"Bougainvillea Riot", 11x14, oil on panel, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Palette knife painting, colorist art, Maryanne Jacobsen art, The Mission Walker, Edie Littlefield Sundby, Hurricane Irma, Historic California Mission Trail, impressionist art

"Bougainvillea Riot", 11x14, oil on panel

Well we weathered Hurricane Irma without losing much, except our energy and a little patience.

One thing that the storm made me realize, as we boarded up the house and made plans to evacuate was this- I have too many paintings in my house!

I figured that they wouldn't last if they were on the walls and a 150 mph wind gust tore off our roof. They also wouldn't have faired well during a storm surge, especially since we are so close to the Gulf of Mexico. So I had a really hard time trying to figure out what to do with the many paintings that I have in my home. In the end, I vowed to offer some of my older works for sale through my blog after the storm passed.

This is a painting that I did quite a few years ago, in the days when I only used a palette knife. Many collectors prefer my older work to some of my newer stuff, so here's a chance to own one of my older works  that may have missed the cut in terms of shows or galleries.

This is a painting of the courtyard at the incredibly beautiful Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. I have done paintings of this mission many, many times, and the truth is that I never offered this particular painting to the public before because I think I forgot that I had it! Anyway, the storm helped me find it again, lol.

I have been reading "The Mission Walker", by Edie Littlefield Sundby. It is an amazing testament of faith and endurance that this woman, given only three months to live due to gallbladder cancer, refused to accept her diagnosis and went on to not only recover, but to walk the entire 800 mile Historic California Mission Trail! I have always loved the California Missions and have visited half a dozen of them while in California, but this book and this brave woman's story have re-affirmed my own confidence in the peace and serenity that these beautiful places imbibe into the spirits of those who partake of their beauty.

So I am now determined to paint a few more paintings of the missions, and hopefully do justice to their beauty along the way.

Thanks for your prayers during Hurricane Irma. It was a wild ride, but we are stronger in faith and happier to be alive now!

If you are interested in this painting, just send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.