Butter - and Insights from St. Louis

Butter

Oil on canvas, 12x12

101 Dogs Project painting

Isn't this a fun painting? Butter looks like an imp, doesn't he? I haven't met him, but I know he is much loved. 

Even though I am on the road, I'll be making paintings for the project, and hoping you will sign up to participate! For $375, you get an original oil painting of your dog, a book or poster containing your dog's portrait, and a variety of project-related items. I'll donate a portion of your sponsorship to one of four dog-related groups I've chosen, or to a dog-related group of your choice. 

For more on the project, please click here to check out the 101 Dogs web page

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ON SATURDAY, I showed up at a Budweiser distribution center to participate in a mock jury put on by the people who run the St. Louis Art Festival, one of the top festivals in the country - and one that has so far not accepted me. 

The event went on from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. I came away exhausted and bleary-eyed,  but full of insights. The jurors had no life-changing comments on my entry, but I did get life-changing ideas from the day. I posted a lengthy piece on Art Fair Insiders about my experience. You can read that by clicking here.

The regular jury looks at work over the course of two or three days. This past year, it took 27 hours to accept 150 artists from the 1281 that applied. In general, their response to why I'm not getting into the very top shows, all the time, is that no one does. And, it's always a crap shoot. 

Still, I cam away from the event with renewed vigor, hope, and ideas. 

Here are the jurors, looking at the entry of my friend Cynthia Battista. Cynthia and I will be exhibiting together at the Tubac Arts Festival in Tubac, AZ, Feb. 10-14. 

To see more of her jewelry, please click here. 

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Dog of the Day

Saw this guy in St. Louis. His owner and I were both lost! 

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A Final Thought

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web." 

- Pablo Picasso

Jake - and a Wild-Sounding Show

 Jake

Oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

I really love this one! Jake has such an expressive face, with big soft eyes and a direct glance that melts my heart a little bit. 

I paint a lot of black dogs - also white dogs - and they generally end up blue and purple, like Jake. It's a way to get the depth, and the shine, the curves and the light and the shadows - and still stay away from black, which deadens and kills a painting, at least in my opinion. 

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THIS WEEKEND, it's Arts in the Park in Richmond, VA. I've heard this is a fun show, sprawling and busy, with hundreds of artists and jewelers and basketmakers and woodworkers, and pretty much anything and anyone else you can think of! I've never done it before, so we shall see. 

I'm in Booth No. 90, in what's referred to as "the dust bowl." Hmm. Hearing that I was in that space, one friend who knows my ways cautioned me not to bring any wet paintings. 

The show is Saturday and Sunday, 11-6 and 11-5 respectively. For more info, click here.

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Dog of the Day

Actually, there are two dogs in the cart... one on the seat, and one on the floor. 

They're both wet, gray-faced and pretty darn happy-looking. 

***

A final thought

"Creativity takes courage."

- Henri Matisse

Max and Carrot - and Woody, Too

Max

Oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

So where does inspiration come from? I can't say that I know. But I do know I recognize it when it comes calling. 

And that's sort of the answer for me. 

Inspiration is not here with me 24 hours a day. The muses just aren't always singing. 

Luckily for me, I had a lifetime before this one that also brought me into contact with inspiration and the muses. And I learned, from my years of writing and editing, and writing headlines and captions, that the best way to greet the muses when they do show up, and entreat them to stay for a while, is to be prepared. 

When I was writing and editing a lot, I eventually began to think of those activities as muscles that needed to be exercised and strengthened every day. I wrote and wrote and wrote, and edited and edited and edited, and so, when inspiration showed up, I was tuned in enough to recognize it and lithe enough to capture it. 

The same goes with my painting. 

I paint and paint and paint. I paint every day. I try things, and try things again, and then try again. And when, for instance, Max goes from being a cardboardy face on a canvas to taking on the soul of the dog, I can recognize the moment of inspiration and grab hold and, if I am lucky, hear those muses singing. 

What about you? Do you think that inspiration deserves more respect, more of a princely welcome? How do you seek and find inspiration? 

Carrot

Oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

p.s., Carrot and Max live together, and their portraits are going to hang together. Fun! 

Want to give a pet portrait as a Christmas present? I'll send you a gift certificate to give to that special pet-loving someone. Email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

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AS MOST OF YOU know, I think, I am embarking in mid-January on a painting trip to California, and I'm looking for sponsors. 

Sponsorships run from $50 to $750. For your hard-earned $$, you receive art that I paint on the way! You also receive goodies from the road, including a 2015 calendar of paintings to the trip; postcards from my travels; regular emails with paintings, stories and photos from the road; and a chance to win a big painting of your choice. 

Check out the details at at http://jacobson-arts.com/Jacobson_Arts/sponsor_me%21.html.

Sponsorships make great Christmas presents! If anyone wants me to suggest to a friend or significant other that you might like a sponsorship, please email me at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com, and I'll drop the hint. 

***

Dog of the Day

Here's Woodreau. He's a bichon we rescued; he was so messed up, it was a year before we could pet him. He did make friends with the dogs right away.

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

Velcro - and the Perfect Holiday Gift!

Velcro

Oil on canvas, 12x12

commission

After doing a lot of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, watching reruns on TV and, slowly, ever so slowly, starting to get well (yay!), I managed to haul my recovering butt up to the kitchen table and make two calendars for 2014. 

THE FIRST CALENDAR is a collection of paintings from 2013. They're paintings of the Eastern Shore, of beautiful stuff I saw the Tubac trip, and of various other gorgeous scenes near and far. Click here, and you'll be taken directly to my page on Lulu. You'll also find the click-through image at the top of this blog, in the right-hand column, and on my website, jacobson-arts.com.

THE SECOND CALENDAR is a collection of paintings of dogs, cats and one parrot, mostly done in 2013. Some of my favorite paintings are in here. Some of my favorite paintings are not in here, but I suppose that leaves room for 2015. Click here, and it should take you right to the preview area on Lulu, where you can see all the pages. You'll also find the click-through image at the top of this blog, in the right-hand column, and on my website, jacobson-arts.com.

Each calendar is $19.99, plus shipping and handling. They're really fun, and they'd make great holiday presents. 

YES! IT IS EARLY! But it's not that early. I bet some of you are already done with your holiday shopping, aren't you? The rest of you can be done today - Buy calendars for everyone! 

***

Dog of the Day

This is Virginia, who spent her entire life with my friend Debbie Ingoglio. 

Virginia died in May. Debbie says she was the best dog, and she does look like a dear. 

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

Zack and George - and Leesburg

Zack

Oil on canvas, 12x12, commission

George

Oil on canvas, 12x12, commission

I don't HAVE to know the pets I paint, but when I do know them, it adds an extra layer to the process. Part of it is a difficult layer - there's even more of a mark to reach, in terms of making the painting look like the animal... But part of it is an easy layer. I know George and Zack, so I can supply information that's not in the photo I'm using. 

At any rate, they are fun dogs, and I love their people, so it was a good situation all around. 

Want a portrait of your pet? Drop me an email.

 George, meet George! 

Does this painting make me look fat?  

 What do you think, Zack? 

Let's take a look! 

***

THIS WEEKEND, I'll be in Leesburg, VA, at the fine arts show there. Should be Fun! I am in Booth K53, on South King Street. It was a very good show last year, and I expect there will be some excellent art there this year, too! Please stop in and say hi. 

Berkley, and Two Losses

Berkley

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Want a portrait of your pet? Click here to find out how to get one! 

Usually when there's a hiatus in the blog, it's because I'm at a show and too exhausted to post, or in a place where there's no internet connection (yes, there are still such places!) 

This time was different. After five weeks on the road, I got home last Monday night around 8 p.m., and our old cat, Eunice, died three hours later. 

Her death was not really a surprise, but it was, in the end, sudden. She was 15 or 16, and though she'd had kidney problems for a few years, she was in good health until the last few days of her life. She had had trouble keeping weight on, we knew, and just before I left, I noticed that her hind legs were giving her some issues. 

Peter said she'd been fine until a few days before I got back, when she stopped eating. By last Monday, she couldn't really walk. But she lifted her head when I got home, and purred a little when I petted her and held her, and I do believe that she was waiting to see me one last time, and to know we were all together. Then she just let go. 

I am heavy with sadness, still, and thinking of Eunice brings me to tears. But I remember her as a wonderful cat, a good friend and companion. She was sociable and clean and funny, and talkative. I'll miss her forever. 

Here's Eunice, taking over the bench we got for our chow/sharpei. 

Eunice was just a little cat, but she could keep that fierce dog off his bench any time she wanted. 

***

IN MY WEEKS AWAY, I had some very good shows and some not very good shows, and returned home with a boatload of commissions, which is always exciting. 

Here's Berkley, who I've never met, but who seems like a great dog. His people have told me he likes his portrait. 

 ***

THERE WAS SOME BIG EXCITEMENT here in Wachapreague Saturday night, when a man driving a truck very, very fast crashed into the antique store run by my friends Pat and Carol.

Thankfully, the store had closed for the night and was empty. But the crash knocked it off its very foundation and pretty much wrecked it, and most of what was in it.

Pat and Carol have spent years and years collecting items for the store, and they had some beauties.

Some of the things in the store were not ruined, but I am afraid that most everything was. I feel very sorry for my friends, but I am just so glad that no one was killed.

If the driver of the truck had missed the store, as my friend Linda Cicoira pointed out, he'd have crashed into the living room of Pat's house, where, in all likelihood, she'd have been sitting.

Linda is a fabulous painter, and her work is FUN! Want to see? Click here. 

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Dog of the Day

Here's Lily, a Havanese-poodle mix who I met in town Saturday. 

She's 10 months old, and every bit as cute as she looks here. 

Want your pet to be Dog of the Day? Send me an email with a jpg!

Ellie, Referrals, and ... Would YOU Eat THAT?

Ellie

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Commission

Ooooh, I really love this painting!

I pretty much love all my paintings - but there are the special ones, the ones that grab at my heart - and this is one of them. And, happily for me, the people who bought it love it, too!

With any luck, those nice people will have friends who will want paintings of their dogs. And their friends will have friends... and on and on.

***

IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS (and I KNOW you do...), please invite them to sign up to get my blog by email or check out my website!

Ask them to like me on Facebook, and follow me on Pinterest! 

Suggest that they go to a show and see my paintings in person. Or suggest that they consider buying one of my pieces for that wall in the living room, or the empty little spot beside the front-hall closet.

Referrals are gold to me! I will thank you with all my heart - and will make sure you get a nice referrer discount the next time you buy a painting from me!

***

I LIKE TV, I admit it.  I went through an anti-TV phase, and for 10 years, didn't own a set. Now, I enjoy it.

But I wonder about what people who make commercials think we are. I swear, if I ever ate anything that sounded like what Kit-Kat bars or Doritos sound like in commercials, I'd have a mouth full of broken teeth. Where is the joy of chomping into something that sounds like kindling breaking in your mouth?

What commercials drive you crazy? I'd love to know!

***

 Here's a restaurant sign that made me smile...

Here's a photo my brother sent me, of four of my paintings in Millwright's Restaurant in Simsbury, CT! 

***

And here's the Dog of the Day - Sienna - with some gorgeous peonies. Sienna lives 

with Melanie, sister of my friend Heather! 

Want your dog to be the Dog of the Day? Send me a jpg! 

Banana Joe - and Tubac and Back!

Banana Joe

Oil on canvas, 12x12, $350

Please click here to email me if you are interested in this painting - or one of YOUR dog! 

YES, this is Banana Joe, who won the Westminster Kennel Club dog show this year! He is a black dog, and as such, his face is hard to see. But as a blue and green dog, he's not so hard to see!

***

Sponsors and others have already seen the following, but many of you haven't! Apologies to those of you who have already seen it! 

On March 9, I'll be embarking on "To Tubac and Back," a journey to Arizona to paint, visit my dad and his wife in Tubac, and participate in the Fourth Avenue Street Fair  in Tucson.

I'm gathering sponsors for the trip, following the model of a CSA - community-supported agriculture... and I'm asking for your participation. 

  

It's a great chance to be part of something fun, and to get original art (and more) in the process.

For any donation of any amount, you become a sponsor, and get a whole raft of fun sponsor benefits (you'll see these in just a moment!), and a chance to win a painting of your choice, including a commission, up to 36x60. You also get to help choose my route!

For $100, you get a 10-inch by 10-inch painting from the trip. These sell for $100 ordinarily, and they sell quickly. Your $100 donation ensures that I paint enough of them that you get one. You also get a chance to win a painting up to 36x60 - And there's MORE (coming... just a moment...)

For amounts over $100, you get the small paintings, discounts on a larger painting, a chance to win the big painting. And there's MORE (moment... moment...)

Discounts apply to trip and non-trip paintings.

Want to donate more than $100? WHEE! Here's what I've cooked up! 

• For $150 - you get one 10x10 and 5 percent off a larger painting
• For $200 - you get two 10x10 paintings and 10 percent off a larger painting
• $300 - three 10x10s and 15 percent off
• $500 - five 10x10s and 25 percent off 
• Sponsor  me for $1,000, and you will have five 10x10s and 60 percent off any painting, including a commission, up to 36x60 - or a large painting from the trip, along with several smaller ones. For that amount I'll also come to your house and make you lunch, or groom your dog, shampoo your rugs, fold your laundry... (well, maybe not shampoo your rugs... but you get it. I'll be very grateful!) 

If you'd rather, each 10x10 can be converted into $50 off a larger painting.

I'll also display your names prominently on  my blog, The Accidental Artist (if you want) and on my website, too. 

To sponsor me, click here or on the donate button below!  It's EASY, and fun and you can use PayPal or a credit card, whichever you prefer. 

And thank you! 

OK, here's the AND MORE: 

Sonsors are getting more than art and the chance to win a BIG painting. You're getting SUPER SPECIAL SPONSOR-ONLY REWARDS, INCLUDING:

• The first look at all my paintings from the trip, via a super-secret, sponsor only blog
• Special photos, videos and postings For Sponsors Only, on the super-secret blog
• A postcard or two from the road (email you street address to me atcarrieBjacobson@gmail.com)
• A collage, signed by me and suitable for framing, of images from the trip
• The chance to win a T-shirt that I will paint in (and get paint on) during the trip. It will be an XL or larger, and I PROMISE it will be clean (but painty) when you get it. 

The one disclaimer: Donations are NOT tax-deductible.

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.