Sunday, February 23, 2014

"Nature's Fading Glory", 12x12, oil

SOLD
"Nature's fading Glory", 12x12, oil

Back in the fall I painted at Winterthur for the Brandywine Valley Plein Air to benefit the Children's Beach House in Delaware. You can read my blog post about the event here

Last week, I decided to do a different version of the scene in a square format and the painting above was the result. I enjoyed painting the scene again, even though I was indoors and not privy, as I was the first time, to the glorious colors of nature all around me, and the bite of winter in the frosty air that morning.

Available through Gallery 444.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

"Summer Waterwheel", 9x12, oil on panel, Eastern University campus, St. Davids, waterwheel

"Summer Waterwheel", 9x12, oil on panel

The campus of eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania is very beautiful. It is one of my favorite places to paint whenever I return to Pa.

I am hoping to go back this spring and catch the dogwoods and forsythia blooming.

Friday, February 07, 2014

"Her Garden", 24x24, oil on canvas, paintings of gardens, women in gardens, summer gardens, florals, romanticism, art for romantics, Maryanne Jacobsen

"Her Garden", 24x24, oil on canvas

My garden has always been very special to me. A sanctuary for birds, a place to write down my deepest thoughts, a sunny spot on a cool day, and a shady refuge on a warm day.

I've had many gardens throughout my life. My favorite garden was in my last home in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. The geese would parade through the denser parts as they headed for the pond behind my home. The deer would gather in droves in the winter months, looking for berries as they sauntered like dancers among the brambles.

From my office, I would stare through the window at the abundance of wildlife proliferating in own back yard and yearn for the day when I would no longer need to be trapped at a desk, but would be free to spend time to my heart's content just tending the roses, pulling weeds from the throats of the holly hocks and wallowing in the splendor of the velvety grass beneath my feet.



Today, my garden is different. The pastels of the north have been replaced by the warm , sultry palette of tropical flowers, and palm trees have replaced the deciduous trees that housed blue jays, hawks and robins.

It hardly matters where I have my garden. I will always treasure the gift of the flowers' scent and the birds that warble in different notes of bird languages.

Very happy to be represented by Gallery 444 in Union Square, San Francisco. This painting is available through the gallery by calling (415) 434-4477



Monday, February 03, 2014

"The Dancing Tree at Red Lake", 11x14, oil on canvas, paintings of trees, Florida landscapes, naturalist art, trees, water, Gulf of Mexico, Galerie du Soleil

"The Dancing Tree at Red Lake", 11x14, oil on canvas

Back in 2007 I was a brand new baby painter and  excited to explore many new subjects! I was totally a novice at plein air painting, but one day I decided to go out and try my hand at it with a local plein air painting group in Venice, Florida.

I remember sitting along side pro plein air painter Karen Hitt, who was painting the same scene with ease and purpose while warning me, a new Floridian, of the dangers of alligators in the immediate area.

This was the painting that I turned out that day:


In some ways, this painting is altogether engaging in its naivete. I truly had no idea how very immature it was at the time! That being said, my love for color was evident, and that is the one thing that I have had to work the hardest at bridling over these last few years.

Although I consider myself a colorist, for artists who do not care for color in the same way that I cherish it, my color palette is a handicap- a drawback to my progress. Workshop teachers have often called my work "garish", and the kinder of the bunch have called it "overly saturated". So I have worked hard over the past couple years to reign in my love for saturated color, usually to the detriment of my passion.

The painting I did last week reflects that restraint, and although I find it rather boring, I admit that it is certainly more accomplished in its restraint than the earlier version!

Last week was a turning point for me in my life and in my art walk. I have been going through some challenging times in my personal life, and that has hampered my creative juices to the extent that I was not even sure I'd be able to turn out a painting for the annual "Light-Chaser" plein air event,
which culminated last week in Sarasota, Fl.

Last year I could not wait for the event! I was stoked! Even painted out in the rain and received an honorable mention for my efforts by juror Morgan Samuel Price!

But this year, it was all just a burden-too much for a spirit that had been squashed by events that were totally out of her control.

Nonetheless, I was encouraged by the fearless leader of the group, Terry Mason, who said I should follow the advice of artist and Florida naturalist Mary Erickson and just "Paint through it!"

So I went out last week on the only sunny afternoon of the entire week and attempted to paint through the sorrows and pains of the last 7-8 months of my life.

The sun was gentle, the colors I saw more subtle, less brilliant. Yet, in it all, I persevered knowing that I have been given a gift by the Creator to create and capture tiny slivers of His creative hand at work, and so that is what I tried my best to do.



There were few people uiing the canoe launch that day at Red Lake, and there were no alligators to be seen. Only the constant presence of that special tree that had inspired me to paint it, as a result of its fresh beauty and total uniqueness.

The waters of the intracoastal carried a gentle rythmn as they flowed past my dancing tree- a name I gave it way back in 2007, when I first discovered it's uncommon beauty.  A dancer amongst the straight and stoic! A stoic itself amidst the relentless heat and constant storms of a Florida summer.

Thank-you for reading my blog. I hope that you enjoyed this entry, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

"The Dancing Tree at Red Lake" is available through Galerie du Soleil.