Mountain Sunset

Mountain Sunset / oil on canvas / 8x24 / $185 including shipping

sold! 

AGAIN, I FIND MYSELF TIRED, at this not-so-late end to the day. I did get up early, a little after 4:30. I transplanted some tomato plants and watered the gardens, and then Liesl and the dogs and I walked for an hour. 

I did a WalMart pick-up, attended a Zoom meeting, painted a little, talked to my counselor, then painted again until late in the afternoon. I loaded the van with paintings to bring to one of my patrons tomorrow. Now I am watering the garden again and wondering why I am so tired. But when I list it all out like this, it looks like enough to make anyone tired. 

Still, I recognize that underneath everything, I am indeed tired. Losing Peter has taken from me a few degrees of - what? - youth? hope? optimism? energy? all of the above?

My days used to begin with the thought of the joy of a day of painting and cooking and doing stuff around the house. Now, my first thought is that he is gone, and I am here alone. It is not all dark. Not all sad and dismal. But I wonder sometimes if I will ever be truly happy again. If I will ever feel the joy I used to feel. 

So I will take it easy now, put off the rest of the day's tasks until tomorrow, have a good dinner and revive my energy. It is all part of the process, I know. I just want the process to be easier.

***

 For Today

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks." 

- John Muir

Foothills

Foothills

Oil on panel, 6x8. $75, including shipping

I'm trying some smaller pieces for 2017 (and the end of 2016). Some of these will be on panels, like the one above, and suitable for framing. 

Others will be on paper, and will arrive matted, and again, suitable for framing. I might even try framing some, but my hope with these is to keep prices low. 

The small paintings are much harder for me than the big ones! Strange, eh? Most artists have a fear of large canvases. For me, the small pieces are a struggle. That's another reason I'm going to focus on them in 2017.

I'm also going to be bringing some prints with me to the shows - but if you want prints at any time, you can go to Fine Art America (fineartamerica.com), search for me, and order prints in whatever sizes you like! 

What do you think about this idea? Is $75 a reasonable price, in your world? 

***

I really should have gotten off the road and checked this one out! 

Maybe I'd have found D.B. Cooper living there... 

***

Dog of the Day

I know I've featured this creature as a Dog of the Day before, 

but she (or he) amuses me endlessly. 

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

***

A Final Thought

"The first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. 

To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art." 

- Chuck Palahniuk

- 

Heart in the Mountains

Heart in the Mountains

Oil on canvas, 16x16

commission

A while back, I received an email from a person who'd stumbled onto my blog on a day when I'd mentioned my blank-canvas paintings, and showed a photo of one of them. She was at a place in her life where the blankness of the canvas called out to her, and she was interested in having one of these in her life.

This was pure delight to me! I love making these paintings, but it's impractical to bring them to shows. They are just too fragile for the loading and unloading, people's dirty fingers, and the miles bumping over American highways in the van. So to sell one on commission, that's just perfect. 

***

 

One of the things I enjoy about living on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is my frequent brushes with incredibly gigantic pieces of farm machinery. I rarely have any idea what these things DO - but I find myself strangely attracted to them. I have no idea why. So, here's one I saw on Route 13 the other day. Isn't it amazing? 

***

Dog of the Day

Woodreau, crashed out after a long day of barking, digging and defending the property. 

***

A Final Thought

"Painting is a means of self-enlightenment."

- John Olsen