"New Horizons" 11x14, oil, Rockport Massachusetts, fishing boats, Bearskin Neck, nautical, paintings of boats, harbor, Cape Ann

 "New Horizons" 11x14, oil

This fishing boat can frequently be seen in the little harbor of Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Massachusetts.

I was attracted to the contrast of light on the boat against the dark background of the seawall behind it.

I hope to someday return to Cape Ann and Rockport. We used to stay there every summer for many years until our favorite Bed and Breakfast, The CAptain's House was sold about 5 years back.

If you would like information about this painting, please email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Misty Morning, Cortez Fishing Village", 11x14, oil on linen, award-winning paintings, Blue ribbon, fishing village, Cortez Village, Old Florida, old boats, fog, mist, fishing boats, Maryanne Jacobsen art

"Misty Morning, Cortez Fishing Village", 11x14, oil on linen

I was very happy to recently receive a First Place Award for my painting, "Misty Morning, Cortez Fishing Village", at the Englewood Art Center, a division of the Ringling College of Art and Education.

The origin of the painting goes back to a grey foggy morning when I gathered with a group of painters to paint scenes at the Cortez Fishing Village in Cortez Florida.

Cortez is a very popular spot for plein air painters, as it has the most delightful old fishing boats and scenes of Old Florida, not to mention The Starfish Grill on the Water, where artists can congregate after a happy day of painting on the rickety old piers.

This painting is available for purchase. Send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you are interested.

"The Sexy Lady", 8x10, oil on board, fishing boats, Cortez Fishing Village, Cortez Florida, old florida

"The Sexy Lady", 8x10, oil on board

I was out at Cortez Fishing Village today and decided to paint "The Sexy Lady" who never seems to leave her spot in front of the dock next to the Star Fish and Company restaurant.

It's the first time I ever painted this not-very-sexy boat, but it was certainly not the first time I've painted at Cortez.

I've painted a lot of boats there at Cortez, including Mr. Chris and The Rebel and Company. It's a great place to paint, and the seafood at the restaurant Star Fish and Company, usually is quite fresh, though expect a long wait during Snowbird Season.

It was good to be back out in the fresh air!

"Early Morning Light, Shem's Creek", 16x 20, oil on canvas, Charleston, fishing boats, shrimp boats, scenic places in Charleston area, Maryanne Jacobsen art

"Early Morning Light, Shem's Creek", 16x 20, oil on canvas
Note: you can click on the image to see the detail in the painting.

I finally got around to going through some of my reference photos from my trip to Charleston in October. Painting at Shem's Creek was the highlight of the sights we painted during my workshop with Kenn Backhaus that week, so I gravitated back to those photos.

The shrimp boats there were fabulous with their old green nets hanging in the sunshine, and the sun glistening off the sides of the boat in the early morning light. The two shrimp boats in this painting are the Captain BTS and the Sea Horse. Both boats are a beautiful cerulean blue so as Ina Garten would say, "What's not to like about that?"

"The Rebel and Company", plein air, 9x12, oil on board , old wooden boats, Cortex fishing village, The Rebel

 

"The Rebel and Company", plein air, 9x12, oil on board

I painted this one out at Cortez Fishing Village last weekend for the Paint the Town Paint-out. I stood on a dock and was happy to have shelter over my head so that I didn't have to worry about the sun.

The day was chilly and windy, but that didn't stop the people from coming to this quaint little spot to enjoy an outdoor lunch from the famed Starfish and Company seafood restaurant.

I wrote a little bit about the Cortez Fishing Village and the Paint-Out in my last blog entry. 

The Paint-out involved about 30 of the area's best plein air artists and I was happy to participate for the second year in a row.

My hubby was with me that day and he walked around taking pictures and chatting with people as I painted. Here are some of the great photos he took  that day.

First up- me painting the boats depicted in my painting!

 The captain of "Half Awake" with his dog, Sylvia:

 Me painting:

Smelling the fish!

Oh Captain, my captain!

Pelicans galore!

 Heron looking for free lunch!

The history of Cortez:

As you can see, the old Cortez Fishing Village is a really special place and hopefully it will retain its old world charm for many more decades! (In spite of the tourists!)

"No crabs today!"plein air, 11x9, oil on board, boats, fishing baots, snow crab legs, Osprey, Florida

"No crabs today!"plein air, 11x9, oil on board
(Note: Click on the photo to see the image better.)

This morning I went to Bay Preserve to paint with my friends. It was a zoo! I think the entire Sarasota County crew team was there, and with about 100 high school kids, boats going in and out of the water, no toilet paper in the bathrooms, and way too many cars going in and out near where I was painting, I decided to leave after about an hour of frustration.

I made my way over to Snook Haven, only to find the situation worse! There was a cop directing traffic and tram lines set up on River Rd, shuttling people (mostly Snow Birds, of course) to the newly renovated water front restaurant,which had always been a quiet, sleepy place whenever I had been there in the past. Bummer #2!

Disappointed but not willing to give up, I finally ended up at Blackburn Point, at the bridge that goes over to Casey Key. What luck! "Captain Jake", the snow crab boat was there, and with the water and air very still, it didn't budge even an inch for two and a half hours while I painted!

Here's a photo of my great spot but PSSST! Please don't tell anyone else about it!

I left a lot of the detail out on the boat, but I intend to go back there and try my hand at this one again, and maybe do a studio piece from it as well.

So happy it turned into a great plein air day in spite of the way it started!

"Another Beautiful Gulf Morning", 16x12, oil on linen, old boats, fisherman, Gulf of Mexico, Florida art, fishing boats, seascapes of Florida

SOLD

"Another Beautiful Gulf Morning", 16x12, oil on linen (Note: you can click on the photo for better detail viewing of the painting.)

I took the two plein air studies that I did over the last two weeks from my outings to the North Jetty, as well as a reference photo, and used them over the past few days to create this studio painting.

I added the figure of the boat's owner and stuck with a limited palette to keep the painting unified. I combined both brushes and palette knife to keep the painting interesting and lively.

This painting will be going into the Light Chaser's annual show at Art Center Sarasota next month, but if you have any interest in the plein air study, "Old Boat, New Day", that I painted last week,  just contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com for pricing. Below was the reference that helped me add the gentlemen in the boat: