"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.

"Peaceful Waters", 12x16 , sunsets, Venice Florida, Beach, sea oats, southwest Florida scenes, last light, MAryanne Jacobsen art

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"Peaceful Waters", 12x16 (approximate), oil on linen paper

Caught this beautiful sunset at Venice Beach over the weekend. Hope you like it!

"North Jetty Morning", plein air, 8x10 oil on board, plein air, Venice, Florida, impressionist art, beach, Southwest Florida art

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"North Jetty Morning", plein air study, 8x10 oil on board

I have not painted outdoors since late September, thanks to circumstances. This morning , however, I decided I was ready! Slathered with sunscreen and additionally armed with my new Tillie Hat, (skin cancer will change your painting habits!),  I decided to go out bright and early so I could get a quick painting in, before the Light Chasers had their first plein air demo by award-winning artist Hodges Soileau.

I snagged a great spot under some mangrove trees, so there was no chance of worrying about sun on my canvas. (Or on me!) There were many pelicans in the water early in the morning but I was painting very quickly and didn't manage to get any of the birds in my painting this time. However, I did manage to finish this in less than an hour!


Hodges demo was superb, as usual, and since I have taken quite a few of his workshops, I knew in advance that the artists unfamiliar with his teaching style were in for a treat! There were about 50 Light-Chasers that turned out for this awesome event!

How lucky are  the Light-Chasers (my plein air painting group) to have this beautiful setting, gorgeous weather, and amazing teachers to do demos for us under the mangrove trees!

After about two hours I went back to my spot to try to put finishing touches on my painting, but the light had changed radically and the rocks were covered with water. That's okay. I like the painting the way it is. It's alive. And my paintings have not been alive for a very long time.

Thank-you Lord for helping me get over my fear of painting outdoors!

And thanks to our fearless leader, Terry Mason, for all the selfless work she does to keep our Light Chasers outdoors and painting with the best!