In the Butterfly Garden- At Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

"In the Butterfly Garden", oil on linen, 11 by 14 inches

I've spent the last few days working on this painting for an upcoming exhibit in Sarasota. The exhibit will feature the flowers and gardens of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a beautiful tropical museum located on the water in downtown Sarasota. Last week I visited the museum and took a lot of pictures for references. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to paint there on site. At home, I found it really difficult to decide which scene to paint as there are some incredible vistas of banyan trees, ficus trees, old oaks dripping with Spanish Moss, Indian cotton silks, etc. etc. Some of the backdrops in the gardens included Sarasota Bay and the old historic mansion, which added to my dilemma of what scene to paint. I finally decided to paint the butterfly garden, since it was so full of a profusion of incredible colors. With the hollyhocks in bloom, I thought it would be fun to add the child in the foreground, looking over her shoulder at the butterflies. Hopefully the contrast between her small stature and the height of those huge hollyhocks will read to the viewer. I'd love some feedback on this one.

This painting will not be for sale until after the close of the exhibit. Please click on the painting if you wish to see more detail.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist paintings,plein air paintings, Florida Art,gardens and florals,colorist art,butterfly gardens , Marie Selby Gardens.

Cloudy Day Garden Path

"Cloudy Day Garden Path", 12 by 16 , oil on board

I finished this up as well. I definitely like the cloudy day version better than the sunny day one. I finally agree with Richard Schmid in that the best kind of day to paint en plein air is a day like last Friday, when it was overcast all morning, and I didn't have to deal with a constantly changing light. The scene remained fairly constant, and although there weren't the dramatic shadows and light contrasts that you'll have on a sunny day, I think it's still possible to achieve a nice atmospheric piece. Now if only I could take some lessons from Richard Schmid!

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Dappled Sunlight in the Garden

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"Dappled Garden Path", 12 by 16, oil on board,© 2007, Maryanne Jacobsen*

Above is the final version of the sunlit garden path that I started a week ago. I've played around with it all week, and I'm finally satisfied with it.

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Plein Air challenges, Dappled or Foggy?

My plein air group had a 2 day paint out scheduled for Friday and Saturday at a beautiful location-Old Florida style garden with abundant trees covered in Spanish moss, lush foilage, and magnificent azaleas, which were in bloom and a rare find in this part of tropical Florida.

I arrived early on Friday morning and it was a very chilly (by Florida standards) 56 degrees under rainy skies. I set up anyway and most of the others were gone within the hour, complaining of frostbite and the lack of sunlight. I left a few hours later, determined to come back the next day and finish my rainy day scene. Saturday morning dawned much colder (44 degrees) under sunny skies! What to do?

I elected to begin a new painting in basically the same place rather than have a schitzo-personality painting. I painted all day in that beautiful garden and when I was finally too tired to continue I went home and drank cabernet to warm my bones! I did the background trees last and I'm not at all happy with them or the hanging Spanish moss. This morning I was tempted to mess with the background but I don't want to overwork the painting either. Instead, I may try to finish the rainy day painting from the photos I took, since that one was promising to look very atmospheric with lots of potential. (see below)

"Dappled Light", 12 by 16 inches, oil on board © 2007, Maryanne Jacobsen*

(Please click on the image to see more detail)

"Rainy day garden", 12 by 16 inches, oil on board

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist paintings,plein air paintings, old Florida Art,gardens and florals,colorist art.

Garden's Bounty, shabby chic miniature

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I never thought I was much of a still life painter, but I had so much fun with last week's little impressionist miniatures, and people seemed to like them so much, that I thought I should add still life painting to my repertoire, and do them more often.

I started painting this one around 5 o'clock this evening, so by the time that I finished it was dark, and all my attempts at a decent indoor photograph were fruitless. (No pun intended.) It's really quite adorable in person,though, and is certainly the best of the group of miniature florals I've done over the past 2 weeks. This will probably be the last little still life that I do for a while, due to other pending obligations, so if you were one of the people who emailed me about wanting another shot at winning a floral miniature, this might be all I can offer for a while.

Garden's Bounty, oil on canvas board, 6 by 8 inches

If you have any interest in this painting, please go here to bid on it.

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Four cows, 14 by 18, very serene

Here is hopefully a scene of bucolic serenity. Cows in a pasture, watering at a gently moving stream, and a bed of parrot/callas lilies in the foreground waving their heads in what one can only imagine is a gentle breeze. I don't often like my paintings, but this is one of my favorites. It exudes peace and gentleness and the beauty of nature. It hints of something greater than ourselves holding out promise that there are still quiet places in an unquiet world where peace still abounds.

I painted this last September and decided not to sell it. Since time moves on, I am now offering it for sale in the hope that it can bring someone else a sense of peace and quiet serenity.

"Four Cows", 14 by 18 inches, oil on canvas board

This painting is being offered for $100.00. Please email me if you have any interest, or you can also go here.

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Siesta Key Beach Path

Some people have emailed me to ask if I'd be doing any more little floral miniatures. Since they were so popular, I definitely will. I just needed to take a break from flowers for a bit.

This little painting was done on Florida's beautiful Siesta Key beach in the morning. It was done with a palette knife and served as a study for a larger painting of Siesta Key Beach that has since sold. I thought I'd offer this one so that people can actually catch a glimpse of the beach without ANY PEOPLE ON IT! I started painting early and there really weren't many people there at all! I was lovely!

"Siesta Key" Beach Path", 5 by 7 inches, oil on linen

If you wish to bid on this painting , please go here.

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Flowers in a brass pitcher

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Yesterday started out normal enough.

This painting started out normal enough... It got a little wilder as the day went on due to some stressful issues that were going on in the background as I was trying to paint. Today I looked at it again, and it's actually pretty in daylight. When I took the picture last night it was dark and it looked chaotic. Today it makes sense in the context of the impressionist style in which I painted it. I tore a picture out of a magazine and that was the model, but I much prefer working from life. Please click on the painting to see the amount of texture this little painting contains.

"Flowers in a brass pot", oil on canvas board, 6 by 8 inches

If you wish to bid on this painting , please go here.

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"Picked in the Country"

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This is a much larger study then the others I've done this week. I began this floral in the fall and hated it, so I put it in a closet. Today I added some glazes to it, and warmed it up quite a bit. Now it looks like it would fit in just fine on a pretty country table in Provence or Alsace. I need to take a better picture of it, though as the light was poor when I finished it.

"Picked in the country"- 12 by 16, oil on masonite

If anyone wishes to purchase this for $100.00 , please email me.

Monet's Mums, Impressionist floral, 5th in a series

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This is the fifth and last painting in my week-long series of romantic florals after the French impressionists. I saved Monet for last , because to attempt in any way, shape or form to imitate the genius of Monet is simply beyond daunting. I painted this quickly and tried not to think about anything other than how Monet's mind might have been working as he captured his vase of chrysanthemums. All 5 of these paintings are available on ebay at the low starting bid of only $9.99. If anyone would like to collect all five and is concerned about shipping, I can combine the lot into one shipping for a reduction in cost. If you'd like to see the four other miniatures, please see the previous post.

"Monet's Mums'- 4 by 6 inches on canvas board

If you wish ot bid on this painting , please go here.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist paintings,miniature paintings, paintings for romantics, floral paintings, after Cezanne, the French Impressionists, shabby chic art.

Van Gogh's Roses- 3rd in a week long series

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February is the month for romance and in honor of that tradition I've decided to paint a bounty of romantic bouquets as part of my daily painting routine. For this week only, I'll be painting seven different romantic florals-one every single day, in a style reminiscent of one of the French Impressionists, and offering it at the unbelievably low starting bid of only $9.99 to celebrate lovers everywhere!

This is the third painting in the series, and today's painting is reminiscent of Van Gogh's 'white roses'. This artist's style was definitely more challenging for me to try to copy than the first two had been, and as I studied the picture of Vincent's many circular patterns embedded into the thick texture of his paint, I realized that that was probably a reflection of the vast complexity of his mind. I was glad that this one was hard for me to do. At least I know that my mind isn't quite as confused as poor Vincent's!

"Van Gogh's Roses", 5 by 7 inches, oil on strectched canvas

If you have any interest you can bid on it here.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist paintings,miniature paintings, paintings for romantics, floral paintings, after Van Gogh.

Manet's Crystal Vase, second in a week long series

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February is the month for romance and in honor of that tradition I've decided to paint a bounty of romantic bouquets as part of my daily painting routine. For this week only, I'll be painting seven different romantic florals-one every single day, in a style reminiscent of one of the French Impressionists, and offering it at the unbelievably low starting bid of only $9.99 to celebrate lovers everywhere!

This is the second painting in the series, and today's painting is reminiscent of Manet's 'flowers in a crystal vase'. Though not one of my favorite French painters, I do like Manet's florals a great deal, and much prefer them over his nudes. Renoir has said that his flower paintings are experiments that he made for his nudes. Manet could have perhaps taken a lesson from this himself, as his floral palette, though much cooler in temperature than Renoir's, is quite lovely and would have made some interesting flesh colors, I think.

"Manet's Crystal Vase", 6 by 8 inches, oil on clayboard

If you have any interest you can bid on it here.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist paintings,miniature paintings, paintings for romantics, floral paintings, after Manet.

Renoir's Roses, First in a week long series

SOLD

February is the month for romance and in honor of that tradition I've decided to paint a bounty of romantic bouquets as part of my daily painting routine. For this week only, I'll be painting seven different romantic florals-one every single day, in a style reminiscent of one of the French Impressionists, and offering it at the unbelievably low starting bid of only $9.99 to celebrate lovers everywhere!

For the first painting in the series, I chose to attempt to render the style of Auguste Renoir, whose paintings in my opinion are the most sensuous of all the French Impressionists. As I thought about his loose lovely brushwork, the canvas literally painted itself!

"Renoir's Roses", 5 by 7 inches, oil on canvas

If you have any interest you can bid on it here.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist paintings,miniature paintings, paintings for romantics, Valentine rose paintings, after Renoir.

Spanish Courtyard , Oil on canvas

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This is another one of my first oil paintings, painted last spring. I added some glazes to it last night and the colors are richer now.

Spanish Courtyard, 11 by 14, oil on stretched canvas

This painting is another of my first year anniversary sale pieces being offered on ebay under $30.00. If you have any interest you can bid on it here.

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Artist's tropical garden, oil on masonite, $19.99

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I painted this picture of my red hot garden en plein air on one of those torrid August days that makes living in Florida year -round feel rather hellish. I was practicing trying to "see" the colors in shadows, etc. I think the heat had definitely gotten to me by the end of the session because this painting looks pretty wild to me now.

"Tropical Garden", oil on masonite, 12 by 16 inches

This painting is another of my first year anniversary sale pieces being offered on ebay at the low starting bid of only $19.99. If you have any interest you can bid on it here.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, plein air paintings,Florida art,plein air.

Sally's Garden

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In the spring of 2005, I had recently moved to Florida and found myself with time on my hands for the very first time in my 50 plus years of living. So I picked up a paintbrush and dabbed some watercolors around on a piece of rough paper. I had begun fulfilling an elusive lifelong dream that I'd had since childhood. A little less than a year later in February of 2006, I picked up a palette knife and learned to spread oil paints around on a piece of masonite. There hasn't been a single day since then that I haven't either painted, or read about painting and artists and art. No, I have no fancy degree or Richard Schmid mentor to propel me forward. Just my own clumsy experiments and failures with an artform that can transport me to faraway places and the things and people that populate my dreams.

I decided that I should celebrate my one year anniversary of discovering the joys of oil painting, by getting rid of everything I've painted so far that has not sold, been discarded or simply given away. So over the month of February, I'll be putting what's left of my early paintings up for sale on either this site or ebay. I'll be offering original oil paintings for as little as a $9.99 starting bid. So if you have liked anything I've done and would like to become a collector, here's a great opportunity.

Here's my first offering. It's a painting I did en plein air in the lovely Sarasota garden of a friend of mine last spring. It is one of my first oil plein air paintings and I still remember how hot the sun was on my back, and how quickly the shadows changed as I tried to capture the side of Sally's house with it's beautiful tropical foilage. It's being offered at the low starting bid of only $9.99 on ebay. If you have any interest you can bid on it here.

Please check back in upcoming days for more bargains on Paintdancer's first year anniverary oil paintings.

"Sally's Garden", oil on masonite, 12 by 16

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, plein air paintings,Florida art.