"Wildflower Meadow", 11x14, oil on board, palette knife, mountain, colorist art, wildflowers

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"Wildflower Meadow", 11x14, oil on board

This was a color study that I've been working on for the past couple weeks. My goal was to make the color receed as it went back into space. It was painted with a palette knife.

Email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you have any interest in purchasing this color study.

"Maid in the Shade", 6x6, oil on board, framed- Randy Higbee 6x6 inch squared show, women, women in hats, wine, books, garden scenes, sunflowers, Table and flowers, impressionism

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"Maid in the Shade", 6x6, oil on board, framed

This beautiful painting of a woman enjoying the outdoors with a glass of wine and her favorite hat and book has been juried into the prestigious annual Randy Higbee 6x6 inch squared show in Costa Mesa, California. The scene is a favorite of mine and I've done it a few other times in other sizes and formats and it's always a popular seller in galleries. It is  to be framed in a beautiful dark wooden frame as shown and would make the perfect gift for the holidays.

You do not need to attend the gallery opening in order to purchase the painting. To purchase, simply follow this link, to purchase online with credit card or Paypal. The exhibit has just begun and the show will continue through December 23rd. Get a jump start on your holiday gift list with this picture perfect original oil painting, by award-winning impressionist  and internationally collected artist Maryanne Jacobsen!

"Covered Bridge on Yoder Road", 6x6, oil on board-paintings of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Elverson, Yoder Road, covered bridge, farms, red covered bridge, autumn landscapes,miniature art

"Covered Bridge on Yoder Road", 6x6, oil on board

While I was in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, we were driving along Yoder Road when suddenly I screamed out, "Stop the Car!"

My husband obediently obeyed and I jumped out and shot some photos of this quintessential little Chester County icon- the covered bridge.

This is the scene I was looking at:

As you can see, it was a postcard perfect scene to paint, which is what I did when I came home.

This little painting would make a lovely gift and is also available framed. Contact me for additional information at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Sunsets with Jill", 9x12, cats, paintings of cats, sunsets, Cedar Key

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"Sunsets with Jill", 9x12

And so Jill's legacy to the art world lives on.

What am I talking about, you ask?

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you may recall that I took a lovely trip last spring to Cedar Key, Florida for a weekend getaway with my hubby. There were absolutely no accommodations to be found in town, but as luck would have it, a chance walk into a realtor's office provided the much needed getaway accommodation  we'd been hoping for.

When we saw the home, we knew we had hit paydirt! It was absolutely lovely, beautifully decorated, and came with its own dock and golf cart! Yup, life is good sometimes.

So we began the weekend with a trip to a local seafood restaurant for some take-out, which we brought back to our "getaway" so that we could enjoy the sunset from our prime location, as we ate our meal on the deck.

But seconds after sitting down to my salmon plate, a very strange looking cat meandered up to me and plopped herself down right onto my lap! When I say strange, I am not exaggerating. This was probably the homeliest cat I had ever seen, and I'm a cat lover.

The long and the short of it was that the cat wanted my salmon dinner much more than my affection and the two of us began a cat and mouse game over who would end up with the salmon. I finally gave into her demands forking over piece after piece of savory salmon pate. From that point on, I was sunk. She never let me alone for the rest of the weekend, and at one point I had to cast her over the side of the dock to get her out of my paints! I had set up on that dock the entire weekend, and probably turned out about half a dozen paintings from that one location- sunrises, sunsets and everything in between.

So the last night we were there, I painted Jill doing her sunset walk, and the painting sold almost as soon as I posted it here on my blog.

Seems other people love homely cats, too!

This painting is also sold and was commissioned by the owner of the lovely home where we stayed. Interestingly, Jill the cat does not live there. She only visits when people eat salmon on the deck.

To read more about Jill and see photos of her in real life, go to my earlier post which is here.

"Blue Shutters, McCoy/Cigler Residence", 8x8, oil on board , painting the brandywine Valley, West Chester, beautiful homes in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Marshall street

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"Blue Shutters, McCoy/Cigler Residence", 8x8, oil on board, plein air

It seems hard to believe that it was over two weeks ago since I painted this lovely home in West Chester, Pa. for Plein Air Brandywine Valley. I think that I missed the beautiful fall colors almost as soon as we hit the Georgia state line and everything turned green again. The absence of color (and people who know my art, know how much I love color!) down here in Florida throughout the year affects me in probably much the same way that some people experience SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, a condition created by the lack of sunshine over northern skies for months at a time during certain times of the year. Maybe there should be a condition called BLOC that identifies people like myself who suffer from Bland Local Ocular Conditions! (just kidding.)

Back to the house...

I do believe this is one of the prettiest homes in all of the West Chester borough! The home is sort of a yellow ochre color with blue shutters that set if off beautifully. We were able to paint anywhere on the property and that was the hard task- choosing where to set up and paint!

Here  is a photo of some artists who set up out back in the pool area. Too bad it wasn't quite warm enough for a dip, but then again, how much painting would get done if it turned into a pool party?

In the end, I set up directly in front of the home. It was just too pretty not to paint!

In the end, the painting sold at the exhibit opening at Winterthur Museum. I do hope that the owners enjoy the painting as much as I enjoyed doing it!

"The Owl and the Pussycat #2", 6x6 oil , nursery rhymes, bedtime stories, cats, owls, fantasy art, Maryanne JAcobsen art

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"The Owl and the Pussycat #2", 6x6 oil

A few years ago I painted The Owl and the Pussycat, a scene after the whimsical Edward Lear poem by the same name.

I was always a little sorry that I sold that first painting, and vowed to try it again one day.

The opportunity came up recently, when I was asked to do the painting again as a commission piece.

It's always hard to replicate a painting that you've done before, because you can never get your head back into that very same place! So instead, I tried to make this one different- and better- concentrating on the tenderness between the elegant fowl and his furry lover. I was happy with the way it came out.

If you are not familiar with the poem, shame on you! And here goes....

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat: They took some honey, and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are, You are, You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!"	Contemporary Illustrator: Donna L. Derstine

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl, How charmingly sweet you sing! Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried: But what shall we do for a ring?" They sailed away, for a year and a day, To the land where the bong-tree grows; And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, With a ring at the end of his nose, His nose, His nose, With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will." So they took it away, and were married next day By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

"October Morning", 12x16, oil on board, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chadds Ford, Nielsen estate, farms, barns, fall foliage, Brandywine Valley plein air

"October Morning", 12x16, oil on board

This is another painting that I did during Plein Air Brandywine Valley. It was actually my favorite of the four because I truly enjoyed the painting experience on that lovely sunny, crisp October morning. I had worn layers of clothing because of how cold it had been the day before, but found myself stripping the layers off one by one as the morning progressed and the temperatures rose.

 Yikes! By 11Am it was darned near warm!!!!!!!

This one was also painted at the Nielsen Estate in Chadds Ford. (See my previous post here. )

It is such a joy for me to be able to experience different climates, different vegetation and hence the different challenges to my palette, values, etc. Compared to Florida, the northeastern skies are cooler, grayer, and the contrast is much more subtle than here in Florida. So I truly learn through these Paint-outs and hope I'll be able to continue to do them in the years to come.

If you have any interest in this painting, just send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Early Morning Snowfall", 6x6, oil on board

"Early Morning Snowfall", 6x6, oil on board

It's that time of year when I begin to yearn for chestnuts roasting on an open fire and jackfrost nipping at my nose.

Living in Florida during the winter months is wonderful. The temperatures are moderate, the humidity is gone and the skies are nearly always blue! Yet, I cannot help but miss those things that make the holiday season magical- candles glowing in the windows on a wintry night, smoke from chimneys casting billowing shadows up into the crisp clean air, and red ribbons and green wreaths putting a touch of festive color into the grayness of the days.

So I painted this scene to put myself in a holiday spirit- after all- Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I used the beautiful house I used to live in up in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania as my reference photo.

There. I hope that pretty scene will put you into the holiday mood as well!