Salt Marsh Morning

Salt Marsh Morning

Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125

sold

This is the the first of the paintings destined for the 2018 Wachapreague calendar. I think it's fitting that it's our lovely salt marsh, on a clear, bright spring morning, before the world has woken up.

The marsh is what drew me first to Wachapreague. I arrived on an October afternoon, and the thick, golden light had illuminated the marsh, below a sky so clear, so tender blue, it made my heart ache.

Right now, the marsh is a brilliant, soft green, and the water shimmering turquoise. I will paint it soon, in its summer glory. Then will come the fall, when the grass turns deep gold, and the dark boggy earth seems to be at its richest. Winter and spring look much the same on the marsh, as everything sinks in and down in the thin gray light, and all that is living in the marsh rests and gathers energy for the growth and thrill that is the summer here on the Eastern Shore.

You'll be able to get calendars through me, and through Seaside Antiques, here in Wachapreague. I'll let you know when they're available (should be October).

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I'VE BEEN AWAY, at shows up and down the East Coast, and all the way out to Minneapolis and back. I had a great time, met lots of people, sold lots of paintings, and made some new friends. Here are some happy buyers from my trip!

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Dog of the Day

It's Doc, Lulu and Koko, piled up on top of you know who - me! This is after I got back from three-plus weeks on the road. It was the best dogpile I've ever been in! 

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A Final Thought

"Treat a work of art like a prince: Let it speak to you first." 

- Arthur Schopenhauer

Storm on the Salt Marsh

Storm on the Salt Marsh

Oil on black canvas, 20x20

Please click here to contact me for price and availability

When I drove into town - on a lark, six or seven years ago - the salt marsh captured my eyes and my heart right away. I set up and painted. It was late September or early October, and the marsh was golden, the sky a light blue tailing up to manganese, and the light was round and bright and loaded with color.

I've painted the marsh again and again since that first meeting, and over the years, have begun to get to know her moods and colors, the rhythm of wind and season, the sway of the marsh grasses on a windy, rainy day, and the every-enticing colors of her landscape.

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Stuff I've Seen

On the way to Harborton stands this adorable little store, run by a woman named Eva. Every day, it is stocked with fresh vegetables and fruit, frozen soup, fresh or frozen homemade bread, and delicious-smelling baked goods. 

Eva's is all serve-yourself. Prices are written on post-its, and you're trusted to do the math correctly, not steal anything, and put your money in a little box on the outside of the building. 

At one time, Eva grew everything in the store. That, apparently, has changed, but she gets as much local produce as she can, grows what she can, and does all the baking. It's a real treat! 

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Dog of the Day

Met this guy out in Tubac, Arizona! What a beauty. 

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A Final Thought

"Art is the reason I get up in the morning, but the definition ends there. 

It doesn't seem fair that I'm living for something I can't even define." 

- Ani DiFranco

Exploring an Idea

These two paintings -"Four in Hand," above, and "Swirling Sky," left, come from an experiment I've been doing. In both, I put much of the paint on the canvas in loose blobs (big loose blobs), and then used my knives to pull the paint into images. 

I love both of these pieces, though neither does precisely what I was hoping to do, which is to pull the whole painting - somewhat abstract, somewhat realistic - from the blobs of paint. 

This is tantalizing to me, and I'm going to keep trying it, either until I learn to master the idea, or I find I'm at the end of this particular road. 

The top painting is now in the home of a buyer, who is deciding whether to keep it. It's 15x60. The lower painting, 20x20, is in a gallery, Art House Charlotte, in Charlotte, NC. Please drop me an email if you're interested in either, or in having me make a similar painting for you. 

Dogs of the Day  

Jojo (above) and Zoe (below) have been gone for just about a year now. I miss them both,  and also I miss Smokey, who died a few months ago, and Sam and Looie, who passed in 2014. It's been a tough stretch, and we knew it would be, way back when. 

But our dogs enrich our lives. They make me laugh, they make me stop and play, they help me love with abandon and joy, and to forgive when forgiveness is required, right away and without rancor. There is always the pain of loss, when you have a dog. That's the price we pay for the love of a dog, the companionship, the countless hours of laughter and comfort. Zoe was a dear girl and I miss her. Jojo was the dog of my heart, and I'll never stop missing her. 

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A Final Thought

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." 

- Pablo Picasso

Light Beneath the Clouds

Light Beneath the Clouds

Oil on black canvas, 20x20, sold

I have three big projects going now, and another very exciting one in the works. I can't tell you about that one yet, but I will when it's all finalized. In the meantime, here are the three that I'm working on: 

• 101 DOGS - In this project (which is about halfway done), I'm making 101 paintings of dogs, in honor of my dear Jojo and lovely Zoe, who died in September, two weeks apart. For $375, you get a 12-inch-by-12-inch oil painting of your dog and a book or poster of all the paintings when the project is finished. I'm giving money from each purchase to a dog-related group, as well. For more about the project, click here. 

• BIG SKIES PAINTING TRIP - In October, I'm heading to Montana, Wyoming and perhaps South Dakota, to make plein air paintings of these beautiful Western states. Sponsorships start at $125, and include regular blog postings, goodies from the road, and paintings when I return. Sponsors choose their paintings in the order in which they sign up! For more information, click here. 

• 2017 WACHAPREAGUE CALENDAR - I'm about halfway done with this one, and I'm loving how it's turning out. It's a calendar of 12 scenes of our little town, and it will be available soon, for a reasonable price, from me, and from Seaside Antiques and Art, right here in town. If you know you want a calendar or two, you can stop in at the shop and put an order in, or drop me an email at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com

Cornflowers

Oil on black canvas, 10x10, sold

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Dog of the Day

WE HAD A big black chow at one point, named Frank. Peter had gone to the pound with our daughter, who was looking at a lhasa apso. Erika came home with that dog (whose name is lost in my memory right now), and also Zoe, who, years later, came to live with us. Peter came back with Frank, who'd been trembling and barking and troubled with diarrhea in the pound.

Frank was a great dog, gentle and sweet and very funny. He looked fierce, and he could be fierce, but what he mostly wanted was to rip up a chew toy and lean against a human. He was a great dog and I still miss him. There's something very special about a chow, something deep and rich and noble, and then on top of that, at least in our experience, something silly. This guy made me think of Frankie.

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A Final Thought

"I was not ready for abstraction. I clung to earth and her dear shapes, her density, her herbage, her juice. I wanted her volume, and I wanted to hear her throb." 

- Emily Carr

The Marsh - Me, a Guest in Another Blog - and Welcome, Koko

Tuesday Morning on the Marsh

Oil on black canvas, 16x16

At Center Framing and Art, West Hartford Center, CT

The salt marsh was the first thing that attracted me to Wachapreague, and it continues to call to me. Every day, the marsh says something new. The colors, the wind, the way the light reflects. The tips of the grasses, the shift in colors from gold to red to green. The rich dark musty smell of the mud. The whitecaps that show on occasion. The water turns indigo in the winter, turquoise in the summer, gold in the right light of dusk. 

And even more than how it looks is the life of the marsh. Birds of all sorts light there, to catch their food, build their nests, swim and sleep and do what birds do. Animals and insects gather in abundance, and live and die, enriching the muck and adding to the ecosystem. 

Sometimes in the mornings, when the tide is low, the smell of the marsh is overpowering. Some people can't stand that smell; I love it. It's the smell of life going on, eternal and unchanging and always changing, too.

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RECENTLY, I RECEIVED an email out of the blue from Sadie, who writes a blog called Sadie & Co - Her and Her Dogs Plus the Cat. 

Sadie is a fellow artist and animal-lover, and she found this blog and asked me if I'd be willing to answer a few questions, and show my art, on her blog. Of course I said Sure. 

Here's the link: http://herandherdogs.com/2015/10/20/carrie-jacobson-art/

Thank you, Sadie! 

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Dog of the Day, Dog of the Future

I have adopted Koko, the puppy you see here. I just missed Jojo too much. I missed her love and companionship, and I was adrift without it. Peter found Koko, in the foster home of Christine Stark, who also fostered Abby. 

Christine lives near Asheville, NC, and I arranged my trip to Texas to cut across North Carolina near Asheville. We met in a WalMart parking lot, on a cold morning. Koko was shy, timid, not wanting to come out of her crate at first. But after we'd met for a while, she began to jump around and play, smother me with kisses, nip me with her puppy teeth, and we began to fall in love. 

I have left her with Christine, and I'll come back on my way home and get little Koko, and we will start our lives together. She will never be Jojo; she will never replace Jojo. But she will follow my sweet girl, and she will be my new companion.  

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A Final Thought

"I saw an angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free." 

- Michelangelo

Rainbow Marsh, Happy Buyers & White Squirrels

Rainbow Marsh

Oil on canvas, 36x48

Please click here to email me for price and shipping/delivery costs

I took a lot of chances with this painting of the salt marsh near our home. I had an idea to do one thing - a bright lower sky, very smooth, with a not-smooth dark upper cloud moving in, over a marsh thick with grass and movement and colors. 

But my original idea just didn't look right, so I went into that smooth sky and stirred it up. I added more paint, I juddered and jittered the knife. I added a path of broken color. I made one part of the foreground bright and rich, and the other soft and less brightly lighted. And then I began scratching. I scratched the heavy clouds in the upper right corner. I scratched the trees on the hummock. Here and there, I scratched the grasses. 

And I ended up with a painting that I think is maybe the strongest I've ever done! What do you think? 

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PARADISE CITY in Northampton, MA, was an excellent show for me, one of my best ever. Happy people bought happy paintings! Many friends and collectors came to say hello and see my new work. It was busy and rewarding and fun. 

Summerfair, in Cincinnati, was not as good a show for me, but it was not a disaster, either. I met lots of very nice people, friendly and supportive. The show itself was beautiful! 

This weekend, I will be in Omaha, and next weekend, Columbus. I'm excited about both shows... and about our daughter's wedding, the weekend after Columbus. What a busy summer! 

Check out my new Happy Buyers page by clicking here. If you've bought a painting from me and I didn't take a happy buyer photo of you, please have someone take a shot of you with your painting, and I'll post it on the Happy Buyers page! If you buy a painting from me and I seem to be forgetting to take the photo, please remind me! 

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The White Squirrels of Olney, Ill. 

I had heard about this place, but forgotten until I ended up there, to pick up new weights for my tent. Then I saw the sign welcoming me to the Home of the White Squirrels! Wow! I got some postcards, and then the woman at the gas station said that she often saw the squirrels just over there (a nod of the head). I thought I might have to spend half the day waiting for the squirrels to show up - but no! I pulled the van over, and lo and behold, white squirrels! 

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Dog of the Day 

The Cincinnati show prohibited dogs - but a few got in. This cutie was with a woman who'd broken her leg and was in a wheel chair. 

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A Final Thought

"If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got."

-Anonymous

Salt Marsh Morning

Salt Marsh Morning

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $100

Please click here to contact me if you'd like to buy this painting

The very first time I wandered into Wachapreague, I fell in love with the salt marsh. It was an October afternoon, and the marsh grasses were golden-orange. The sky was a glorious, thin light-filled blue, a sky I often see and always love, here in this place of clean air and boundless horizons. The ocean was a deep indigo beyond the barrier islands. It was a place I knew right away, and a place that promised endless fascination and discovery. 

The marsh, right down the street, continues to be a source of inspiration for my soul and for my paintings. I've watched it change through the seasons for a few years now, and while I feel I know its outlines, I'm only beginning to get a sense of its character. 

I made this painting from a photo I took early in the morning on my way to a show. I usually go by the marsh on my way to a show and on my way back. It is a ritual of sorts, a minor detour that seems to ground me, and often gives me something to consider, too. 

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RICHMOND, ARTS in the Park, this weekend... Saturday and Sunday, 11-6 and 11-5 respectively. I'll be in Booth 90. Jeweler Cynthia Battista will be in Booth 333, and photographer Alison Thomas, Booth 81. Click here for more info!

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Dog of the Day

Abby, left, and Jojo have become the best of friends. Abby is still a big, dumb puppy (she ate my spare pair of glasses yesterday; the first pair, she ate just before I left on the Origins Painting Trip), but she's smart enough to know that Jojo is the one who will play with her, and snuggle with her, too. 

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A final thought

"There is no art without contemplation."

- Robert Henri

Last Night on the Marsh - and Sheds Galore!

Last Night on the Marsh

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $100

                                                              

It was Wednesday, New Year's Eve, and the sun was setting quickly as I walked by the marsh with Jojo. We weren't out for a long walk, just a shortie, just to make Jojo happy, and to breathe a little energy into my cold bones, and uncramp me after a day of painting in the studio.

The marsh was breathless and silvery and still, and we hurried home. I put Joey inside, and gathered my paints and went out. It was cold enough that I sat in the doorway of the van and made this painting - and another that I will post later - while the sun set on 2014.

Eventually, Peter came along with Abigail. But before and after that visit, no one walked or drove along. The only sound was the call of seagulls and, up high, a caroling V of Canada geese.

It was a good year, full of hope and promise, family and friendships, art and adventure and a sense of possibility. It felt perfect to finish it with a couple of quiet paintings, here at home.

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WIindow Rock

PLEASE CONSIDER SPONSORING me on my upcoming Origins Painting Trip! You can get on the bus for as little as $50. A $125 sponsorship gets you a 10x10-inch painting that I make on the trip, and a larger sponsorship gets you a bigger painting. All the sponsorships give you access to a special, sponsor-only blog, postcards from the road, chances to win fabulous prizes - and my eternal gratitude.

I'll be painting in and around Fort Defiance, Arizona, where I was born. That landscape is what I saw first in life, and I'm looking forward to discovering the links and ties and emotional heartbeats that it holds for me now.

For more - including photos of the area, and of me and my parents, and my first dog, way back in 1956 - click here, to get to the Origins Painting Trip page of the Jacobson Arts website.  And thank you!

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Shed Crazy

There are even more sheds than you can see in this photo! 

This is on Route 13, in Temperanceville (I think). Wouldn't you love to have that many sheds? 

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Dog of the Day

Puppy! Cute! 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Email me a photo! It's carrieBjacobson@gmail.com