Home Away from Home

Home Away from Home

Oil on board, 8x16, $125 including shipping
sold

One of the things I love about the palette knife is directionality - that the direction of the knife has such a strong bearing on the painting. Here, the sweeping strokes I used in the sky move your eye up, and the direction of the furrows moves your eye toward the little house.

 I do understand that maybe there is such a thing as too much movement, that maybe in this painting the sky detracts from the ground and vice-versa, and maybe it does -  but experimenting is the only way that I find what works, what is too much, what is too little.

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Stuff I've Seen

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Dog of the Day

Saw this great-looking guy at an RV park in Arivaca, Arizona, 

where you can bring your own RV, or rent a classic RV for the night. 

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A Final Thought

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

- From Love Locks, a Hallmark movie

Uncloudy Day

Uncloudy Day

Oil on deep black canvas, 36x36

Please click here to email me for price and availability

The smell of new-mown grass blew sharp and sweet on the wind yesterday, and this morning, the dark scent of the marsh spreads softly in the crisp dawn air. Dandelions brighten our lawn, and around town, forsythia seems to explode in bursts of brilliance, while pink and white trees trail petals like lace on their limbs and on the ground below. 

People are working on their boats, cleaning and shining and polishing, and we've heard that flounder are already running. Piles of sticks and leaves and brush and pinecones stand on lawns, and at the edges of the roads, and JD and John will pick them up, maybe this week, or maybe next, depending on when they have the time, and room in the ancient town truck. 

Bluebirds are building a nest at Pat's house, and the laughing gulls are here already, cackling away. Our azaleas are budding scarlet. I am hopeful that my lilac bush might bloom this year for the first time. 

I'm loving painting flowers, and coming alive as spring comes to the Eastern Shore. 

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Stuff I've Seen

It's a little hard to make this out, but it is a giant sculpture of a road runner, in Las Cruces, NM. It must be 40 or 50 feet long! This was as close as I could get. 

If you see a cool, or strange, or heart-warming sight, and would like to share it with readers of The Accidental Artist, please send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com! 

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Dog of the Day

It's Batty, who lives with Blanco and Shadow, and 

my friend SaraBeth, in Tucson. She's a sweetie! 

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A Final Thought

"Art is to console those who are broken by life." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

Oxoboxo Morning

Oxoboxo Morning

Oil on canvas, 16x16

A few years ago, a friend and I started exchanging photos of the sky every day. It started because we'd found ourselves fascinated by the sky - her by the vastness of it, me by the colors and patterns, the stuff in the sky. 

We set out to exchange the photos for a year, but by now, it's three, going on four, I do believe. It's been a wonderful project, allowing me to see a part of her world, through her eyes, every day. In some ways, I've learned to see like her, a little bit. The project has helped me develop a new sense of vision, a new perspective. And it's been fun. Some days, the sky where she's been is exactly the same as the sky where I've been - even if we're half a world apart. Some days, the skies could hardly be more different - even if we're only a couple hundred miles apart. 

This is a painting I made from one of her photographs. I love the sense of dawning light in it, the bright colors in the sky and big dark humps of hills. And mostly, I like the touches of red at the tips of the tree branches, a promise that spring is indeed on the way. 

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I'LL HAVE THE "Oxoboxo Morning" painting, and some of my new florals, like the one to the left here, at the Paradise City show in Marlborough, MA, March 24-26. The show is in the Royal Plaza Trade Center. Marlborough is on I-495, about 45 minutes west of Boston, and 30 minutes east of Worcester. You can click here to get directions, and here to get a coupon for $2 off the admission fee. I'll be in Booth 404! I've done this show twice, and so I can tell you that it is a beautiful show, much like the one in Northampton, but smaller. And without the great Indian food... but I will get my fill at the show in May! 

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Stuff I've Seen

I saw this sign Vinton, Louisiana, on a beautiful road lined with Spanish-moss-hung live oaks. People were fishing on both sides of the road, a salt marsh on the east and 

a beautiful, fishy creek on the west. 

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Dog of the Day

The show in Englewood, Florida, was no good for selling art, but it was great for seeing dogs! 

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A Final Thought

"An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, 

and on his own terms, not anyone else's." 

- J.D. Salinger, "Franny and Zooey"

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! 

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

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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. 

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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

Kim's Farm

Kim's Farm

Oil on canvas, 40x40

Commission

A long and wonderful project has come to a happy end, and I'd like to share the story with you. 

At the start of the fall, I got an email from a woman I'd met at a show in Omaha. She wanted a painting of the Nebraska farm where she grew up. She wanted a big painting, with heavy texture, of the farm and a cow or two. 

Unlike many artists, I love doing commissions. Ones that are projects, like this one, are especially fun and intriguing to me. Maybe this comes from working in newsrooms for so long and seeing how the energy and ideas expand and improve when others are involved. Kim sent me a bunch of photos of the farm, but for some reason, I couldn't put the photos together in my mind into a cohesive whole. The poor woman explained it to me, walked me around the property virtually, and answered my questions again and again, and still I couldn't see it. 

So I decided to actually go and see it. I knew I could pass relatively near the farm on my Big Skies Painting trip. Kim gave me directions, and on my way back, I stopped in and saw the farm. 

It still was not without its issues! First, I drove right by it and got more than a little lost. I called Kim, and she suggested that I facetime her - and she was able to look through my phone at the landscape around me, and direct me to the right place. 

I walked around, took a bunch of photos, and, when I got home, made a sketch of the farm. Kim had a couple ideas, I had a few more, and I made a small painting. It was at this point that we both realized that I was situating the farmhouse incorrectly. I had my norths and wests mixed up. It took a while of patient Kim's coaxing and explaining before the whole thing fell into place in my head - and then I was able to paint. 

I had some ideas while I was painting, and Kim had some ideas, and we communicated back and forth, and in the end, this is the painting I made - and the painting she loves. 

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2 pancakes

2 eggs

2 bacon

The most incomprehensible sign ever! And it's been up for years. Hahahaha!!! 

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Dog of the Day

Toby (the dog) and Ira (the human). I met them in a hotel somewhere this summer - Indiana, maybe? Ira rescued Toby after the dog escaped from a fire, and was abandoned by his humans. Toby is old now, partly deaf and partly blind, and much loved.

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A Final Thought

"Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult." 

- Hippocrates

Pink Spring

Pink Spring

Oil on canvas paper, $65 matted

It's chilly here this morning, and the Christmas lights are up in town - but yesterday, I found myself painting spring! In part, it's because I got some new paint and wanted to check it out, but I know I also painted spring as a kind of therapy against the dullness of winter here in Virginia.

Please don't misunderstand! It is great to be in a place where 20 degrees is considered brutally COLD, and where we see snow geese more frequently than we see snow. I love this soft Eastern Shore winter - but I don't love the drain of color from the landscape, the grayness, the monotone.

In New England, the snow causes all sorts of problems and headaches - but all that snow sharpens the sunlight, bounces it along the scratchy branches of the bare trees, the dark hearts of the evergreens, bringing out the most of the few colors winter affords.

But in not so much more than a few weeks from now, when the spring bulbs begin to poke up, and the tips of the trees start to turn red, and the lawn begins to green up, not so far from now, color will flood back to the Eastern Shore, while the long, dark stretches of the north country will still be covered in winter.

It was those spring colors that lighted my imagination the other day when I painted this. It was a memory, a hope, a small song of praise.

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A Contest! 

PEOPLE OFTEN POINT OUT that I use a lot of paint - and I do! So at the end of March of this year, I started saving the caps from my used paint tubes. I'm going to save them until the end of March 2017, then count them. Anyone who wants to play, please send me an email with your guess. The one who comes closest without going over wins a 10-inch-by-10-inch painting of their choice! 

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Dog of the Day

From left, it's Henry, George and Jasmine, wishing you all Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Good Kwanzaa, and Joyous Festivus! 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com. Holiday-oriented photos are particularly appreciated! 

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A Final Thought

"When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss art. 

When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money." 

- Oscar Wilde

Near Manhattan, Montana

Near Manhattan, Montana

Oil on black canvas, 30x30

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

There's something about the West that reaches into a deep part of my soul and releases something that lives there. It's a thing I love, this thing deep in me, but not a thing I can easily name. It's some mix of feelings of freedom, courage, confidence and a deep, abiding love of the landscape itself, the sky, the mountains, the grasses and plains.

In the landscape of the West, I feel strong and tall, square-shouldered and unburdened. I feel that I could ride a horse, write a book, hold my own in a conversation with anyone.

Most of all, in this landscape, I feel that I can paint. On this most recent trip, I felt that feeling again and again, day after day, and it was wonderful. I painted enough out there to recognize the feeling, learn where it is in me. And back home, in spite of all my fears and worries, I've been able to call that feeling to the surface and carry it with me.

Nothing is as clear here as it is on a painting trip. There's family here, Peter and our dogs and cats. Friends. Distractions, chores, errands. But the point of the trips, one of the main points, is to bring home all kinds of things that I found Out There. And happily, I've been able to do just that.

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AND NOW, for a short commercial.

WACHAPREAGUE CALENDARS are $19, and you can get them on the Jacobson Arts website.

I have to say, the calendars came out great.  12 paintings of beautiful Wachapreague, one for every month of 2017. Click here to reach my website, Jacobson Arts., where you can buy them. 



PRINTS, NOTECARDS, PILLOWS, shower curtains,Fine Art America. You can go to the main page and then search for me, or click here to reach my page. If there's a painting you'd like, and you don't see it on the page, please send me an email (carrieBjacobson@gmail.com) and if I can get it on the site for you, I will.
 


PATRONAGE PROGRAM. Maybe you're a person who owns a business, or a string of businesses. Maybe you're a person with several homes. Maybe you're a person who would love to give a grand present to a spouse, or is looking for great gifts for a whole group of people. Maybe you're a person who would be intrigued with the idea of becoming an even more significant patron of the arts.

If you are any of these, or any combination, let's talk. I'm looking for three patrons to enroll in my program, at $25K each. Yes, it is a lot of money, but it will buy you a lot of art, made especially for you, or for people to whom you'd like to give art. To find out more, click here to visit the Patronage Program page of my website. You can email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com, or call me at 860-442-0246.

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Really? Pre-sliced? What on EARTH does that mean? 

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Dog of the Day

He was small, but he was serious! 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? It need not be a DOG! Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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A Final Thought

"The first mistake of art is to believe it's serious." 

- Lester Bangs

Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel

Oil on black canvas, 36x60

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

I've been busy, traveling to Connecticut to visit with family, paint outside Center Framing and Art, have an early Thanksgiving/Christmas party, visit with Erika and Paul and their whole family, then come back to beautiful Wachapreague and have Thanksgiving here with Peter and the devil dogs, WHEW! I took a few days off afterwards, just to get my head to stop spinning. 

I hope you all had good Thanksgivings, whatever kind of Thanksgiving you had. 

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HERE'S A QUESTION for you: 

Many people have told me they pretty much never read what I write here. They just look at the painting, scroll down to the Dog of the Day, and go on. If you'd prefer pretty much just the painting, the DOD and maybe the quote, and only the rare bout of verbiage, that's fine with me - but let me know, would you? Please use the comments below to voice your opinion. And you will not hurt my feelings, I promise! 

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Dog of the Day

Couple of cuties, dressed up for a summertime show. 

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

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A Final Thought

"I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

Red Dirt Farm

 North Carolina Red Dirt Farm

Oil on black canvas, 20x60, $1200; shipping to be determined

I was one of 25 artists invited to the Piedmont Plein Air Paintout in High Point, NC, in September. It's in a beautiful part of the country, and I had time before the event to drive around and take it in. I'd hoped to paint on site before the event, but ditches and wind made that impossible, so I took lots of photos and have begun painting from them. 

In this piece, what pulled me most was the patchwork of red dirt, plowed for mowing, and crops ready and nearly ready to be harvested. I like the way the buildings sit on the land, too. And in my painting, I love the swirly sky.  

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SINCE I RETURNED from Texas with a van full of paintings, I've collected them in a store on my Jacobson Arts website. (Please click here to reach it). 

If you're a reader of this blog and you buy a painting, I will refund you 10 percent after your purchase. Shipping will be extra, but if I'm going to be near your area, I'm happy to deliver a painting in person, for free! 

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Saw this on the wall of a parking lot in Austin. Isn't it beautiful? 

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Dog of the Day

Yes, it's Koko. I am smitten, and Peter is, too. Abby (the big dog, above) is thrilled that we brought her a playmate. Smokey likes her well enough, and Woody is his usual grouchy self. So Koko is fitting in perfectly, and is helping me remember Zoe and especially Jojo with more joy than sadness, and far more gratitude than loss. Thank you, Koko!

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A Final Thought

"Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one." 

-Stella Adler

Tom's Barns - and a Wild Day on the Coast

Tom's Barns

Oil on canvas, 30x30

Please click here to email me for price and availability. 

I've been delighted by the skies I've made lately. I like the colors and combinations I'm discovering, and by the way the sky and the land complete and reflect each other. I like the arrangement of barns in this painting, too. 

If you'd like to see this, and my other new paintings, I'll be at the Paradise City Arts Festival next weekend in Northampton, MA. This is a marvelous show, with fine art and beautiful fine craft - ceramics, furniture, clothing and fabric, glass, clocks and lots of jewelry. It takes place in the Three County Fairgrounds, just off I-91. 

In addition to the artists and artisans, there's good food available for lunch or snacks. You can find out more about the show, get directions, and find a coupon for a discount on the gate fee by clicking here. 

I'll be in Booth 409, in the Morgan Barn (the small barn). Please come by and say hello! 

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 As many of you know, we live in Wachapreague, a tiny town on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Atlantic is just down the street. A salt marsh and barrier islands mitigate the power of the ocean, but the storm this week brought major flooding to the Shore and to Wachapreague. In all these photos, water is covering roads.

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Dog of the Day

Saw this husky at a show in Richmond this spring.  Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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A Final Thought

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." 

- Henry David Thoreau

Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mary

Oil on canvas, 36x60

sold

So much of what I learn, I learn by accident. In one cowscape, I made the cows larger than I usually do. I needed the painting to be done quickly so it could dry, so I could get it to a show - and so I made the cows bigger. When the painting was done, it was clear to me that the large images had more punch, more power than the smaller ones. This now seems like a no-brainer, but for me it was a discovery. More cow, less landscape - better, stronger painting. 

"Peter, Paul and Mary" contains my biggest cows to date, and I really like it. What do you think? Are the cows too big? Would you like to see them bigger? Smaller? It's always great to hear your opinions and ideas. 

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TWO WEEKENDS, TWO SHOWS! Come to the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, this weekend in Mystic, CT. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, across from the post office! Or come to SoNo Arts, in South Norwalk, Aug. 15-16. Don't know where I'll be yet, but I'll post my location here on the blog. Both shows are 10-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday. I'd love to see you! 

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Summer on a Plate

Tomatoes from the stand at Occohannock Road in Exmore, and cucumbers from my friend Pat's garden started this salad, along with leaves of Thai basil from our now-deceased plant... a little sugar, oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Let it sit for an hour or so, if you can. Yum! 

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Dog of the Day

Saw this guy at Jerry's Artarama in Virginia Beach. He was a youngster, with a pretty strong streak of assertiveness. 

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A Final Thought 

"Love always brings difficulties, that is true, but the good side of it is that it gives energy." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

Molly - and a New Project!

Molly

oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of dogs. That's probably putting it mildly. We have five dogs, and at one time, had seven. I'd live in the middle of 200 acres and have 40 dogs if it were possible. Our dogs enrich our lives, Peter's and mine. They make us laugh, they comfort us, they wait for us with loyalty and hope. They are great company, excellent nurses, and good friends no matter what. 

I love painting dogs, too. I've often said that if I could make a living just painting dogs, and doing the occasional show, I would. 

So I'm going to give it a try. In 2016, in place of a sponsored art trip, I'm embarking on a project to paint 101 dogs. I'm still working out the details, but the thumbnail sketch is that it's going to involve 101 portraits, a book and/or a poster of all the paintings (what's your preference?), a variety of items created from the paintings - and a serious donation to the Eastern Shore ASPCA, nearby in Onley, VA. 

As the project rolls out, I'm going to ask for your help in spreading the word. The first step is to get 101 people who want portraits of their dogs. (No cats or birds or hamsters in this one...) So please start thinking of folks who would be interested. 

And stay tuned for details. I'll bring them to you as soon as I set them. 

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Signs...

The sign above is in Wickford, RI. So, really. How can a dead end also be a loop? 

The sign below is outside Doughty's Market, on Route 13, just up the road. The first one (Tina Custis, pay your bill) appeared a few weeks ago, and it must be working, because there have been at least a half-dozen names up there. I bet they get in there as fast as their legs can carry them, just to get their name off the sign! 

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Dog of the Day 

I met this French bulldog pup at the show in Richmond, I believe. 

By the time he got to my booth, he was one tired little puppy. 

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A Final Thought

"The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless." 

- Jean-Jacques Rousseau