"Summer Courtyard", 12x16, oil on panel, Provence, courtyard, bougainvillea, impressionism

"Summer Courtyard", 12x16, oil on panel

The cool light in an afternoon courtyard.... Summer is at its height and the lush bougainvillea vines trail lethargically from the ancient buildings . The dazzling light  from a nearby hillside erupts suddenly into the tiny courtyard and a songbird's call breaks the warm silence.

It's summer. It's Provence. And everything is beautiful.

For purchase  information regarding this painting, please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"The Colors of Capistrano", 12x16, oil on board, Mission San Juan Capistrano, California mission, MAryanne Jacobsen art, impressionism, bougainvillea, beautiful places

SOLD

"The Colors of Capistrano", 12x16, oil on board

I painted this a while back and took it out just last week and looked at it. Overall, I was happy with it, but felt that there were some areas that needed strengthening. So I simplified the flower bed beneath the bougainvillea tree to unify the mass overall. Next I simplified the shadows on the ground and lightened them since vertical planes on the ground are lighter, even in shadow. I strengthened the shadow mass on the right side of the bush in the back and then just tweaked some roof tiles. I think it helped quite a bit to unify the painting, and I was happy with it.

Serendipity occurred over the weekend, before the new paint had even dried, when  a new collector inquired about it and bought it instantly as a gift for his wife. I love when that happens!

Below is an image of the painting before I tweaked it, so you can see the changes that I spoke of. It is always encouraging to me to be able to take out a painting and make it better. It helps me know that I am continuing to learn and to improve my craft!

"Boca Beauty", 12x16, oil, Boca Grande, Our LAdy of Mercy Catholic church, wedding gifts, art as gifts, Maryanne Jacobsen fine art, bougainvillea, queen palms, little white church, Old Florida

SOLD

"Boca Beauty", 12x16, oil

Over the weekend I took a ride to Gasparilla Island, a pretty little island in Southwest Florida and home to Boca Grande, an upscale community on the Gulf where life is fashionable and golf carts are the transportation of choice. It didn't take me long to settle on a place to paint.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church is a favorite haunt of plein air painters there, mostly because of the six queen oaks and flagrantly beautiful bougainvillea that cascades along the wall in front of the church.

I had only been painting for about an hour and a half when a wedding party showed up at the church. Surprise surprise. Who wouldn't choose such a pretty little church for a wedding on a balmy Saturday?

My painting wasn't finished, but I knew it was pointless to try to continue with all the traffic.

 So yesterday I decided to paint the scene while it was fresh in my mind, using the plein air study for color and value references. Here's the 8x10 plein air study:

I actually liked the light better when I first started the painting, because it streamed sidewise across the front of the church and the front wall was in shadow. But I did not take a photo of that scene so I had to use the photo from when I stopped painting to guide me on the light and shadows. Oh well.

 From what I understand, this little white church and Boca Grande in general is a favorite wedding spot, and it's obvious why! A gorgeous island and a beautiful little white church. What's not to like?

If you have any interest in either the 8x10 inch study, or the 12x16 inch studio work, just send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com. It would certainly make a nice wedding gift, now wouldn't it?

"Towards the Pergola", plein air, 11x14, pink, bougainvillea, Florida gardens, Society fo the Four Arts, Palm Beach paintings, Lighthouse plein air competition, palm trees, formal gardens, Florida art

"Towards the Pergola", plein air, 11x14

This was painted during the Lighthouse Plein Air competition in Palm Beach , Florida at the Society of the Four Arts. The wind geared up while I was painting this and blew my plein air umbrella off three different times. After the third time I realized it was about to storm and I began to paint furiously. That's about when the downpour hit. No warning- just torrential rain. I grabbed the painting and ran for the tiny bit of shelter there was under a roof where people can sit and eat and relax after touring the gardens. In the split second that it took me to run and put the painting into shelter, I came back to find my easel had blown over and there was a mess everywhere.

Then the rain stopped just as suddenly as it started. Luckily I had a tarp and so the mess was minimal but it kind of ruined the fun I had been having painting this piece in the beautiful garden.

In the end , it came out alright, because I took a knife to it,and finished it off with the palette knife.

The joys of plein air painting are endless!

"Three Doors Down", 14x11, oil on linen

"Three Doors Down", 14x11, oil on linen

The house with the pink bougainvillea wrapping around the column is just three doors down from where I live. The owners obviously have a green thumb becuase the whole property is gorgeous to look at. I had been wanting to paint this bougainvillea for a while now, and so yesterday, I finally asked permission to stand on the lawn and paint the house.

Today I went down and spent an hour and a half painting the front porch. After that, I decided the light was changing too quickly so I finished it up in my studio. I am going to try it again on a different day because Is struggled with the dappled light on the door and walkway and need to practice  doing it more often.