"The Carolers", 8x8, oil on panel, Christmas carols, children in snow, old-fashioned Christmas, singing carols, snow, holiday, a Christmas carol

 "The Carolers", 8x8, oil on panel

I have always loved all things old-fashioned and poignant. I am not a fan of modern clothes, music, hairstyles or furniture. I love anything that makes me feel nostalgic about the past, because the past was a simpler time. 

No computers, cell phones or electric cars. No hustle and bustle on crowded streets with garish lights. People stayed home at night and mothers knitted, children played music or did homework, and little girls learned how to crochet.

I don't think many people go caroling anymore. Especially children. It's not safe and kids would probably rather stay home and play with their electronic gadgets.

I know. I sound like a cynic. Perhaps I am.

Anyway, I wanted to get into the Christmas spirit, so I painted this yesterday. It is offered on my website for $200, plus shipping. Please click this link, if you would like to purchase it.

"Gloucester Pink", 8x8, oil on panel, Rocky Neck, Gloucester Massachusetts, ice cream shop, Amy's Coffee and Cones, pink house, small study

"Gloucester Pink", 8x8, oil on panel

This little pink building was a little ice cream shop in Rocky Neck, in East Gloucester back in 2010, when I photographed it. I have no idea if it's still there (the ice cream shop), but the pink building was adorable to look at, and filled with pink flowers in the front yard. It was directly on the water in Rocky Neck, which is an artsy community in the seaside town of Gloucester.

Although I took the photo years ago, it took me this long to paint it! It was just a quick little 2 hour study. If you like it leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

"Pigtails and Teddy Bears", 8x8, oil, paintings of children, teddy bears, pigtails, me and my teddy bear, Christmas gifts, holiday sale, little gems

SOLD

 "Pigtails and Teddy Bears", 8x8, oil

This is an older painting that I have always loved. It reminds me of my own childhood when my teddy bear and Raggedy Ann doll were my constant companions and best friends.

It would make a lovely gift for a special little girl and is now available in my Holiday Sale. You can check the sale out here and purchase Pigtails and Teddy Bears through PayPal.

All paintings will be shipped within 24 hours of purchase.

"Poolside Floral", 8x8, oil on panel, artist support pledge, plein air, poolside, Florida art, little gems, pink, sunflowers, affordable art

"Poolside Floral", 8x8, oil on panel- $100 including free shipping in the domestic US.

I painted this little floral on my Florida lanai, the other day. It was at least 95 degrees outdoors but happily, I was at least in a shaded area while I painted.

Here is the view of my set-up:

This painting is being offered at well below my normal pricing structure as part of the #artistsupportpledge. Many galleries across the country (including one of my own) have closed permanently due to the pandemic. The artist support pledge was devised by Matthew Burrows as a way for artists to continue to find revenues during these financially difficult times. The premise is to offer your work at two hundred dollars or less, and when you've reached $1000 in sales, you pledge to purchase the artwork of another artist for the same value.

So if you would like to purchase this little plein air jewel, just use this link to pay directly through my website.

Thanks for looking and if you would like to know more about the Artist Support Pledge, just read about it here. Have a great day.

"A Robert Frost Moment" 8x8, oil on linen, snow, winter scenes, winter wonderland, snowfall, kids and sleds, Robert Frost, stopping by the woods

"A Robert Frost Moment" 8x8, oil on linen

It's been a while since I created a new blog post. Everything in life takes time, and blogging is no exception. I used to love blogging. What happened to my creativity?

How does one lose their creative spirit , I wonder?

I think it is a number of factors, at least for me.

For now, at least I am blogging. That's something. This painting was done a few days ago, and as I painted it I could not help but think of a Robert Frost poem that I've loved since childhood.

And although there's no horse, you can probably guess which one it is.

If you would like to purchase this painting, it is available through my website.

Happy New Year. Hope you have a chance to stop in the woods on a snowy evening and enjoy the beauty and tranquility of a freshly fallen snow.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

"Pea Green Boat", 8x8, oil on panel, the owl and the pussycat, Edward Lear poem, romance, Valentine's Day gifts, original oil paintings. Maryanne Jacobsen art

SOLD

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

I've painted the Owl and the Pussycat a couple other times in the past and I guess I never tire of these furry friends and the loving relationship they had in Edward Lear's little poem.

This painting has been in a couple shows and has been hanging in my living room for a while, framed in a beautiful Randy Higbee floater frame.

It occurred to me that it might make a lovely gift to a couple romantics for Valentine's Day, so I decided to take it off my wall and offer it for sale for a limited time only. If you order by Saturday, I should be able to ship it in time for the big romantic week=end coming up next week.

I am offering it for sale for $400 or $450 framed as shown above. Please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if interested and I'll invoice you via Paypal.

Thanks for reading my blog and have a great day!

"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.

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

SOLD

"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!

"Last of the Peonies", 8x8, oil on board, peonies, orange, pink blooms, impasto, palette knife floral

"Last of the Peonies", 8x8, oil on board

I set up a couple of vases of peonies outdoors last month, with the intention of painting them the next day. Well, the next day never happened because it rained continually for a week.

I did manage to take a photo of the arrangement before the rain completely destroyed al the blooms and I used that photo as a reference for this loose, almost abstract palette knife rendition of the bouquets.

Lots of thick paint in this one. Email me if interested in this painting at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Yellow Irises, plein air", 8x8, oil on board, Yellow Springs, PA., Yellow springs historic village, yellow, plein air, small studies, iris

"Yellow Irises, plein air", 8x8, oil on board

I enjoyed painting the irises at the Yellow Springs art studio earlier this month. I'm glad I did because a week of continuous rain last week, wiped them all out.

I always enjoy going back to the Chester Springs area to paint. I was not yet an artist when I lived there ten years ago, so it's a treat to return and paint the area, which is very beautiful.

The Yellow Springs village has a very colorful history. Some of the first American impressionists painted there at the turn of the century, over a hundred years ago. They would go to Paris and study with the French impressionists, then return to the Philadelphia area and study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. It was there that they would form plein air groups that would travel the distance to the western suburbs and paint "en plein air" in the meadows and rolling hills of the Yellow Springs area.

I did this little study in the morning light as the sun hit the tops of the irises.

"Pas de Trois", 8x8 , oil on board, rose study, pink roses, three roses, roses in glass vase

SOLD

"Pas de Trois", 8x8 , oil on board

Set up a few roses in my kitchen and this was the result. See my set-up below.

For those not familiar with the French term, pas de trois usually refers to a dance in ballet between three people. (or roses, lol!)  Typically a Pas de trois in ballet consists of 6 parts.

Yes, this painting did indeed consist of 6 separate parts!

1. Paint in your north lit studio for an hour
2. Realize you can't see a danged thing in your north lit studio including your painting
3. Wipe the whole danged thing out
4. Start over in the kitchen where you are happy to discover that you're not actually blind
5. Find your mojo after another hour of frustration and continue painting for another hour
6. Sign the finished painting and sigh!

Lots of thick paint in this one!