"Persimmons and Winter Roses", 12x12 , oil on board, persimmons , white roses, roses, winter fruit, impressionist still life, MAryanne Jacobsen art

"Persimmons and Winter Roses", 12x12 , oil on board

Amid the Christmas chaos of shopping, baking, wrapping presents and preparing the house for holiday visitors, I managed to sneak in one more painting before the year ends!

This has been a wonderful year for me- art wise. I was juried into three prestigious national shows, took workshops with 2 amazing artists- Morgan Samuel Price and Kenn Backhaus, and was juried into two wonderful out-of state plein air events as well. In addition, I've sold numerous paintings throughout the year, many through my favorite gallery- Galerie du Soleil- a work of art unto itself!

Since I know I will not have time to visit this blog again before the New Year, I would just like to wish all of my collectors, past , present and even future a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for collecting my work and for letting me know time after time how much my  paintings have meant to you! I hope the new year brings the opportunity to expore new channels of creativity so that I can continue to bless and be blessed through the joy of painting!

Joyeaux Noel!

"The Three Amigos"- 12x12, oil, plus a recipe for Stuffed Peppers!, green peppers, yellow peppers, red peppers, paintings of food, vegetables, organic vegetables

"The Three Amigos"- 12x12, oil on wrapped canvas- (Note: the sides are painted to match the scene.)

This is an oldie but a goodie.Three old friends nestled together and enjoying each others company before they get sliced or diced!

I made a pot of my classic Stuff Pepper Stew last night and I guess that is what made me think of this painting, which was a done a few years back.


The recipe for the stew is very simple. Just take a dutch oven and add three cans of tomato soup. Then fill the pan to about half way up the pot with water. Next, take three peppers (I used green) and cut of the tops and remove the seeds and core from the inside. Then take a pound of lean ground beef and put it in a bowl .Add half a cup of brown rice and half a cup of water to the beef and salt and pepper to taste. Mix with your hands and then stuff the mixture into the peppers. Bring the soup and water to a boil and then immediately turn the heat down to simmer. Add the peppers and simmer for about 4 hours till the mixture is very thick. Serve with mashed potatoes and peas and you'll have a meal of old fashioned comfort food!

Oh, and if you are interested in purchasing The Three Amigos, just send me an email at maryannejacobsen @aol.com.

a Painting a day, Daily painters, original art , affordable art, impressionist still life paintings,paintings with vegetables,paintings of peppers,organic vegetables

"Grapes And Pears"- 5x7 oil on panel, grapes, pears, small still life, tasteful gifts, miniature paintings, holiday art, little gems, Maryanne Jacobsen

SOLD

"Grapes And Pears"- 5x7 oil on panel

This lovely little still life would make a special gift for someone who can appreciate the art of giving art!

Painted with a limited palette, the subtle tones mesh together beautifully to create a gift that will last a lifetime, and which can be displayed with ease in anything from a small office to a spacious country kitchen setting. The wide gold frame is available as well at extra cost.

Please contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com to purchase this lovely painting for someone special on your holiday gift list..

"Napa Morning", 9x12, impasto, palette knife, impressionism, Napa Valley vineyards, California art, wine country art, Sonoma, MAryanne JAcobsen art

SOLD

"Napa Morning", 9x12

I pulled out the photos from our trip to Napa last spring and decided on one of a vineyard. The challenge was to try to simplify the scene with all those posts going back in the distance.

The other challenge was the fact I had run out of white paint! Not fun if you are trying to finish a painting!

Not sure if I succeeded in capturing the scene or not, but I certainly enjoyed trying!

This painting was done with mostly a palette knife and has lots of juicy impasto in it.

Please contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you have any interest in this painting.

"The Good Book", 12x16, oil on board, books, gardens, simple pleasures, ladies in hats, garden settings, Impressionist art

SOLD

"The Good Book", 12x16, oil on board
(Note: "The Good Book" received an honorable mention in the Venice Art Center's 2013 portrait and figurative exhibit.)

Thought I'd revisit this scene of a photo of myself taken a couple years back and try a larger version of it. I've painted it a couple times before in small formats, and I thought it might be fun to try it again. (Note: all of the smaller versions are sold, but you can check them out here, here and here.)

Many have forgotten the joy of a good book in these hectic modern times that we live in.Technology seems to be stealing those simple pleasures from us, as our lives become increasingly filled with the monotony of keeping up with voicemails, emails, Facebook and Twitter. My good friend Diana recently commented that his scene draws us into it, and also takes us back to the way things were. She went on to say that, "Its nice to see her without a cell phone, a kindle or an ipad on the table. "

I confess that I don't own any of those things. Oh, and I still collect beautiful bookmarks!

Thanks for looking and have a good weekend.

"The Good Book" is available through Gallery 444.

"Persimmons and Sunflowers", 22x28, tabby cats, persimmons, sunflowers, snow, cat in window, calico cat, MAryanne JAcobsen art

"Persimmons and Sunflowers", 22x28

I recently discovered persimmons at the supermarket. I bought them, because they looked so luscious. I read up on how to eat them and it turns out that you just eat them like tomatoes. However, they have to be very ripe or else they taste like rotten bananas or something like that.

Well mine were very ripe ad I ate three of them in a couple days. They taste like a cross between a mango and an apricot. They are as luscious as they look!

So I went out and bought some more, as well as a Thanksgiving bouquet which was on sale since Thanksgiving was over.

I decided to paint both the persimmons and the sunflowers and added a cat in the snowy window just because I miss seeing snow.

 If you have never tried a persimmon, they are a winter fruit, in season right now. Here's a good article on 5 ways to eat a persimmon.