Ashton

Ashton

Gouache and oil on canvas, 12x12

I was a bit disheartened after my portraits of Emmett and JJ - not truly disheartened, but a little, but determined to push on - and then I made this painting of Ashton, and it changed everything. I love this painting! It looks a lot like Ash - maybe an older version of Ash, but a distinct version of him. 

Making this piece taught me a lot. Hair makes a big difference. The nose is a good place to start - it's where I start in dogs and cats, so why not in humans? The shadows on his face in the photo I had were harsh and deep, and I was worried about them, but they make this painting. 

For a while, I had a sign posted on my computer that said, "Carrie, Paint the Light." It was a reminder not to paint THINGS, but to paint light, and shadow, and how light and shadow define things.  That very Big Lesson came back to me with this painting. 

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At my site on Fine Art America, you can have my paintings printed onto all sorts of things. You can get actual prints, on paper or metal or acrylic block or canvas. You can get my paintings on pillows, iPhone covers, duvet covers, tote bags (these are really great) - and also on shower curtains. 

During the summer, I stay with my brother and his family often, when I'm doing shows or delivering paintings or visiting in New England. They live in Hartford, which is pretty central, and they have a nice bedroom for me. They take me in, they feed me, they put up with me, share their house and life with me. I know he's my brother, but still, it's a lot. I wanted to thank them, so I had a shower curtain made of a painting I'd made of their daughter and one of their dogs. 

The shower curtain is great - but their bathroom is very narrow, so narrow that there really was no place to step back and look at the painting, as huge as it is. So Rand had a great idea - to put it on Larkin's tree house. Doesn't it look great?

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Dog of the Day

Saw this giant at the SoNo Arts Festival this summer in South Norwalk, CT. 

Happily for everyone, he was very friendly. 

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

"Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master." 

- Leonardo Da Vinci 

Katy

Katy

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Commission

I truly feel that painting was given to me by God, or whatever you want to call the higher power in the universe. I was given this gift, and there is no time that I feel it more directly or more truly than when I am painting animals.

My first painting was of dogs, and the next dozen or so were also pets, either dogs or cats, my own or friends'. I paint people's pets regularly these days, and I love doing it.

When I am on, when I am making the connection, I paint a pet portrait in one fairly breathless sitting. The portrait comes easily to me, and directly, and quickly. My eyes move, my hands move, my heart moves, and the painting comes through me and onto the canvas, just like that.

If I am not on, I sometimes have to do a painting two or three times before I get it right.

With every pet portrait, I give thanks for this gift that came to me when I was 50. I give thanks that I had the insight, the support and the lucky breaks to do something with it.

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Would you like me to paint a portrait of your pet? Or do you know someone who would like a portrait? Please click here to drop me an email! I work from photographs, I ship all over the world, and I can tailor a painting to suit you and the colors you like. A 12-inch by 12-inch painting is $350, and I go up in size and price from there.