William Scott Browning loves to share his music, but he wouldn’t give up his day job to do it full time, he said.
Browning, 40, of Vancouver, is chief instructor at Vancouver Taekwondo Academy, 8600 E. Mill Plain Blvd. — at least by day. In his spare time, though, he’s been playing and writing music pretty much since he graduated from Columbia River High School in 1990.
His new album, “A Little Bit More Lucky,” is a selection of nine songs and is his most professional release to date, he said.
“This one I put more effort to have my best foot forward,” Browning said. “About half the songs are me playing a variety of stringed instruments. The other half is me playing with other local musicians.”
He calls his style finger-picking, folksy, bluesy “pretty mellow music.”
The album, which comes out Dec. 6 at http://www.cdbaby.com, includes a range of positive songs about relationships and songs that tell stories.
He plans a CD release party at 6 p.m. Dec. 4 at Portland’s Mississippi Pizza, 3552 N. Mississippi Ave.
He also said he hopes to perform shows “wherever they’ll let me” in Vancouver following the release.
But even if he hit the big time with his music, he probably wouldn’t give up teaching, he said.
“Music’s kind of a side project,” Browning said. “Teaching martial arts is very, very satisfying. I don’t want to give that up. Music, I love to share it, but I really do it more for me.”
For more information or to listen to some of Browning’s songs, visit http://on.fb.me/s4KR14.
Painting is a family affair at Art on the Boulevard
You could say that in the Jacobsen household, a family that paints together stays together.
Eric Jacobsen, 45, said he often takes his three kids with him when he goes out to paint landscapes around Southwest Washington, and they love it.
So when the Glenwood oil painter was putting together his new show at Art on the Boulevard in Vancouver, he decided to include the paintings that Max, 9, Olivia, 7, and Owen, 5, did with him on those trips.
“We just spent the spring and summer going out painting as much as we could,” Jacobsen said. “They always wanted to go whenever I asked them. They’ve been interested just because they’ve seen me do it and kids love to do art.”
Jacobsen, who has won several national awards and had his work featured in magazines, swears the “Jacobsen Family Show” at the gallery, 210 W. Evergreen Blvd., Suite 300, isn’t just a paternal stunt to show how cool his kids are.
“We thought, how neat, that this could be a fun thing for them to do,” Jacobsen said. “I’m not trying to turn them into little artists. But it’s interesting to see the landscapes through their eyes.”
Jacobsen’s aunt and uncle, Jane and Paul Jacobsen, also live in Vancouver so the show will be a chance to visit with them, he said.
The paintings were mostly done around White Salmon. Jacobsen said he likes landscape painting because the various qualities of light at different times of the year fascinate him.
“I enjoy being outdoors,” Jacobsen said. “Different days have different feelings and colors. My goal is to capture the mood of the scene, more than just painting the landscape.”
The show will run through Nov. 26. For information, call 360-750-4499 or visit http://www.artontheboulevard.org.
Bits ’n’ Pieces appears Mondays and Fridays. If you have a story you’d like to share, call Ruth Zschlomer, 360-735-4530, or email ruth.zschlomer@columbian.com.
