"Almost Winter, Montmartre", 16x20, oil on board, Paris street scenes, Place du Tetre, Sacre Couer, nocturne, moon, Artists Quarters

"Almost Winter, Montmartre", 16x20, oil on board, (Copyright, 2015)

This scene has been painted thousands of times by artists all over the world. It's easy to see why. This is the Artists' Quarter in Paris, though Montmartre is truly a village unto itself at the north end of Paris. You can see Sacre Coeur lit up in the background, and if you don't know your history, you may not know that many of the residents of Montmartre were not happy when it was built in the early 1900's. It's not hard to figure out why, of course. Down the street a few blocks is the Moulin Rouge, a dance caberet hall where the "notorious" Can-Can was born. (I personally love the Can-Can myself and have been known to perform it on street corners at inopportune times.) Certainly the devil was NOT in the details when the church's founders were drawing up the plans!

At any rate, the scene above is the famous Place du Tetre where numerous artists, writers and poets would come to paint and frequent the coffee houses. It's still a haunt for the bohemian crowd, though it's become a horrendous tourist trap as well. In this painting, I really wanted to try to picture Montmartre in a gentler time, before dozens of tourists crowded it's narrow streets year round.

I wanted it to be a contemporary painting, while still maintaining vestiges of the older days. I hope I was successful.

"Pea Green Boat",8x8, oil on panel, owls, barn owl, cat, kitten, tabby cat, the owl and the pussycat, small paintings, moon , love, childhood poems, framed paintings, holiday gift ideas, romance

"Pea Green Boat",8x8, oil on panel

 I love Thanksgiving because it gives me an opportunity to step back and reflect on my blessings. It's a time to be surrounded by family and friends and to share love and blessings with others less fortunate.

The poem of "The Owl and the Pussycat" has been a favorite of mine since I was a child because it's filled with light, love and happiness. It's whimsical and a little corny, but in the end, it's a love story about how two unlikely characters come together in love. They didn't allow fur and feathers to separate them. The Turkey who lives on the hill, officiates the ceremony and instead of dining on the turkey they chose to eat mince and quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon of course.

  

At the end of this feast they danced hand and hand by the edge of the sand by the light of a beautiful moon. How cool is that????????

 

It is sad that this year so many people are mired in fear and hatred over things that are sometimes difficult to understand. I think it takes a conscious choice to choose love and joy over hatred and fear. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  has said so well:

 

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: 
only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

May love and joy surround you this holiday season! Happy Thanksgiving!

Note: This painting would make a lovely gift for that special someone with a romantic heart. It can be purchased framed as shown below in a lovely Randy Higbee floater frame for the special holiday price of only $400 plus shipping and including the frame! Send me an email if interested at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Morning Chill", 9x12, oil on linen, plein air , Coverdale Farm Preserve, Greenville, Delaware, Delaware Nature Society, Visual Art Center, Punta Gorda, Bill Farnsworth, red barns, autumn landscapes, harvest, award-winning art, MAryanne Jacobsen art

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"Morning Chill", 9x12, oil on linen, plein air (aka "October Morning")

This was painted on a frosty cold (29 degrees) morning at Coverdale Farms, near Wilmington , Delaware, during the Plein Air Brandywine Valley event last month. Coverdale Farms is a non-profit organization run by the Delaware Nature Society and it's a lovely place for artists to find inspiration. Red Barns, sheep, roosters, haybales- you name it. They were all there the morning I went there to paint, and the only dilemma was figuring out which scene to choose.

I finally chose to stand on the hill overlooking a red barn, spent cornfields and autumn-dipped trees, where a thermos of hot coffee kept my fingers from freezing while I painted.

Although I was seriously cold that morning, the funny thing about plein air painting is that you pretty much loose yourself in the moment and kind of forget your discomfort as you attempt to capture that all too fleeting light in the short span of maybe an hour or so.

 Recently I entered the painting into the "Harvest of Art" exhibit and fall festival at the Visual Art Center in Punta Gorda, Florida. There are many fun events that the art center is sponsoring in conjunction with the exhibit, so check out the info here if you enjoy Harvest celebrations in conjunction with beautiful art.

I was pleased to receive a merit award for this painting by juror, Bill Farnsworth, a very accomplished award-winning artist, who was this year's juror of awards. You can check out Bill's website here. The painting is available for purchase for $750. You can contact the art center directly to purchase or just send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Autumn Day at Marsh Creek", 9x12, plein air, Marsh Creek State PArk, Chester County paintings, autumn landscapes, fall, trees, oak trees Pennsylvania landscapes

"Autumn Day at Marsh Creek", 9x12, plein air

Marsh Creek State Park was about a ten minute drive from where I used to live in Chester Springs, PA., before moving to Florida. Our family had many happy times at that park. We would walk the trails, fish, canoe and wind surf in the lake and swim in the community pool on hot summer days. It was a great place for picnics and watching sunsets.

During our recent trip up north, I decided to go paint there. The trees did not disappoint, and one in particular seemed to be screaming, "Paint me! Paint me!"

So I did.

Feel free to email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you are interested in this plein air sketch.

"Harry", 12x16, oil on board, paintings of dogs, hound dogs, palette knife paintings of dogs, dog portraits

"Harry", 12x16, oil on board

Harry, my son's dog, loves to bark. At squirrels, at people, at cats, at other dogs. Literally, Harry would stand at the window and howl all day if it were up to him . Which it isn't. The neighbors have already made that abundantly clear. At least made it clear to me through nasty notes in the mailbox. Not that that matters to Harry.

So Harry was officially uninvited to my house for the unforeseeable future. Not that Harry cares. You see, my son's neighbor has decided to have a hen and a rooster in his back yard so he can have fresh eggs each day. Which drives Harry nuts, since he can't have the eggs or the fowl. So now Harry howls at the fowl day and night and drives the rooster and hen, as well as my son and daughter-in-law bonkers. Which makes the cockatoo that lives on the other side of Harry very happy. And if you think Harry's howling, the rooster's crowing and the hen's clucking is bad, you should come around when the cockatoo joins in the choir.

So thankful I don't live anywhere near Harry and the boys.

"The Little Church in Chester Springs", 8x10, oil on panel, plein air, Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, fall foiliage, paintings of churches, St. Matthews Church of Christ, autumn landscapes, Maryanne JAcobsen art

"The Little Church in Chester Springs", 8x10, oil on panel, plein air

Last week the leaves in Pennsylvania were at their peak of glory. So it was with a happy heart that I went out each day and painted the beauty that was truly everywhere. When I lived in Chester Springs, I passed the little St. Matthews Church of Christ on the corner of 401 and St. Matthews Rd. almost everyday, but it wasn't until I left the area, became an artist, and then returned to the area, that I realized how much it needed to be painted!

It's an incredibly scenic little church, with a graveyard in the side lawn, and I knew I had to paint it while I was there.

Route 401 is a fairly busy country road, so I set up on the other side of the road, as far back from the highway as I could. The sun was on the left side of the building and so the light effect was really nice as it hit the tops of the trees.

Below, you can see how much the light had changed by the time I finished the painting...

When I got back home to Florida, I realized that I had forgotten the little red maple in the front yard, so I added it to the painting afterwards and tweaked some additional areas, but overall, it was done mostly on location.

I hope you like it! Send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you have any interest in this painting!