Does the Night Forget?

I'm always happy, happy as can be, when a big sunflower painting sells.

I'm happy for the sale, and I am happy for the buyer, and most of all, I'm happy because I get to make another, and know it will have a home with me, at least until the next show.

This sunflower painting delighted me. I love that it is vertical, a change for me. I love that the background continues white with its hints of yellow and green and tan, nearly to the bottom, where it picks up earth tones. I've never had the courage to do this before, continue the white the entire way. I've never had the courage to add stems, either, and I think I like them, the stems and leaves.

So it was a welcome opportunity, painting this piece. I like the pink flowers in it, and the shading, and the many surprising colors hidden here and there. All these things bring the flowers to life for me - and, I hope, for you.

You can see this painting this weekend at the Wickford Art Show, in Wickford, RI. The show is on, 10-6 today and 10-5 on Sunday.  I'll be in Booth 79, on Elam Street (there's a map on the website). Hope to see you there!

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FOR THE PAST few years, my friend Candy and I have been trading photos of the sky, nearly every day. She can be in Connecticut when I'm in Texas, or Morocco when I'm in New Jersey, and we are - of course - under the same sky. Sharing the photos has become a touchstone for me.

Sometimes, though, the sky is just blah. Think solid blue, or solid gray. So we take photos of other things. Here's one I call "Odd Man Out."

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Dog of the Day

Cute! They were at the show in Richmond, back in May. 

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A Final Thought 

THE TITLE OF this painting comes from a Carl Sandburg poem, "Nights Nothings Again." The poem is long, so I won't copy it all over, but you can click here to read it.
Here are a few short verses:

Is there a tired head
the night has not fed and rested
and kept on its neck and shoulders?

Is there a wish
of man to woman
and woman to man
the night has not written
and signed its name under?

Does the night forget
as a woman forgets?
and remember
as a woman remembers?

Blue-Sky Sunflowers - and a Lovely Place to Stay

Blue-sky Sunflowers

Oil on canvas, 48x72

commission

One of my goals in all of this is to do fewer outdoor art shows, and earn the rest of our living from galleries and internet sales, painting trips, plein-air events and commissions. And paintings like this one are proof that that plan can become - and is becoming - a reality. 

I love love love this sunflower painting! It is intensely bright and sunny, and while I'd never have thought of doing the upper background blue, I really like the way it offsets the rich colors of the sunflowers. 

What you don't get from the photo is a sense of the depth of the bright colors, and an idea of the size of the painting - 4 feet by 6 feet. It's so heavy I have to take it off the easel in order to change the height of the easel. And the size is one of the things that makes it so intensely sunny and amazing. I am looking forward so very much to delivering it, and seeing it hang in the gorgeous kitchen where it will hang! 

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I MADE MY WAY to High Point, NC, on Wednesday, for the plein-air paintout that starts today. It was a beautiful drive, mostly west, through lovely, sunny farmland. High Point looks like an interesting city with some bright and well-polished spots, and some fairly large pockets of what look like economically depressed areas. 

The paintout starts today, with what's known as a "Quick Draw," a three-hour event on North Main Street, very close to the hotel. I imagine that part of the Quick Draw is to draw attention to the event, and I think that's very smart. 

The hotel where we are being put up is absolutely gorgeous. And the paintout is paying for our rooms, and for most of our meals. What a treat! 

Above, the front and back of the JH Adams Hotel, where we are staying. 

Here's my room! 

The back entry to the hotel. 

Here's the outdoor patio. 

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MY NEXT SHOW will be An Occasion for the Arts, in Williamsburg, VA, Oct. 4-5. It's my first time doing this show, and I'm excited about it! I'll be in Booth A-8 on Duke of Gloucester Street. If you're in the area, or planning to be in the area, please stop by and say hello, and see my new pieces! 

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Dog of the Day

Today's Dog of the Day is Samantha! She's the mother of Puffy, our other cat, and Kizzy, Puffy's late sister. Doesn't she look like Katharine Hepburn, the Dog of the Day from my most recent post? 

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

Huge Summer Garden & Tiny Animals!

Summer Garden 

Oil on canvas, 48x60

sold

Sometimes, I just have to laugh at myself, and yesterday was one of those times. 

I'd spent the previous three days painting this gigantic sunflower painting - four feet by five feet. Tons of color. Tubes and tubes and tubes of paint. Thousands and thousands and thousands of strokes. It's so big and so heavy, I had to ask Peter to help me lift it so I could raise the easel. 

I worked on it and worked on it and worked on it, and then, finally, it was done. Yay! 

I put it in the van to dry and went back to the studio. 

My next painting? Five inches square. 

Made me laugh. 

Cardinal

Oil on canvas, 5x5

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Cottontail

Oil on canvas, 4x5

THE IMPETUS FOR these small pieces is twofold. First, I want to see if it's worth my while to create a line of smaller, cheaper paintings. If it takes me three hours to make a 10x10, which I sell for $100, but it takes me two hours to make a 5x5, which I sell for $45, well, then it's not worth it. But if I can make the smaller paintings more quickly, and if they sell fast, then maybe it IS worth it. So I am experimenting. 

But before these paintings make it into my booth at this summer's outdoor art shows, they're headed for the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, CT. My friend and former boss, Elissa Bass, is working for the center, which is run by another friend, and former classmate, Maggie Jones. Elissa invited me to exhibit at the center for the month of June. So that's the first home for these small pieces. 

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THIS YEAR'S PAWS FOR CHARITY book is out, and it is just beautiful! 

This is a project I've had the honor of participating in for a few years now. Sara Harley chooses photographs and paintings from artists who apply. She puts together a beautiful book, and donates the proceeds to a shelter in Nova Scotia, where she lives. This year's recipient is SHAID, Shelter for Animals In Distress. 

You can see a preview of the book by clicking here. 

And if you want to buy a book or two, here's a discount! Put in this code - P4C2014 - when you are checking out, and you'll get 25 percent off. The discount is not good forever, so you should order now! 

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Dog of the Day

I met him at the Wachapreague Post Office yesterday, and he was happy and shiny and 

very friendly. I think his name is Zorro, but I could be wrong. 

Sunflowers - and Hnngghhh!

Kari's Sunflowers

Oil on canvas, 10x10

Commission

Peter came home the other day laughing. He'd gone to the vegetable stand down the road and bought tomatoes and something else, some kind of sweet potato that he'd never seen before. 

He asked the person selling the veggies what it was, and she said, "Hnnggh!" 

"What is it?" Peter said. "Pardon?"

"Hnngghh!" she said. 

And my dear husband, who pretty clearly was never going to understand what that woman was saying, just gave up and bought the hnngghh, two of them, actually. He brought them home, and cooked them, and they were delicious. 

So today, I talked to my friend Pat, who's lived here all her life - so far. 

She said that hngghh are haymen, an Eastern Shore delicacy. And there's apparently a very distinct way to treat, cook and enjoy the haymen. I took a video of Pat explaining. Click here to see it on YouTube.

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On the Easel

It's a commission, 24x72, and I'm really excited about it!

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Dog of the Day

Hahahaha! Aren't goats wonderful and STRANGE? 

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

Sunflowers, My Great Sponsors (so far!), and a Video!

Sunflower Diptych

Oil on canvas, 12x24, 48x24

Commission

The people who are buying this commission have a gorgeous dining room, but there's no blue in it! So they asked for a green lower background to go with the room. So why not?

I wasn't sure about this at first, but it is growing on me - and I know the buyers will love it, and that's all that matters with a commission!

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My audacious sponsorship idea is taking hold! Here are the wonderful folks who already have committed to sponsor my upcoming painting trip, "To Tubac and Back!"

Kathryn Yamartino

Tiffany Williams

Laurie Cooper

Dov Kugelmass

Pat Hart

Blake Wentz

Maggie Platte

Donald & Paula Cooper

Kristen Singh

Linda Fite

Nancy Russell

To find out more about the trip, click here; there's still plenty of time to get on board! 

And there are plenty of ways to do it! Of course, you can sponsor me yourself. That's easy and fun and a great present to YOU!

A sponsorship makes a great gift for a friend, spouse, family member... Get the kids together and give a Big Present to your MOM. Ask your husband to give you a sponsorship for your birthday! Tell your wife you've been wanting one of my paintings for years, and now's the time! 

A donation of $100 or more gets you at least one painting... A donation of less than $100 will get you a  smaller gift (more on this later) and a chance to win any painting I've made... 

Here's that Donate button. Don't worry if you don't have PayPal. You can use any credit card! If you'd rather send me a check, drop me an email and I'll give you my mailing address...

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At the request of several friends who I've met through this blog, I've made a how-to video, "carrie jacobson paints sunflowers!" The first part is up now on YouTube, and the second part will be up later today, I hope. 

This is sort of a test, another experiment. I'm planning to video myself painting landscapes as I cross the country to Arizona, so I'm working on getting used to the process, getting faster at it, and getting more comfortable with it. 

I'd REALLY like to have some feedback on this. Please let me know how I can improve it! 

Click here to see my video!