange and yellow and even a hint of green, thinking about them has spurred me to make another painting of a female. 

***

IN A WEEK, if all goes according to plan, I leave for Arizona for about a month. This is my usual winter trip to visit Dad and Paula, though this time, it will be different. 

For starters, I usually head out in late January. I've never been there in March and April, and am hoping to see the desert in a little bit of bloom, and the country, in fact, in a little bit of bloom. 

Usually, I choose my route to avoid snowstorms and ice storms. And while they are still out there, or were, this week, it will probably be spring storms, thunder and lightning, tornadoes, that I'll be trying to avoid.

My friend Carol is coming with me this time. I've never made the trip with another person in the car, and while I am a little hesitant about it, and about not having those long, lonely hours on my own, driving and watching in silence, I think it's probably good this trip to not have those long, lonely hours on my own, driving and watching in silence. 

We will stay for a few weeks, spend lots of time with Dad and Paula, and I will paint, on the way, out there and on the way back. I am not doing a formal painting trip this time, but will post the paintings and the story of my travels, here on the blog. 

I have a lot to do before I leave, but it will get done. I am so hungry to see and paint and drive through a different landscape, I can barely wait to go! 

***

Coda

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

- Vincent Van Gogh

Cardinal

Cardinal / Oil on black canvas / 8x10 / $120 including shipping

 

DUSK COMES EARLY these days, a thin blue that sinks into orange near the horizon. 

Dawn comes later and later, the lightest purple today, with wisps of brighter clouds just above the treetops. 

The afternoons stretch into a joy of yellow sunlight, the rays low in the sky and warm. It is the perfect time to live here, along the Atlantic Ocean. The summer visitors are gone, and we who live here have the golden marsh, the golden sun, the golden light of October all to ourselves. 

My flowers are still blooming, some - gardenias among them - for the third time this year. There is no traffic; the dogs and Liesl and I walk in the middle of the streets. Cats rest, undisturbed, on sunny front stoops. Windows are open, and I hear someone mowing and smell the sweet scent of grass, for probably one of the last times of the summer. 

Surely, winter will come, with its gray sky and its bleak thoughts. But for now, the days are bright and warm and short enough to be treasured. 

***

A Last Thought

"Autumn... the year's last, loveliest smile." 

- William Cullen Bryant

Cardinal with Swirly Sky

Cardinal with Swirly Sky / oil on black canvas / 57x unframed / $68 including shipping

sold!

I WAS FEELING OVERWHELMED the other day by the magnitude of the task of clearing out this house, the studio, the garage and the shed, and my friend and former baby-sitter Ann Stewart offered up a solution that intrigued me. 

Spend five hours a week, all on one day, doing whatever it is that needs to be done, she suggested. That's 20 hours in a month, which is enough to finish nearly anything - but it breaks even the most unmanageable task into do-able segments. 

The simplicity of the idea attracted me instantly, and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like genius. Five hours is not a whole day. It leaves enough time so that even if you do the five hours, you still have a day. And yet, it's enough time to really dig in, to really make headway - but long enough to allow a break or two. 

On Saturday, I spent five hours working in the Caribbean House, a brightly painted shed in our backyard. I had thought it would take the rest of my life to clear it out - but in five hours, I made Big, Visible Progress. Yay! 

So I share this idea with you, in hopes that it will help you tackle some task that might seem insurmountable. Good luck! Or, as Dan Rather might say... Courage. 

***

Gratitude

TODAY, I AM GRATEFUL that I have several life-long friends. Ann is one of them, and I have a few more. I've known these folks pretty much all their lives, and they've known me pretty much all of mine. There's great comfort in that, and I am indeed grateful. 

What are you grateful for today? 

***

For Today

"It is impossible to explain creativity. It's like asking a bird, 'How do you fly?'"

- Eric Jerome Dickey