Reflecting Light

Reflecting Light

Oil on black canvas, 18x18

Please click here to email me for price and availability

Here's another in the series of swirling bits and bites of color and content on black. I love the urgency of this painting, the looseness, the focus on the flowers - but looking at it now, I'm not sure about the black background. What do you think? Yay or nay, I'd love some input. 

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Christmas Goodies

Yes, in my heart of hearts, I am 8 years old, and I love getting and giving Christmas presents. I guess I will never outgrow this! If I were going to, I would have already. So here are some of my many presents. Above, a sculpture by Mama-Girl, a wonderful local artist. It's in front of a painting of Lulu by my friend Lois Vanslike, a wonderful woman and talented artist from Arizona. That was not a Christmas present, or at least not this year. Below, me with my Bob Ross T-shirt, a gift from my grandson Ashton. Can't wait until it's warm enough to wear it! 

I hope all of you received and gave gifts that delighted you - even if they were simply smiles, hugs and prayers. Happy holidays, all, and Happy 2018! 

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Dog of the Day

My friend, the immensely talented jeweler Cynthia Battista (check out her work here) sent me a link to a video of an Airedale singing , and I played it this morning and the puppies came running Lulu ran away, but Doc stayed, fascinated. I don't know if it was the dog's singing or the squeaky toy he was squeaking that attracted Doc's attention, but as long as I played the video, he stayed and watched. 

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A Final Thought

"A blank canvas... has unlimited possibilities."

- Stephanie Perkins

Lupine Garden, finished and in progress

Lupine Garden

Oil on canvas, 30x30

At Center Framing & Art, 968 Farmington Ave., West Hartford Center, CT

I posted some in-progress photos of a painting recently, and people were interested, so here's a series of photographs of a lupine painting in progress. 

I start with a minimal design, showing where I'm planning the large blocks of color. 

I paint in the darkest part of the piece. Sometimes, at this point, I put in the entire background. 

The initial flowers go in. These are destined for the final painting,

 but at this point, are also place-holders.

More flowers - and very cool shadows from the window to my left. 

Now I fill in the upper background. 

Continuing with the upper background, and starting to fill in the brighter foreground. 

Now that the background is mostly done, I can start filling out the flowers. 

And here's the finished piece. 

Above and below, some details.  

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Gentle Reminder

The April Sale has been a grand success. Seven paintings have sold so far, but there are still some lovely pieces available, at very good prices. Please click or below here to reach the page. If you want to buy a painting but pay by check, drop me an email at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com. The sale is on through Monday at 6 p.m. 

Sale page - http://www.jacobson-arts.com/april-sale

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Dog of the Day

It's Kisses! She was rescued by someone who had the courage to steal her from a home where she was abused and neglected. Then that person gave her to my friend Susan, whose own dog had died. Kisses has some understandable trust issues with humans, but is a great girl. 

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A Final Thought

"Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant; there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing - and keeping the unknown always beyond you." 

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Blue Garden

Blue Garden

Oil on canvas, 16x16

One of my nieces is on a school trip to Italy, and is scheduled to fly back on Easter. The plane leaves from Rome. 

My sister is worried that in the current geopolitical climate, a plane with American schoolchildren, flying on Easter from Rome to the US, would be a great target for terrorism. 

While part of me agrees with her, most of me knows that I don't control much of anything in this world, including but not limited to countries with nuclear weapons, world leaders, terrorists and hate. And so, I could worry - and worry has crossed my mind - but I choose instead to pray, and then to let it all go. 

A few years ago, in a church that was connected (and I mean literally) to a garage where you could bring your car to be fixed, I was saved. It was an acknowledgement of my faith, a promise to listen, to be the best servant of God that I can be, and a prod to remember that I am not the pre-eminent being in my life, or in anyone's life. 

While I can't control governments or airplanes or the minds of humans, I can let the light of God, and of all that is good in the world, shine through me, in my life and most particularly, in my painting. I can't do anything to change the larger state of the world - but I can trust, and I can listen, and I can make my art. 

I hope you all find yourselves at peace, today and every day. 

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Sale! 

AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, I experiment a lot with my painting, and my guess is that I always will. It's how I learn. But it leaves me, at times, with paintings that just don't go with the rest of my current display. So I am putting a number of these pieces up for sale, at deep, deep discounts from my regular prices. 

The sale starts Wednesday at 9 a.m. There will be PayPal buttons on the page at that point, and you can use your PayPal accounts, or pay via credit card through PayPal. If you want to use a check, please email me after 9 a.m. First come, first served! 

The page will be up until about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, and then will be back, with the PayPal buttons at 9 a.m. Wednesday. 

Here's a link to the page: http://www.jacobson-arts.com/april-sale

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Dog of the Day

 In our house, we call this "Being Lulued."

 

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A Final Thought

"Here's to freedom,

cheers to art.

Here's to having an excellent adventure

And may the stopping never start." 

- Jason Mraz

The Optimist's Declaration - and Paradise City!

The Optimist's Declaration

Oil on canvas, 40x40

Please contact me for price and shipping/delivery options

Sara Genn, daughter of the late Robert Genn, sends copies of "The Painter's Keys," a  newsletter that her father wrote while he was alive. (You can read all about the newsletter, and sign up to receive it by clicking here). 

I love getting this newsletter and usually learn something from it, or am inspired to think a new thought or look at life and painting in a new way. 

A recent newsletter focused on the value of titles. "The right title makes a difference as to how a work is seen and understood," Genn wrote. "Not only are titles a bridge to the viewer, they are also part of the art. I'm a believer in giving your titles some careful thought." 

I finished this painting, "The Optimist's Declaration," a month or so ago, and gave it that title in my inventory list. 

Today, when I went to put it on the blog, I couldn't remember where the name came from. Certainly, it was nothing I invented! I know it was a quote, but the only one I can find today came from Kierkegaard - and it feels unlikely that I was searching Kierkegaard! (the quote is below). 

So if any of you recognizes this quote from a more friendly source than Kierkegaard, please let me know. 

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SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY, I'll be at the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton, MA. The show takes place at the Three County Fairgrounds, and includes really wonderful art and fine craft. You will see amazing furniture, sculpture, mobiles, glass, clothing, photography, painting and more. It's a fun, fun show! You can find out more about it, and get a discount off admission by clicking here to visit the Paradise City Arts website.

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A Final Thought 

"The joy of faith is different from mere happiness or sheer enjoyment. The movement of resignation distinguishes faith from both a naive optimism and a careless hedonism. In the face of the former, the difference is that the optimist's declaration (when facing adversity) that 'everything will be alright' is not based on trust but rather on a refusal to acknowledge the full extent of loss and human limitation. In the case of the latter, the difference is that the hedonist's immersion in finitudes is not based on deep attachment but rather on seeking pleasure."

- Soren Kierkegaard