Abe and Kahlia

Abe and Kahlia

Oil on black canvas, 24x48

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I am learning not to argue against ideas when they come. This is a hard task for me, but is part of the learning process. 

Ideas show up in my head and my heart, and if they are strange, if they are different, if they constitute a detour, I balk. If I don't follow up on the ideas, though, they follow me. They keep declaring themselves, again and again, until I listen. 

It's like when you're dieting, and what you really want is a brownie - but you shouldn't have a brownie. So you have an apple, a yogurt, a piece of cheese, a banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter - but in the end, you have the brownie, because it's what you really want. It's what your body is crying out for. You'd have been far better off if you'd just had the brownie in the first place. 

That's how it works with the ideas. I can't get to the next painting until I paint the one that keeps declaring itself. Thus, Abe and Kahlia. 

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WANT TO GIVE ME a Christmas present? 

Get ONE of your friends to subscribe to my blog! 

Send them here - carriejacobson.blogspot.com - and ask them to put their email address in the box at the top of the right-hand column.  

I'd appreciate it So Much!  I'd look even happier in my Cat in the Hat hat!  

Alternately, if you want to send me your friends' email addresses, I'd be happy to write and invite them to subscribe. 

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Dog of the Day

I met this blue-eyed beauty at the SoNoArts festival, in South Norwalk, CT, this summer. 

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 don't say everything, but I paint everything."

- Pablo Picasso

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Jumping for Joy

 Jumping for Joy

Oil on black canvas, 48x54

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Those of you who've been following this blog, and my career, and have supported me and encouraged me over all these years, you know what a departure this painting is.

I've painted pretty straight-on, over the years. Yes, I use wild colors. Yes, I edit landscapes liberally. Yes, I build interesting surfaces that catch the light in inventive ways. But all in all, my paintings have been based in the visible, based in the real.

This painting, and at least one more (almost finished!) find their feet in the land of hope, rather than the land of reality. These pieces have come directly from the people in motion idea, and from the breadth of response that all of us seem to be feeling about the state of the world.

I was going to say, a couple paragraphs earlier, that my paintings have not carried any sort of message to date - but that's really not true. In the face of everything, in the face of all history and all humanity, I do believe in the goodness of people and in the power and fertility of optimism. I think my paintings have expressed that belief, unwaveringly.

And so, to that degree, my paintings have carried a message. It's the same as the message in this one, I think, though this one is certainly more overt.

So what do you think? I'd love to hear your responses to this piece!

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 I'm the featured artist at the Jack Richardson Gallery this Friday during the Art Walk in Onancock. I think my stuff looks great in his window and up on his smooth gray walls! If you're in the area, please stop by. I'll let you all know how it goes.

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Dog of the Day 

It's Smokey, our big old bear of a dog. And the one who's chosen him is Koko, who's snuggling with him in the photo above. Smokey is Koko's hero, and it's a well-deserved accolade. In spite of his age, his arthritis and some eye problems, Smokey is optimistic, loving, always enthusiastic. And he is very, very soft.  

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A Final Thought

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." 

-Twyla Tharp

Jumping Rope

 Jumping Rope
Oil on black canvas, 24x36 (diptych)
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I'm having an absolute blast painting people in general, and specifically, people in motion. And generally, I don't see artists showing paintings like this.

LeRoy Nieman did, if you remember him. You can see some of his action paintings here, and some of his paintings of the Olympics here. I see painters with figurative work, but by and large, the figures are posed, or at least stationary.

Maybe this is because people don't like and don't buy paintings of action? Maybe it's because jurors don't like paintings like these and don't let them into shows? I can't believe it's because other painters just don't paint them. What do you think?

I will say, these are the scariest paintings I've made, and the most challenging.

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MY PAINTINGS LOOK great in Center Framing and Art's Christmas window! And as you can see, the gallery is moving. They're going just around the corner, but it's going to be a big change, after 42 years in the same spot. And it's going to be interesting to see what happens to West Hartford Center, when so many of the businesses leave. 

Until Jan. 1, Center Framing and Art will remain at 56 LaSalle Road, West Hartford Center, CT. Check out their website here.

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Dog of the Day

This guy was working as hard as he could to defend his car! 

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A Final Thought

"An artist never really finished his work; he merely abandons it."

- Paul Valery