"Beauty Amidst the Ruins, Mission Capistrano", 12x16, oil on linen
Mission San Juan Capistrano is a place of quiet peace, lush, fragrant gardens, as well as ghostly whispers of the past.
Echos of long ago struggles can now hardly be detected in this place of serene fountains, gracefully curved arches and seasonal flowers, yet the missions stretching along the California coast have a long controversial history that profoundly shaped the culture and founding of California and the history of its ethnic peoples.
Mission San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, is probably the most beautiful of the many missions that defined California's history. The Great Stone Church, built by the Juaneno Indians beginning in 1797, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812, yet today it is still one of the biggest tourist draws in the county*. Mission Capistrano is one of my favorite places to visit whenever I am in Southern California, and over the years I've painted dozens of paintings of this crumbling, yet still beautiful structure and its lovely gardens. I never tire of seeing its enduring beauty amidst the ruins, which are a solemn reminder of nature's fury and lack of favoritism when destruction comes.
As the anniversary of Hurricane Ian approaches, I can say that the Mission and its history cause me to reflect on life's roller coaster rides. The painting reflects a bit of both- hope and despair, beauty and ruin, and the light and shadows cascading over the stones of the ruined original church, remind me of Matthew 6:19. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy (insert earthquakes), but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
It's always joy to visit the Mission, so be sure to visit it if you are in Southern California.
This painting is available. Contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com for purchase information
* information from the LA Times
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