This month, I wanted to share a new release from a member of the Jacobs Family.  This creation has such a cute story, it’s hard not to get choked up.

Todd Jacobs has been painting under Scott and acting as his righthand man for over a decade now.  My family reconnected with Todd after years of not speaking when he sent a hand-written letter to Scott sharing that he had received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and wanted to move from Florida to California in hopes of learning directly from his Uncle and world-famous artist.  Scott happily accepted and Todd quickly packed his things and flew to San Diego.  He has since become the son that Sharon and Scott never had and the artist that we’re all proud of.

Not only did his artistic talents improve, he found and married a beautiful girl named, Noelle.  Months later, they joined us in the transition from San Diego, CA to The Black Hills in South Dakota.  Shortly after they were settled into their new life in the Midwest, Noelle announced that they were pregnant!  That was the most exciting day for me when Todd asked if I was ready to be an Aunt.  Like I said, we are all so close that he considers Alexa and me aunts instead of second cousins (lame).

While Noelle’s baby bump grew, their new home was finally finished and ready to move into just in time for the Holidays.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE PAINTING

When Todd’s wife, Noelle was months from her due date, she started decorating their baby, Deacon’s nursery in preparation for his arrival.  She decided to go with a vintage theme with a subdued color palette.  Now she needed a painting to hang proudly on the wall!

This is where Todd came into the picture.  Being the artist of the family, he had to come up with something timeless, sentimental, and creative to go in a young boy’s room.

When he first came across the photo research for this painting, he knew immediately it was The One!

Now that the image was selected, it was time to start putting paint on canvas!

Most artists work from the background forward so they don’t run into the issue of painting/smeering over something they already finished.

Todd first airbrushed the airplanes in the background and base coat of the grass.  Airbrush is the best tool, in our opinion, to give something an out-of-focus effect.

Next on Todd’s list: the boy’s wooden airplane!

Zoom zoom!

 

SIDE NOTE

Todd is known for his technique in making wood grain look realistic.

You can see for yourself in his painting, “Gentleman’s Choice”.

 

Click for an enlarged version.

 

FIRST FRIDAY’S FEATURED ARTIST

Every first Friday of the month, we invite locals and tourists to join us at Jacobs Gallery for drinks, appetizers, and a local featured artist.

In February, we invited Todd to set up his easel and work on a painting.  Since Noelle was a few weeks away from having their son, he brought “First Flight”.  This was also Noelle’s first time ever being able to join us for a First Friday (thank you Maternity Leave) so we were thrilled that her husband was working on such a loving painting in front of our crowd.  ??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Todd painted that night, he worked on blocking in the boy’s jacket and leather cap…

Todd now chose to tackle the field, which consists of hundreds of blades of grass.  Makes me anxious even thinking about painting them!

His pants and backpack were completed.  Now onto the hardest part for most artists; his face and hands!And Voila!

 

The Finished, “First Flight”

Image Size: 22″ x 14″

Edition Size: 18

 

Overall, we couldn’t be more proud of how far his artistic abilities have come over the last eleven years together and we look forward to where his talents take him and his beautiful family.

Welcome to the World, Deacon River Jacobs

Born February 22, 2018