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

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

Salt Marsh Sunrise - and Calendars Again

Salt Marsh Sunrise

Oil on canvas, 10x10

sold

Thanks to everyone who sent me their get-well wishes. I am getting well! Finally!

My brother and I were emailing about how a temporary downturn like this, a head cold/fever/whatever that would not go away, can make everything look gloomy. And you think you'll never be well, and life will be gray and dim forever, and your energy, verve, intelligence and optimism are just gone.

And boo-hoo, poor me, in the wide view of things, this was just nothing. This wasn't cancer or diabetes or MS or a back injury, or a bad hip, or any of the terrible things that could befall any of us at any time. This was just a head cold, with an extra dollop of something, stirred over a fire of exhaustion and physical depletion.

I will do my best to remember, the next time this happens, that it will be over, it will go away, and the only way through it is, well, through it.

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IN MY ILLNESS-INDUCED stupor, I failed to link correctly from the icons of my Two New 2014 Calendars! This time, if you click on the icon, you'll actually be taken to the page where you can see all the pages and place an order!

Just in case you don't like clicking on photos, here's the link for the landscape painting calendar: http://www.lulu.com/shop/carrie-jacobson/a-year-in-paintings/calendar/product-21247757.html

And here's the link for the pet portrait calendar:  http://www.lulu.com/shop/carrie-jacobson/2014-in-pets/calendar/product-21247863.html

The calendars are $19.99 each, plus shipping. They're beautiful and fun - you should buy them for all your friend and family members! If you want 10 or more, please contact me for a bulk price.

I'm also working on a hardcover book of paintings and writing, which should be done and available by the end of the week. Exciting!

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Dog of the Day

My friend Patty Kiersten, a dear woman and talented painter, sent me this photo of Jack (on the bottom) and Honey, astride him. Honey, who died days after this photo was taken, had neurological problems and was only happy and comfortable when she was on top of Jack like this. He was fine with it, and I am sure that between Patty and Jack, Honey had as much love as any dog ever had.

We Need the Storm - and Withdrawing from Another Show

We Need the Storm

Oil on canvas, 10x10

sold

It's been raining and blowing for days here in Wachapreague. The tide's been high enough to wash marsh grass up onto the road. The wind has been strong enough to blow branches down all over town. 

I have not been strong enough to do anything, and have withdrawn from this weekend's show in Reston, VA. I feel terrible about this for all sorts of reasons, but it is the only thing to do, and it is done. 

I will ride out the storm, on this line between summer and autumn, and I will ride out this tenacious illness, and everything will be fine. I'm on the mend, for sure, and it is nothing serious - just overwhelming and dispiriting.  

Here's my painting in the landscape. I made this piece in August, but the sky looks much the same. I lifted the title from "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" an address by Frederick Douglass. Here's the context: 

For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. 

We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. 

The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; 

the propriety of the nation must be startled; 

the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; 

and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.

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Dog of the Day

I met this guy on the ferry from Orient Point to New London in July. 

He was with the cutest Yorkie I've ever seen. 

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

Afternoon on the Marsh

Afternoon on the Marsh

Oil on canvas, 30x40

Please contact me for price and delivery/shipping information

I've been painting like crazy for the final few shows of the season, and for Center Framing & Art in West Hartford Center, CT, where five of my paintings have sold in the past few weeks. Five! Whew! 

This Saturday, I'll be painting with the fabulous Ronet Noe, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the store, 56 LaSalle Road, West Hartford Center, CT. Stop by and say hello if you're in the area. I'm bringing this painting and others to the gallery, so there will be lots to see. And if you haven't seen Ronet's stuff, you are in for a treat indeed. 

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THERE'S A BID on one of the paintings I'm offering at auction on Daily Paintworks! You can click on the icon just to the right to see my two pieces, or click here to bid on "This Bright Morning,"  and here to bid on "The Way of All Earth". 

Both auctions end Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. 

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I'VE ONLY RECENTLY begun to ride my bicycle around town, and ...  it's fun! It IS a little scary, or it was at first - I hadn't ridden a bike in 30 years or more, and I felt wobbly and ungainly and unbalanced. I guess I still feel all those things, but I am getting used to it. 

One of the great things about riding a bike is that you see stuff you wouldn't otherwise see. For instance, I think the Virginia Department of Transportation is about to dig up our little town. There are arrows and squiggles all over our few roads. 

There's a houseboat docked at one of the marinas, too. That's another thing I'd never have seen in the car. And the marsh sunsets have been amazing. Here's one: 

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Dog of the Day 

 This is Looie Looie, our very old Pekingese. I took this photo a while back. Looie is not doing well, and is not going to be with us for much longer. But while he's here, alive and kicking (and growling and nipping), he very much deserves to be the Dog of the Day.

April Salt Marsh and a Good Show in Charlotte

April Salt Marsh

Oil on canvas, 10x10
sold

I had an excellent show in Charlotte, and am breathing a sigh of relief and gratitude. A big sunflower painting, a big cowscape, and my beloved "Road to Warwick" all sold, along with three pet portraits and the plein air piece I posted yesterday, which was bought long-distance by a collector (and friend).

I feel very lucky, indeed, as there were not many people at the show.

The folks who bought my paintings were delightful, too! They loved my work; they were open, optimistic and friendly people, and it was just great to have shared the moments that we did, and to have those people in my life. Selling a painting to a person who touches your heart is one of the best feelings in the world.

I did have an experience at the show that brought me up a bit short. Decades ago, at the Mystic Outdoor Art Show, I saw paintings of roads that I really loved. They were moody, interesting, beautiful paintings, and fascinating, too. Through the years, I've remembered them, and that lasting emotion was one of the things that drew me to painting.

The man who made them was at this show, and I found him and introduced myself, and told him my story and how he had figured in it.

He could not have been more gloomy or ungracious or unfriendly. Later, he walked by my booth and I could see from 20 feet that he really disliked my paintings. "Bet these sell," was all he said.

Wow. There was so little joy in this man, I had to wonder why he keeps painting.

Lucky for me, I know why I do!

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Here are some photos from the show:

 Here's my booth, above, and booths and work by others, below

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And here's a Dog of the Day, from my friend Pem! 

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