Pietro

Pietro

Oil on canvas, 8x10

My third human, and I really like this one. Maybe the answer for me is to do men, or to demand that people close their mouths so I don't have to paint teeth.

I'm kidding, of course. The answer is to paint a thousand faces, and learn how to do it. After all, everything on a face is simply a shape, with light and dark on it. That's it.

I've been told that if I am having trouble, and I'm painting from a photograph, I should turn the photo upside down, and turn the painting upside down. It will keep me from painting "nose," and instead, have me painting a shape with a light side and a dark side.

I found out something interesting in making this painting of Pietro. Hair matters.

Sounds infantile, I know - but I always figured hair was sort of extra. Decoration. I had Pietro's face, and I could tell it was pretty close - but when I put his hair on, it nudged his face into "very close." So that's a breakthrough in thinking for me. And it's especially good because painting hair is much like painting dogs - and I know what I am doing when I'm painting dogs!

Dog-o-rama!

Corgis. Oil on panels, 32x8.

On these frigid winter days, and in light of the 23rd annual Art Show at the Dog Show contest, and surrounded as I am by those of the canine persuasion, I've been having an absolute blast painting dogs.

These four insane Corgi dogs have amused me to no end. Painting them was a real challenge, too. In the photo I had, their eyes were very dark, all except the third from the left, whose light eyes began to spook me as I worked. The rest, I had to find their eyes. And I had to find ways to differentiate the one from the next. It was really fun! I haven't met these dogs, so I don't know how well I got them, but I sure enjoyed the process.

If you know anyone who wants a portrait of a pet, send that person my way. So far, I've only tried dogs and cats, but I'm willing to apply myself to any pet. To see more, visit jacobson-arts.com and click through to "Pets."

Thanks for reading!

And now for something completely different...

Corgi No. 1. Oil on panel, 8x8.

Snow still covers the land here, and I painted two snow pieces yesterday that I really like... But I'm also working on some dog paintings, and thought I'd offer one up, for a change of pace.

Kathryn Skelton, a friend and birthday buddy, sent a photo Christmas card of herself, her husband and their four Corgis. For starters, I think the whole concept is very cool. Usually, or at least in my life, the only people who send those cards are your regular nuclear families. It's like the old Christmas letters... no one ever sends them out saying, "Well, Joe got kicked out of school because he got caught cheating on his exams, and Mary Sue just can't seem to lose that 50 pounds she put on after the birth of her illegitimate child... " No, those letters always are all sunshine and light, and those picture Christmas cards always show a husband, a wife and at least one human child.

So, good for Kathryn and Israel, who have no human children, for sending out such a happy and paradigm-shifting Christmas card. Being a member of a nontraditional family myself, I felt cheered and validated.

And the corgi dogs, to put it in Mainespeak (the Skeltons are from Maine), were wicked cute. So cute, I just couldn't resist. I'll have all four panels done soon, and will showcase them here as a unit.

In light of the nontraditional holiday, I've been thinking that perhaps next year, I will make some nontraditional resolutions. I'll resolve to start smoking again, or, better yet, chewing tobacco. I'll make a point of avoiding absolutely all exercise. I'll resolve to wash only once a week, cuss incessantly and, on Thursdays, eat only chocolate.

Really, wouldn't it be delightful to make resolutions that even your most slothful self could keep?