"Autumn Day at Marsh Creek", 9x12, plein air, Marsh Creek State PArk, Chester County paintings, autumn landscapes, fall, trees, oak trees Pennsylvania landscapes

"Autumn Day at Marsh Creek", 9x12, plein air

Marsh Creek State Park was about a ten minute drive from where I used to live in Chester Springs, PA., before moving to Florida. Our family had many happy times at that park. We would walk the trails, fish, canoe and wind surf in the lake and swim in the community pool on hot summer days. It was a great place for picnics and watching sunsets.

During our recent trip up north, I decided to go paint there. The trees did not disappoint, and one in particular seemed to be screaming, "Paint me! Paint me!"

So I did.

Feel free to email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you are interested in this plein air sketch.

"Country Road", 9x12, oil on Raymar panel, impressionist paintings, country landscape, woman with umbrella, boat, house

"Country Road", 9x12, oil on Raymar panel

A while back I did a small little study of a painting by  19th century french Impressionist Édouard Leon Cortès (1882–1969).  Cortes is known as "Le Poete Parisien de la Peinture" or "the Parisian Poet of Painting" because of his diverse Paris cityscapes in a variety of weather and night settings.

I fell in love with his style of painting and today I decided to do another painting after his rustic country landscapes. In this version, I tried to learn from him while also incorporating a bit of my own style into the painting.

Learning from the old masters is a wonderful way to improve one's artistic skill. I did many paintings after Monet when I first started to paint, and I never grow tired of what I can learn from the French Impressionists!