Sunny Valley - and Old Saybrook Coming Up!

Sunny Valley Road

Oil on canvas, 18x24

Please contact me for price and delivery options

I've been away from home, and away from Peter for a while now, and it shows on me, I think.  Peter sets me right. When I am with him, the gears that make me run mesh smoothly. It's easier to make decisions, and they feel more solid. 

But I have spent time with good friends on this trip, and am on my way to spend time with family, and I talk to my sister every day, and all that helps, too. 

I've spent some time thinking about what puts me right and what puts me wrong...

Bad food

Bad sleep

Mean people

No sales

These things all put me wrong. 

What puts me right, aside from Peter and home and family, is

Good friends

Good food, and especially cooking good food

Having an excellent audiobook

Meeting nice dogs. 

What about you? 

***

THE OLD SAYBROOK Arts and Crafts Show is Saturday and Sunday in Old Saybrook, CT. It's the 50th year of the show, and I am happy to be in it! I'll be in Booth 87, which apparently is near Main Street and Liberty Bank. So if you are around Southeastern Connecticut this weekend, please stop by and say hello! 

Dog of the Day

THIS IS SOX the final Lori Rowe Dog of the Day. Isn't he a cutie? 

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

Madison II - and a Big Box of JoJo

Madison II

Oil on canvas, 20x20

Please contact me for price and delivery options

The Westport show was fun - but hot, hot, hot! I think people don't want to buy art when they are hot, hot, hot. I did OK at the show - and well, if you count selling "October Salt Marsh" to a sweet collector from North Carolina. 

There's little that's more exciting in this life than waking up to find that overnight, a painting has sold. Talk about starting the day on a positive note! 

***

I WATCHED A WOMAN walking along on Saturday with a little white dog on a leash. The dog was having fun, sniffing and smelling and poking along. The woman wasn't paying much attention to the dog, but was walking slowly, letting the dog do her thing. 

I found myself thinking about dogs and how they trust us. They are at one end of the leash, and we are at the other, and between us is that dog's absolute and unshakeable trust. 

They trust that we will keep them safe. They trust that we will not bring them into harm's way. They trust that we will not take them out on a day that is too hot, pavement that is too scalding, events that are too crowded. Without questioning us, or who we are, or what we are thinking about, they put themselves in our hands and trust that we will treat them well and keep them safe. 

***

Scenes from the show

This baby Scottie was 11 weeks old and maybe the cutest dog ever! 

There were lots of cool cars in the parking lot behind the show, 

but this genuine (not kit) Cobra was the best! 

My friends Marilyn and Gene Bove came all the way from the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York to visit me at the show. You can actually see Marilyn's pretty face in the photo below! 

This was the scene across the inlet

Here's my booth on the first day. The salt marsh painting on the back wall

 sold to a collector in North Carolina. Yay! 

This guy was part of the entertainment at the show. He would set up his little stand, and then strike artful poses. More than one adult and any number of kids thought he was a real statue! 

***

Dog of the Day

Who doesn't need a big box of JoJo??? 

The Purple House

The Purple House

oil on canvas, 12x36

Please contact me for price and delivery options

Like my painting itself, these new paintings sort of showed up out of the blue. There were hints of them early on, in how much I loved certain paintings in an "unfinished" stage... but for the most part, these paintings have simply appeared and declared themselves, and left it to me to make something of them. 

It's pretty clear that these are a good addition to my portfolio, in terms of sales. Of nine paintings that have sold in the past two shows, seven have been these minimal ones - and I have not priced them cheaply. 

I need to find out how to be sure they are a good addition in terms of heart and soul and the character of my painting. I need to apply myself, learn what works in these and what doesn't. Learn how to make them interesting and evocative and exuberant, when they are so lean and so spare. Learn how much is enough, how much is too much and how much is not enough. 

I like knowing that I'm facing these challenges, and finding these answers. Any reactions you all have, I'd love to hear them, too. 

***

IT'S BEEN SEVEN years since my mother died, and I miss her every day. 

Many days, when I think of her, I miss her but am able to focus on how wonderful she was, and how lucky I was to have her as my mom. She enriched my life every day, with her insights and her laughter, her honesty and her courage. She'd call me to tell me some funny thing and make me laugh, or share some sad thing with me to ease her pain. She'd call to ask me about a recipe, tell me about a movie, let me know that someone had died (nearly inevitably, someone I didn't know or didn't remember), or tell me about a house she'd seen that she might love to live in. I still find myself reaching for the phone now and then to call her with some bit of news. 

A couple weeks ago, I was in the studio, painting, when I was hit with a wave of grief about her. The studio is the former boat garage, and I paint in there with the garage door, the back door and all the windows open. I was crying loudly, wailing really, when I realized that the propane guys had come into the yard to make a delivery. How Mom would have laughed at me, and at the looks on their faces! 

***

Dogs of the Day

The Fatheads, as they are lovingly called, are Vinnie and Patsy, cousins of George and Zack, 

dogs of my good friends Cynthia Battista and Kevin Ireton. 

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

October Salt Marsh Revisited - and a Thrilling Sale!

October Salt Marsh

oil on canvas, 36x48

sold

Some of you will recognize this painting as one I've painted before - but I wanted another try at it, and took it on again last month.

The first version, "Light Beneath the Clouds,"  is in Center Framing and Art in West Hartford Center, CT. I really like the original version, but this one has a shine and a bounce that the first one didn't have. The first one, I think, has a darkness and depth that the new one doesn't have - but both paintings work - at least to my eye. 

What do you think? 

***

ON ANOTHER NOTE, the painting that sold first here at Amagansett was "Beach Houses," the first "minimal" painting I ever made. All day, it and its successor, "Neighbors," drew the largest share of attention in my tent. 

This is so exciting to me, because I am so excited about these paintings! It is just an incredible pleasure to see people responding with the interest and spirit that I feel - and to watch and hear them talk about these paintings, and fill in the spaces with their own ideas, their own emotions. It's great! 

The Amagansett Fine Arts Festival  continues through Sunday, on the lawn at the American Legion Hall at the corner of Abraham's Path and Route 27, just outside of East Hampton, here on Long Island.

***

Dog of the Day

OK, I know it's not a dog. But sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. 

This cat belongs to Cam Chapman, a photographer who specializes in lighthouses. You can see some of his work by clicking here. 

I met Cam at the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, soon after he had left his regular job, sold everything he owned, and bought a motor home. His plan was to tour the country, doing art shows - and lo and behold, he has. 

Along with the motor coach, he has a big trailer, that holds not only his tent and luscious photographs, but also a motorcycle that he uses to get around while he's doing shows. The cat has a great time, Cam says, even if he does sit in the window and bellow. 

Several of you responded to my plea and send DOD candidates, so, YAY! Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send a jpg to me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

***

AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU all so much for reading, for supporting me spiritually and financially, for cheering me on - for being there. I appreciate each and every one of you.