Bobby, Ethel, Jackie-O

Bobby, Ethel and Jackie-O

Oil on black canvas, 36x48

Please click here to email me for price and shipping/delivery info

They say that all art that you make informs all the other art that you make, and I think I'm seeing that in my painting right now - and I am liking it. 

I've been painting with pastels for the past few weeks (you can see my pastels on the pastels page of Jacobson Arts - click here!), and so when I stumbled into a sort of smoky, smeary approach to the background of these three cows, I saw an echo of the pastels I've been doing - and I pushed at it, working my way into new and, I think, exciting territory. 

Please let me know what you think! 

***

Dog of the Day

I have breakfast on Thursdays at the Sage Diner with a wonderful group of women who live on the Shore. These dogs were in the back of a truck of someone - a hunter would be my guess - who was having breakfast in the restaurant. 

Just in passing, the Sage Diner has had a sign out since we've lived here - Two Eggs, Two Sausage, Two Pancakes. That's it. No price, nothing else. Makes me laugh every time. 

*** 

A Final Thought

"I make art, sometimes I make true  art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my life. Some of them. Not all."

- Neil Gaiman

Manny, Moe and Jeff

Manny, Moe and Jeff

Oil on canvas, 36x60

Please click here to email me for price and availability

This painting started its life looking a little different. The sky was pretty much the same, and the road to the left was pretty much the same, and the mountains were sort of the same, but the cows were smaller, the trees were smaller, the water was smaller, and the colors - still a little out of my comfort zone - were a little more quiet. 

I wanted to like it, but just couldn't, even though people liked it, and I was going to paint over it. Instead, I really looked. I searched for what was bothering me, for why I wasn't in love with this cowscape. It took a while, but it came to me, and I was able to make the changes that are making it work. 

This is a process that's happened a few times to me now. It is still a new process, of improving rather than tossing out. And it's a process I hope I can bring to other parts of my life, including my own sense of self. 

***

Shows! 

I'm sending a big thank you to everyone who came to the shows this summer, took the time to look at my paintings and talk with me! And a special thanks to all of you who bought paintings! Each sale is a miracle, and I appreciate each one very much. 

I'll be on the road for a few weeks, starting tomorrow. Here's my schedule: 

Stamford, CT, July 29-30, Harbor Point, Booth 20

Uptown Art Festival, Minneapolis, MN, Aug. 4-6, Booth 3407 on the mall

Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, Mystic, CT, Aug. 12-13, corner of Willow and East Main

and Centerfest, Durham, NC,   Sept. 16-17

Hope to see you there! 

***

Dog of the Day

Pals! Saw these guys at the show in State College, PA. 

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

***

A Final Thought

“Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. … 

It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. 

Not everyone can be the artist. 

There have to be those who witness the art, 

who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see.” 

- Ann Patchett

.

Today's Forecast

 Today's Forecast 

Oil on canvas, 15x60

sold

I was inspired to paint "Today's Forecast" from a photograph that a collector of my paintings posted on Facebook.

The photo was of her own cows, whom I've met - and painted, too! And she ended up buying the painting, so it feels like it has gone full circle.

I love the photograph so much, though, that I might make another somewhat like it, in a different format. We shall see.

***

Speaking of Cows

One of my paintings has been chosen as the art T-shirt for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts! This is a huge show, one of the top shows in the country, and I am honored that a painting of mine has been selected. 

The festival takes place July 13-16 in State College, PA. I'll be in Booth O-20, on Fairmount Avenue. For more information, and to reach the store where you can buy a T-shirt, please click here. 

The weekend before the State College show, July 8-9, I'll be at the Wickford, RI, Fine Arts Festival. I'll be on Elam Street. 

This is a marvelous fine-art show, in one of the most charming villages in Rhode Island. I'm really looking forward to it! For more information on this show, please click here. 

And the final weekend in July, the 29th and 30th, I'll be at a show in Stamford, CT, a new show for me. For info on that one, please click here. 

***

Dog of the Day

It's Loki, a sweetie who lives with a dear friend of mine in Arivaca, Arizona. 

Bet he's staying inside this summer! It's been 110 and hotter out there. 

***

A Final Thought

"Dream delivers us to dream, and there is no end to illusion. Life is like a train of moods, 

like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be 

many-colored lenses which paint the world their own hue." 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Babe

Babe

Oil on black canvas, 12x48

Please click here to contact me for price and availability

Sometimes, I paint on traditionally shaped canvases, 16x20, 36x48, etc., but I prefer square canvases or ones that have ratios of 1:3 or 1:4, so 10x20, 12x36, 12x48, etc.

I've written a bit about these long canvases , and how the shape can suggest content. I've thought about canvas shape ever since I wrote that "Dogwood" entry, and I think that part of my response to the odd shape comes from my years of working in newspapers.

As a page designer, and the boss of page designers, I spent lots of time working with photographs. At a couple of the papers - the Virginian-Pilot and Times Herald-Record primarily - page designers worked hard with photographs and photographers to put as much graphic power as possible into the art. This often ended up in interesting crops. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't, but the experiments always taught me something.

So the house in "Home Away from Home" (or, frankly, any of my "Big Field, Little House" paintings) doesn't need to have windows or porches or chimneys; the painting is not about the house. The dogs in my portraits (like Red) don't need to have legs or tails. And the cows in the long skinny cowscapes don't need to have legs, either, or noses. The crop focuses the painting on the interesting part, and leaves it there.

***
Stuff I've Seen

My friend Julie is a master gardener and a member of the Eastern Shore Master Gardeners Association. She not only planted this beautiful shade garden, but also built the lovely, curving path through it. Her garden and others were open on Friday for viewing. 

For more on the master gardeners group, please click here.

***

Dog of the Day

Another cousin of Doc and Lulu! Met this Australian cattle dog at the show 

in Tubac, Arizona. He was quite a serious fellow. 

***

A Final Thought

"The job is what you do when you are told what to do. The job is showing up at the factory, following instructions, meeting spec, and being managed. 

Someone can always do your job a little better or faster or cheaper than you can. 

The job might be difficult, it might require skill, but it's a job. 

Your art is what you do when no one can tell you exactly how to do it. Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people. 

I call the process of doing your art 'the work.' It's possible to have a job and do the work, too. In fact, that's how you become a linchpin. 

The job is not the work." 

- Seth Godin

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?

***

Stuff I've Seen

 Wow! Double rainbow Saturday in Richmond! 

***

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

***

A Final Thought

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

- Danny Kaye

Benny and the Jets

Benny and the Jets

Oil on black canvas, 40x40

Please click here to contact me for price and availability

These striped cows are Belted Galloways, a breed that's native to southwest Scotland, where the temperatures are often brutal, and the landscape often rugged and not very fertile. The original Galloways were all black; the banded ones are a genetic mutation which got its own herd book (I'm guessing this is something of a pedigree) in 1928. Belted Galloways are gentle creatures, naturally polled (no horns) and gifted at surviving on what's euphemistically called "rough forage." They also have lots of calves and the beef is supposedly very good. 

I just like the way they look, with their white stripe and big black heads. They're sometimes called "Oreo Cows." 

At a show, someone mentioned that there are strict rules for naming Belted Galloways, and the rules were fascinating, but I can't remember them, and can't find them on the internet. Do you know the rules? Please let me know if you do! 

***

Man of the Day

Today, my wonderful, smart, funny, loving, kind, generous and gentle husband turns 70. It seems impossible, he looks so young, and is so young in spirit. Who knew when we met, so many years ago, that we'd have the life, the love and the adventures that we've had? And who knows what awaits us?  Happy birthday, Peter! 

***

Dog of the Day

It's Molly, the cat who lives at the post office. Our postmistress, Jackie, is part of a small group of women who have addressed themselves to the issue of feral cats in Wachapreague. They capture them, get them spayed and vaccinated, and gently find homes for them. Jackie has gotten a small, covered carrier for Molly, and it sits on the porch of the post office. Molly enjoys greeting people, and being petted, but she hates being picked up. 

***

A Final Thought

"The hardest part of artmaking is living your life in such a way that your work gets done, over and over - and that means, among other things, finding a host of practices that are just plain useful. A piece of art is the surface expression of a life lived within productive patterns."

- David Bayles and Ted Ormand

"Art & Fear / Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

Robert

Robert

Oil on black canvas, 10x10
sold

When I posted the first stage of "Double Four Time" on Facebook, many folks suggested that I do some cowscapes on black. I've done some of these large, and while people delighted in them, it was hard to sell them. Maybe the smaller pieces will sell more easily? It's worth a try - and it was great fun to paint Robert here!

I've managed to bring home two techniques I discovered on my Big Skies painting trip . One is to not hold the knife with my typical death-grip. I remind myself to hold the knife loosely, and it helps the paint glide on, with interesting not-straight edges.

The second discovery that shows up in this painting is that it's great to use the mixed/unmixed gobs of left-over paint that, in the past, I'd just wiped from my knife. Now, I pile it up in a corner of the palette, and use it as is - randomly, chaotically mixed colors like the ones at the top of Robert's head.

***

OK, of course we all know what they MEANT - "Truck Drives Off Bridge." But I had to laugh at this dog-bites-man kind of headline. "Truck Drives Over Bridge," really? 

***

Dog of the Day

I'm making Lulu the Dog of the Day because if I don't, I might murder her. She just destroyed my spare glasses. 

I was having sleeping trouble last night, and moved to the couch to see if I could sleep there. I watched TV for a while, then took off my glasses to turn over and catch some Zs. I was barely awake. 

This morning, Lulu jumped up on the couch and stole my glasses from the table, where I'd stashed them. Yes, it was my fault for leaving them there, but damn, this is the second pair in as many months. I'm contemplating writing a children's book, "Twenty-Nine Pounds of Trouble." 

***

A Final Thought

"Art is made by ordinary people. Creatures having only virtues can hardly be imagined making art. It's difficult to picture the Virgin Mary painting landscapes. Or Batman throwing pots. The flawless creature wouldn't need to make art."

- "Art & Fear / Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking," 

by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Double Four Time

Double Four Time

Oil on canvas, 36x48

sold

I made my first cow painting when we were living in Connecticut. I'd gotten a big canvas - 48x60, I believe - on deep clearance at Jerry's Artarama in Hartford, and I got it home and realized I had no idea what to paint on it.                                                                                 I'd been painting a lot of landscapes - but if I painted a big field and little house, well, what would be the point of working on a large canvas? 

The canvas stayed in the studio while I pondered. And pondered and pondered and pondered some more. 

Then, the idea of painting cows came to me. And why not? They're big, interesting, colorful. I'd made a couple small cow paintings, and enjoyed making them. So I set about it, and had a great time. 

But, I thought, I will drag this painting around with me for the Rest of My Life. No one will ever want to buy it. Who would want a painting of cows? 

Turns out, lots of people would. People like cows. For all of us who are not ranchers or farmers, cows are the familiar, but also The Other. They're such a huge part of America - in the fields, near the roads, as beef and as milk in all its forms. Much of the time - particularly in the East - when you stop to look at a cow, the cow stops to look at you. 

That one canvas, that one decision, opened a whole world to me, and it's one I enjoy, and am so grateful to have found! 

***

So Santa has a cool van now! Bet it cuts that carbon footprint...

***

Dog of the Day

Erika and Paul's dog Benny had his birthday on Christmas Day. He's a full year old now, 

but I'm pretty sure he will always act like a dippy puppy. 

***

A Final Thought

One of my favorite books in the world, and one that I've mentioned often in this blog and to fellow artists, is "Art & Fear / Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking," by David Bayles and Ted Orland. I've received permission to use quotes from the book as my "Final Thought" throughout the month of January, so here goes: 

"Artmaking involves skills that can be learned. The conventional wisdom here is that while 'craft' can be taught, 'art' remains a magical gift bestowed only by the gods. Not so. In large measure, becoming an artist consists of learning to accept yourself, which makes your work personal, and in following your own voice, which makes your work distinctive." 

- David Bayles and Ted Orland

Fred and Ethel

Fred and Ethel

Oil on black canvas, 36x48

Please email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com 

for price, availability and other details! 

FRED AND ETHEL, CHARMING though they might be, did not bring me good luck in Pittsburgh. Or maybe they did.

Set-up for the Shadyside show, on Walnut Street in Pittsburgh, is at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. You're allowed to drive in to the very narrow street, unload your stuff, and then get out. You can start putting your tent up at 5 a.m., when everyone has driven in and unloaded. After the show, the process reverses. You take everything down and put it on the sidewalk, and when everyone is done, you can all drive in. 

Most artists had to park in the organizer's lot, which was several miles away, and then catch a shuttle bus back and forth from the show street to the lot. 

Because of all this, Alison Thomas and I did some different stuff. Alison is a photographer/digital artist and a friend - check her work out at Serenity Scenes - and she and I split a suite at a hotel close to the show, and also decided to rent tents. When you rent a tent, it comes with all the weights, and also is put up and taken down by the tent guys. Because we both had vans, only one of us could park in the lot by our hotel; Alison had to park in a downtown garage, as my van wouldn't fit. 

So... We got there at 3:30 a.m., unloaded, and reparked the vans. In time, the tent guys came along and put our tents up, and we were able to hang our work. Both show days were blazingly hot. I sold one painting, and that was it. But I loved the couple who bought my painting, and as friends have reminded me, it's better to sell one than to sell none. 

The show closed at 5 p.m. on Sunday. I took my paintings down, wrapped them up, went and got my van and was able to park in a small lot close to the show street. I made two trips to the van with my handtruck, and was closing the van doors when all hell began to break loose. 

Artists at shows are obsessive weather-watchers, and we all have scads of weather apps on our phones. None of them picked up the storm that blossomed over Pittsburgh. It had been a sunny, hot day, and then suddenly, we were in the middle of thunder, lightning, high wind, sheets of pelting rain and yes, hail. 

Alison had been unable to get her van out of the garage - the gate wouldn't take her credit card, and wouldn't take cash. While she was wrestling with that, I found a tarp and put it over her photographs, which were on her handtruck. I moved the rest of her work to a doorway, covered it with a sheet and piled up stuff in front of it. I didn't notice her wall panels, however, and they got soaked. A huge huff of wind blew some of the coverings off her work, and a few pieces were damaged. 

But that was nothing compared to elsewhere in the show. Artists who hadn't rented tents had hauled their work to the sidewalk and many had the tents partly disassembled.                                                                                                                   The weights were off, but the tents were still standing. People hadn't begun to load their vans because their vans were parked miles away. This photo, by artist Tom Wachs, gives you a sense of the wreckage.                                                                                              

Work was ruined. Tents were ruined. People were hit by art and tent legs. Everyone was soaked. I was wet through to my underwear. The next day, my shoes were still soaked. By the time the storm stopped, and we were able to get Alison's van in to load her stuff, it was 8:45. on the way home, we nearly drove into a mass of downed wires, which, for all I know, were live. 

It was a terrible show for me, that's for sure. But in the end, I guess I was one of the lucky ones. And I am thankful for that. Here's a short video of the hail. 

***

Detail 

After my most recent posting, Morning's Glory, a friend suggested I post 

a detail shot of the texture of the piece. So here are a couple! 

***

Dog of the Day 

It's Red, whose human is Christine Stark, our dog pusher. Yup, Christine has been responsible for us having Abby, Koko, Dr. Cooper and Lulu. I joke, but Christine is a force of nature, who has done tremendous work fostering and finding homes for dozens, if not hundreds, of dogs. A passel of puppies was responsible for Christine losing her rental home. The group she worked for must be missing her like blazes right about now. 

***

A Final Thought

"We are saved only by love - love for each other and the love that 

we pour into the art we feel compelled to share." 

- Tennessee Williams

Thanks to Lynn Hoins for sending this quote to me! If you have a good art-related quote that you'd like me to include as A Final Thought, please send it to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

Reggie

 Reggie

Oil on canvas, 12x12

101 Dogs project

I'm still way, way behind in my blogging, so expect a few multi-painting blog posts! Hope you enjoy seeing a few paintings at once.

I'm behind because I've been away at shows, and I've had a great time. Thank you, all of you, everyone who came, braving terrible heat, terrible traffic, terrible road construction and terrible rain, to say hi, see my new paintings and even buy some. Thank you!

At the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, a couple showed up, interested in my paintings. Turns out that he had bought a couple pieces from me a couple years ago, and she had grown to love the paintings, as she'd seen them over the years.

But she had never been to an art show! So they agreed to go to the Mystic show together. They studied the website, looked up my work and the work of other people, and off they went. As they were walking in from parking, she saw the cowscape on the back wall of my tent, from quite a distance. They didn't know it was my tent, but she fell in love with the painting, and bought it!

The delightful interaction reminded me again what a miracle it is that anyone would buy art from a living person. This woman trusts herself enough to know what she likes, with no guarantee that that painting will be worth more, or worth anything, 10 years from now, or 20 years from now. She was willing to spend her hard-earned money on one of my paintings, because she loved it. Her enthusiasm and joy fill me with the same, and help make this journey possible for me - and I think it's vice-versa, as well.

All of you are helping me on this journey, by reading my blog, sharing it, writing to me, coming to the shows, thinking about art, dreaming about your own desires and hopes, and accompanying me on the journey. Thank you!

***

A Few Recent Paintings

Bella

Oil on canvas, 12x12

101 Dogs project

Want to learn more about the 101 Dogs project? Click here! 

For Ed

Oil on metal, 16x20

commission

Tom and Rudy

Oil on canvas, 20x20

commission

***

I'M SURE THAT if you live in Dayton, Ohio, this is old hat, 

but I think that "Needmore Road" is right up there with "Happy Avenue." 

***

Dog of the Day

I met this guy way back in February, in Arizona. He looks fierce as can be, 

but made sure that chair was between him and me. 

***

A Final Thought

"There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

Diana, Florence and Mary

Diana, Florence and Mary

Oil on black canvas, 36x60

Available at Center Framing and Art, West Hartford Center, CT

It's been great to have a break, here in the middle of the summer, but a friend is doing a show this weekend and I find myself wishing that I were doing one, too. 

That's a far cry from how I felt about shows when I started doing them. I approached them with a sense of dread, and a feeling that I'd rather be doing anything else. Anything. 

It was very hard for me to speak in glowing terms about myself or my paintings. It was hard for me to set prices. It was nearly impossible for me to imagine that anyone would part with any of their money to have a painting that I'd made. It was hard for me to believe that I was any good at all.

I'm thankful that all that has passed. From day to day, with varying amounts of certainty, I'm confident in my paintings and myself. I've learned that the best thing to do in the tent is to listen to the people who come in, and ask them about themselves, and what kind of art they like, what they're looking for, what they like about the show, or about this painting or that one. I don't have to talk about myself unless they ask. 

And if someone wants to buy a painting from me, I've stopped worrying whether they can really afford it, or whether it's worth what I'm asking. My paintings are usually in the low end, cost-wise, at pretty much every show. And if the buyer can't afford it, well, it's her decision to make! Maybe stretching to afford it makes it even more of a treasure? 

So this weekend, I'm getting the van ready to drive to Minnesota, finishing paintings for commissions and upcoming shows, and starting to think about where I'll go on the Big Skies Painting Trip.  

And next weekend, I'll bring my new paintings to the Uptown Art Fair, and be happy to be participating in a show! 

***

Baby Animals 2017

In my most recent blog post, I wrote about the 2017 Wachapreague calendar that I'm making. I'm participating in a project for the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, too - a calendar of baby animals, put together by my friend and former Patch.com boss Elissa Bass. These two paintings are destined for the calendar. Check out the DPNC website to find out more! 

 ***

Dog of the Day

Met this guy out in Tubac, Arizona, in February. He looks tough but was very sweet. 

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

***

A Final Thought

"One eye sees, the other feels."

- Paul Klee

Sean

Sean

Oil on black canvas, 48x60, sold

I've been painting a lot, and traveling a lot, but I haven't been posting to my blog as much as I'd like to this year. So I'm going to post a couple paintings each post here until I catch up. Some of these have sold, but I think that many of you just like looking at the paintings, and reading about them - please let me know if I'm wrong! Sean was a big, big painting, and I really enjoyed painting him. When you're painting with a palette knife, it's really fun to paint hairy animals. It's a natural, a great fit of tool and purpose. 

Sean went to a woman with an utterly amazing home in Tubac, Arizona, where my dad and stepmother live. The buyer has brought items from around the world - and throughout the centuries - to decorate her home. I'm honored that Sean is in such company. 

***

Bill 

20x20, oil on black canvas

Please click here to email me for price and availability

I made Bill for someone who said she might want a buffalo painting... and then never came to the show for which I'd made the painting. But it's OK. Many people have asked for buffalo paintings, and it was fun to do, and I am sure Bill will make his way into someone's home. 

***

Update

A friend whose husband drives trucks with three trailers (they're called "triples") says that they have "the best safety record of any group on the highway, including law enforcement." There are lots of rules governing triples, she tells me. They can't drive in snow, wind or fog. You can't back them up! And some states prohibit them. So, interesting. Guess I don't need to be so nervous when I'm passing one. 

***

Dog of the Day 

Saw this guy at the post office in Wachapreague. He started barking like crazy, of course, when I got close to the car - which was running, with the A/C on, I am happy to report. 

***

A Final Thought

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original; whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) ou will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

- C.S. Lewis