"First Light, Rockport Harbor", 12x16, oil on panel, paintings of Rockport Massachusetts, Maryanne JAcobsen art, Rockport harbor, sunrise, baots, clouds

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"First Light, Rockport Harbor", 12x16, oil on panel

My husband and I discovered Cape Ann back in 2011 and have gone back since almost every single year. I think it is my favorite place in the entire world. The light is like no other and there is so much charm in the seaside villages that dot the North Shore peninsula. Over the years it has become home to hundreds , if not thousands of famous painters, who also discovered it's charms and chose to either live there, or escape there.

When we visit there, we have developed a habit of getting up just before sunrise, grabbing some coffee and then head over to Rockport harbor to watch the sunrise. It's always a beautiful sight, and afterwards, we get to watch the fishman loading their boats with bait, as the gulls circle around, waiting for breakfast. Then they head out, to catch the delicious fish that New England is famous for.

I've taken many photos of those sunrises over the years, but this week, I finally decided to use one for for a painting. I'm not sure it captures the actual beauty of the scene, but then again, only the Creator can do that.

If you have any interest in this painting, it is available. Just send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Relish & More", 12x16, plein air, nocturne, Lighthouse Plein Air Festival, restaurants, Cafe Centro, Ray Chang, Relish & More, Old Northwood Historic District, Palm Beach, piano bar, MAryanne JAcobsen art

"Relish & More", 12x16, plein air nocturne

This painting was the most fun to do during the Lighthouse Plein Air Festival a couple weeks ago. I am behind in posting my paintings from the event, because I came home sick, but this one I really wanted to post because of all the fun involved in the creation. The restaurant is located in Old Northwood Village, near Palm Beach. Old Northwood Historic area is a lovely neighborhood of classic Mediterranean and Mission style architecture made popular by distinguished architects in the 1920's.

The restaurants and shops in this neighborhood are both artsy and eclectic, and I chose to paint here twice, because I was so enamored with the colorful buildings and fabulous architecture. On the second night of the plein air festival, I came here in the evening to paint a nocturne, and chose this spot because it was well lit and I loved all the lights twinkling at Relish & More.

My hubby and I had had a delicious Italian meal that night at Cafe Centro, which is directly across the street from Relish and More, so I felt comfortable setting up there on the corner where Cafe Centro is located.

As it turns out, it was a Thursday night, and Ray Chang's piano bar was on hand to provide me wonderful entertainment as I painted! The music varied in style, but there was not one single song he did that I didn't thoroughly enjoy! As it was, I found myself bobbing up and down to the music as I painted, totally immersed in the joy of the moment and dancing with my paintbrush. (Hey, the blog isn't called PaintDance for nothing!) By the end of the evening, a congo line had formed and people much dancing in the streets to some contemporary stuff with a killer beat. Such fun!

I have only done a handful of nocturnes in my life and am rather inexperienced at the skill required to paint in the dark, but this will go down in memory as of of the most enjoyable paintings that I ever did, thanks to Ray Chang! I so wish we lived closer so I could go back every Thursday night!

Here is a photo of my set-up on the corner:

The thing that makes nocturnes so difficult, is that the light is so distorted that it's hard to judge values on your palette, or even see your canvas very well, what with the glare from the headlamp that you need to use in order to paint. It wasn't my best painting of the week, but it certainly was memorable.

Thanks so much Ray Chang and Cafe Centro for the great meal and music. To get a little taste of what it was like to hear Ray sing, here's a link to a couple videos from the CAfe Centro website or Ray entertaining the crowd. Enjoy!

"The Scent of Romance", 12x16, oil on Ampersand panel, flowers, gardens, Maryanne Jacobsen art, romantic art, studies, plein air, table settings hydrangeas

"The Scent of Romance", 12x16, oil on Ampersand panel

This is a quick study that I did in my garden yesterday. It was cold by Florida standards, so I had to work quickly so I could go back inside!

I like the way it came out, so I have decided that I will do a bigger version of this one in the studio. If you would like to purchase this small study, just contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Roosevelt and Churchill discussing cigars", plein air, 11x14, Lighthouse Plein Air Festival, MAryanne JAcobsen art, Palm Beach art, plein air, Society of 4 Arts, President Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, allies, cigars, bougainvillea, beautiful gardens, garden sculptures

"Roosevelt and Churchill discussing cigars", plein air, 11x14

This was another one of my favorite paintings done during the Lighthouse Plein Air Festival.

I had partipated in the festival two years ago and painted at The Society of the Four Arts before, so I was familiar with the grounds and the beautiful pergolas covered with bougainvillea that are throughout the gardens. So I decided to try my hand this time at adding the sculptures of the the two dignitaries  (President Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill) into the painting this time, figuring it would be a piece of cake.

Wrong! Painting bronze images of figures is very different from painting real people! The surfaces are different (skin is soft, metal is hard, flesh tones are predictable, statues in metal are an odd color!) So in spite of the fact that I knew I could nail the background pergola, I struggled with the figures of the 2 allies for quite some time.

Here is a photo of the two friends in the garden, and a couple photos that someone took of me painting them:

In addition to afternoon Florida heat, many people stopped by to chat with me, adding to the difficulties of completing the painting. In the end, it took me 2 afternoons to complete, but I was ultimately happy with the end result.

If you are in the Palm Beach area, be sure to visit the Society of 4 Arts. The grounds are lovely and the Chinese Garden is a special favorite of mine, which also produced a painting last week!

"A Touch of Red in a Sea of Blue", 8x10. oil on panel, Lighthouse Plein Air, Plein Air festival, Palm Beach, Jupiter, Lighthouse, red lighthouse, DuBois Beach Park, Maryanne JAcobsen art, beach, Florida beaches

"A Touch of Red in a Sea of Blue", 8x10. oil on panel, plein air

Just returned from a week of painting on Florida's east coast in the 4th annual Lighthouse PLein Air Festival, covering an area from Palm Beach up to Tequestra, where the Lighthouse Art Center is located.

Overall, I had a great week, lots of painting and good weather for the most part. These plein air paint-outs are much more exhausting and demanding than most people realize, with traveling with gear from one loaction to the next, painting in all kinds of weather, then going back and framing the work, cleaning brushes and palette and getting ready for the next day's events. The event culminated with a gala event at the end of the week, with opportunities to win awards and display the work you've created and just relax after a week of hard work.

In spite of a bad cold, I kept going each day and was not unhappy with the results of my work. "A touch of Red in a Sea of Blue" was my favorite painting of the week, probably because it was painted in the most delightful spot immaginable at DuBois Beach Park in Jupiter. It was afternoon and I took advantage of the shade of the palm trees to set up, and there was the most delightful balmy breeze keeping me comfortable the entire time that I painted.

This was one of those paintings that I didn't need to touch up afterwards. It was fresh and vibrant and reflected the incredible blues of the water with the red lighthouse in the background as the scene reflected.

While it was not my first painting of the week, it was definitely my favorite! Please contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you are interested in the painting. It can be sold framed as shown or unframed.