Three Chickens, Two Fancies and One DOD

Three Chickens

Oil on canvas, 36x36

Please email me for price and availability

Had to look it up, but I've found out that roosters are chickens, but chickens are not necessarily roosters. And, according to Wikipedia, a male chicken who is less than a year old is called a cockerel. 

At a show a couple weeks ago, I learned that a bull is an intact male cow, used for breeding purposes. A steer is a bull who has been cut (I have young readers, so I am being a little vague here) before reaching maturity. A heifer is a female cow who has never given birth. Who knew?

This last discussion came up around a painting I will post soon, a 15x60-inch painting of a longhorn, that I made specially for my upcoming Texas shows. The artist in the booth next to me had spent his summers working as a ranch hand, and he knew his bovine terminology! 

I had a blast making this painting of the three chickens. The two on the sides are wyandotte chickens, and have amazing rounded feathers, with different colors on the edges than in the middle.  Here's a photo of a gold-laced wyandotte: 

And you can click here to see a Pinterest page showing a whole bunch of cool chicken breeds. 

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I'D LOVE YOUR opinions about my website, jacobson-arts.com. The homepage background is black. The next page (new!) has a yellow background. The rest have an orangish background. Do you have a preference? Please let me know. 

And any of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I'm going to close my personal FB page by the end of the year, and do all my posting on my artist FB page. If you haven't already, would you all please click here to go to my Carrie Jacobson, Artist Facebook page, and "Follow" me? Thanks! 

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MY HUSBAND PETER has adopted a new way of dressing since moving to Virginia. I happen to love it - and I also think it's a scream. I sent a photo of Peter in all his sartorial splendor to my friend Kevin, and while he liked the outfit, he said it reminded him of something his mother used to tell him: There's plain, and there's fancy; you want wear one of each, or two plains, but never two fancies! 

I cheer my husband on for wearing two, three or even four fancies!  

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Dog of the Day

Think it's Jojo? (Click here and scroll down to see Jojo) It's NOT!

 It's Maggie, who lives down the street, and who we like to call "the fake Jojo."

Rooster No. 5 - and Thoughts on Fear and Courage

Rooster No. 5

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $100

sold

I was emailing a friend who is also an artist and a collector of my paintings, and she wrote about how scary it is to make a painting for someone. For anyone, really. They might not like it, it might not look like the person/dog/scene that the buyer was picturing, the buyer might think you're a talentless hack.... and on and on.

I confessed to her that I'm scared pretty much all the time. As I drive up to a show, and especially to a new show, I am often literally shaking. I'm afraid that the people at the show, buyers and artists, are going to look at my paintings and see right off the bat that I am self-taught, that I don't know the rules, that I'm a messy painter, that I can't draw, and on and on and on.

But I told her that I just get a hold of myself, pull myself together, and go on and do it. Be scared, sure - but do it. We are all scared - or at least, I suspect we all are.

After I wrote this to her, I went to the home page of the Piedmont Plein Air Paintout, that I'm participating in this week. I started looking at the paintings by the participating artists  - and totally freaked out again. Sigh.

I left the site, got a handle on my fear and paranoia, and went back to the site later in the day. When I looked again, I could see clearly that my paintings do stand up next to everyone else's - and after all, I was chosen to participate! That should be enough to quiet the fears, right?

I'm sharing all of this not so you all will tell me that I'm a good painter, etc. I'm sharing it because so many people tell me all the time how frightened they are - of painting, of trying to paint, of applying to shows, of thinking of quitting their jobs to follow their dreams. People tell me how brave I am - and I just wanted to share that, really, I am not brave. I am scared and hesitant, but I go ahead and do it anyways. And anyone can do this. It doesn't take not being afraid. It takes not letting your fear paralyze you.

My faith; my belief in what I'm doing; my dear and supportive husband; my dear and supportive daughter, brother, sister, father and stepmother; and all the people who read this blog, go to the shows and buy my paintings, all of these people, all of you, help me find the courage that I need to go ahead, fear in hand, and do what needs to be done.

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JUST A NOTE, in passing. I've changed the title of "Fat Guy at the Diner" to "Room at the Counter." I gave the painting that title in part because it has the same rhythm as "Nighthawks at the Diner," one of my very favorite paintings. But several long-time readers of this blog said they loved the painting, but wouldn't want to buy it, because of the title. Being a person who has struggled with my weight for my entire life, I do understand their point of view, and agree. 

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Dog of the Day

It's Katharine Hepburn, who lives with Lynn Hoins, a faithful reader of this blog. 

Kate looks a lot like our cat Samantha, mother of Puffy and Kizzy, who appeared 

in my most recent blog entry. 

Rise and Shine - and a Grand Coincidence

Rise and Shine

Oil on canvas, 20x20, sold

The weather people delivered their proclamations of doom this morning with their typical dramatic flourishes. I looked at the weather map and decided to put some extra weights on my tent, but otherwise, not to panic. 

By 3 p.m., the 52 percent chance of rain had diminished to 30 percent. And just as I saw this, I heard a big thunderboom overhead. Shortly thereafter, the organizers of the Brandywine Arts Festival here in Wilmington, Del., decided that, to be safe, the show should close at 5. 

So I packed up and left, and kept my fingers crossed. But as I was packing, a lovely couple came along and bought this rooster painting. Yay! 

The show here in Wilmington continues on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Stop by if you're in the area! 

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IN A REMARKABLE bit of coincidence, two young women walked into the booth this morning, attracted by that very same rooster. Turns out they want a 48x48 rooster for their kitchen, and I laughed at this, because I had a 48x48 canvas that I'd considered using for a rooster. Instead, I painted sunflowers, and they do look great - but I had kept wondering and wondering about a bigger rooster. 

I took their contact info, and did notice that their last name sounded a little familiar. They asked where I lived, and when I said Wachapreague, they bubbled a little. Their uncle lives there, they said. Did I know James Swineford? 

No, I said, I didn't.

And then I thought about it for a minute. 

"You mean Jimmy?" I asked. "Nitty-Gritty?" They nodded. "He lives across the street from us!" 

We've never called him "James," and while I guess I knew his last name at one point, I quickly and completely forgot it. We call him "Nitty-Gritty," because that's the name of his boat, and what he has on his license plate. Jimmy is a good neighbor, solid and available. He has a little bit of a lawn-mowing fetish, driving the mower at least weekly, and while he has a slight propensity for curmudgeonliness, he is always happy to share a joke and lend a hand. 

Isn't life amazing? 

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Dog of the Day

It's Fred! He belongs to Tamara, a faithful reader of this blog. She sent the picture when I started painting roosters, and I will surely paint Fred one of these days. He's a looker! 

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

Rooster No. 2 - and For Your Eyes Only

Rooster No. 2

Oil on canvas, 10x10, sold

Since Rooster No. 1  sold, I decided I should make another. Erika, our daughter, wanted to try painting, and so we set out to paint together. She did a fantastic job with her rooster! She has frosted lots of cakes, and I believe that helps, when it comes to painting with a palette knife. We had a great time painting together, too. 

Here's Erika, working on her rooster. The finished painting is below. I don't know if it is for sale, but if you find you need it, drop me an email and I will talk to her and see if she wants to sell it. 

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HERE IS A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY for readers of this blog. 

When the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival opens on Saturday at 10 a.m., I am going to have, for the first time, a wall of small paintings, which will be for sale for $100 or less. Before the show opens, I'll take a photo and post it to the blog, and send the blog out right away. 

If you want to buy one or more of the smalls, email me or call or text me at 860-442-0246. Once the show opens, the paintings will be fair game for all, but you, faithful readers, will get first dibs. 

The Mystic festival is in Mystic, CT. It's from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, by the pet store, and across the street from the post office. 

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THANK YOU, everyone, for your kind condolences on Sam's passing. It was a tough stretch, as he went downhill, and we found ourselves in that terrible place that dog (and cat) people know only too well. 

Your kindness and condolences, your sharing of your own stories and experiences, have helped me, and Peter, enormously. And the Facebook folks who responded also helped Erika, who was Sam's original human. 

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Dog of the Day

That's right, it's Jojo the Wonder Dog. She might not know that Sam is gone, but she knew right away that Peter and I were upset, and she spent the days between Sam's death and my leaving for Connecticut going from one of us to the other, trying as hard as she could to comfort and to cheer us. She's getting gray in the face, and long in the tooth, but who isn't. 

Rooster No. 1 - and Thoughts on Showing Paintings

Rooster No. 1

sold

A friend who reads the blog suggested that perhaps I'd enjoy painting roosters. So I gave it a shot - and I have to say, this was an incredibly FUN painting to make. I had a blast! And I love the painting, too.  I'm going to try more roosters - including really big ones and really small ones. 

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SPEAKING OF SMALL,  I'm planning something new for the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, Aug. 9-10 (next weekend!) in Mystic, CT. If I can get my tent set up right - which is always a challenge - I'm going to put up a "smalls wall," a whole panel of paintings that are $100 or less. So stop by and check it out and let me know what you think. I'll be at the corner of Willow and Main, across the street from the post office, and right by the bagel place. 

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I GET A FEW email newsletters in my inbox every day. They bring me news and ideas and inspiration, and I think that's important, especially when you live in a teeny town on an isolated, rural peninsula. 

One that I received this week suggested that posting all my paintings on my blog and/or Facebook, and in particular, posting paintings that are in varying stages of doneness, was not a great idea. In fact, this writer said, it was a bad idea, and would "weaken (my) brand." 

Ooooh, I thought, on first reading. He's special, important, powerful, has a newsletter - and so he must be right! I'm doing it all wrong! 

And then I began to disagree with that initial assessment. Just because this guy said it, it doesn't mean he's right. I show and sell nearly all of my paintings. I'm not posting weak, bad paintings, because I'm not making weak, bad paintings. 

More to the point, I think, you all are interested in the process. Many of you have been with me from the start, and have watched and participated, bought my paintings, supported me financially and spiritually and emotionally from the start. Many of you were here when I left newspapers originally and took my first painting trip - to Wisdom, Montana - and you stayed through that first year, through my time at Patch, and through the final wrench from corporate work to self-employment liberation. 

So I'm going to keep posting pretty much everything I paint. I'm going to keep showing paintings on the easel, paintings in progress, paintings that I'm contemplating finishing in a different way. And I'm going to keep appreciating all of you readers and buyers, all your support and encouragement. I couldn't do this without you. 

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Dog of the Day

It's Daisy, cousin to Heather MacLeod's dog Gypsy.

 I love the look in this girl's face!