"Summer Moonrise", 12x24, oil on board, Impressionism, California trees, eucalyptus trees, Maryanne Jacobsen art, Moonrise, summer moon

"Summer Moonrise", 12x24, oil on board (please click on the painting to better see the texture within)

If you read my blog, you'll know that I have an ongoing love for eucalyptus trees. They have a lyrical quality in the way they nod carry themselves- sometimes nodding their heads like naughty children and more often then not curling and twisting like a dancer performing a strange adagio.

This is another painting of a eucalyptus cluster. it was painted on a board and has soft muted colors and texture throughout.

Feel free to contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, if you are interested in this painting.

"Island Walkers", 28x16, oil on board, Monhegan Island, misty mornings, morning walk, Maine art, islands in the Atlantic, Maryanne Jacobsen art

"Island Walkers", 28x16, oil on board (Note: If you click on the image you can better see the brushwork.)

This is a painting of well-worn path on Monhegan Island, off the coast of Maine. The island is a special, almost magical place. I've only been there twice, but those visits left me with abundant memories of the island's quirky character  and raw beauty.

This was painted from a photograph that I took one misty, June morning. The lilacs were blooming everywhere and a bed of red tulips drew my attention as the reds stood out vibrantly in the low contrast atmosphere.

Please contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you would like more information about the painting.

"Windblown Cypress, Pinnacle Point", 16x28, oil on board, cypress trees, California cypress, California coastal art, Point Lobos State Preserve, Pinnacle Point, Maryanne jacobsen art, windblown trees, award-winning art

"Windblown Cypress, Pinnacle Point", 16x28, oil on board

I was very happy to receive a  Third place award  last week at the Venice Art Center's "Branchin' Out" exhibit, featuring- trees! That makes three ribbons in one month!

Trees are a wonderful subject to paint, and the windblown cypress trees at Point Lobos State Preserve in Carmel California are a personal favorite subject of mine.

This painting is very dramatic in person and would make a stunning addition to any wall. If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Pinnacle Point", 16x28, oil on board, Maryanne Jacobsen art, cypress tree, Point Lobos State Preserve, Carmel art, windblown, palette knife art, award-winning paintings

"Pinnacle Point", 16x28, oil on board

This beautiful old cypress tree stands atop Pinnacle Point, at Pinnacle Cove, a hiking trail at Point Lobos State Preserve in Carmel, California. The tree is a testament to endurance-its wild wind-blown beauty gracing the top of the granite rocks that overlook a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean. Painting it brought me back to the first time I hiked that path, my heart catching in my throat as I approached the top of the steps. Truly, Pinnacle Point is a place where I left my heart one day, and I hope that  this east coast girl will have the chance to return again some day.

This painting won Third Place at the Venice Art Center's "Branchin' Out" exhibit.

Please contact me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, if you are interested in this painting.

"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!

"Red Umbrella", 9x12, oil on board, Paris, cityscape, small streets, LAtin Quarter, impressionism, alla prima, red umbrella

SOLD

"Red Umbrella", oil on board, 9x12

This was a quick study that I did last night of a little side street in Paris after a rainfall. My objective was to keep the painting fresh and the brushwork lively and not to overwork it. It was completed in just under 2 hours.

"Almost Winter, Montmartre", 16x20, oil on board, Paris street scenes, Place du Tetre, Sacre Couer, nocturne, moon, Artists Quarters

"Almost Winter, Montmartre", 16x20, oil on board, (Copyright, 2015)

This scene has been painted thousands of times by artists all over the world. It's easy to see why. This is the Artists' Quarter in Paris, though Montmartre is truly a village unto itself at the north end of Paris. You can see Sacre Coeur lit up in the background, and if you don't know your history, you may not know that many of the residents of Montmartre were not happy when it was built in the early 1900's. It's not hard to figure out why, of course. Down the street a few blocks is the Moulin Rouge, a dance caberet hall where the "notorious" Can-Can was born. (I personally love the Can-Can myself and have been known to perform it on street corners at inopportune times.) Certainly the devil was NOT in the details when the church's founders were drawing up the plans!

At any rate, the scene above is the famous Place du Tetre where numerous artists, writers and poets would come to paint and frequent the coffee houses. It's still a haunt for the bohemian crowd, though it's become a horrendous tourist trap as well. In this painting, I really wanted to try to picture Montmartre in a gentler time, before dozens of tourists crowded it's narrow streets year round.

I wanted it to be a contemporary painting, while still maintaining vestiges of the older days. I hope I was successful.

"Harry", 12x16, oil on board, paintings of dogs, hound dogs, palette knife paintings of dogs, dog portraits

"Harry", 12x16, oil on board

Harry, my son's dog, loves to bark. At squirrels, at people, at cats, at other dogs. Literally, Harry would stand at the window and howl all day if it were up to him . Which it isn't. The neighbors have already made that abundantly clear. At least made it clear to me through nasty notes in the mailbox. Not that that matters to Harry.

So Harry was officially uninvited to my house for the unforeseeable future. Not that Harry cares. You see, my son's neighbor has decided to have a hen and a rooster in his back yard so he can have fresh eggs each day. Which drives Harry nuts, since he can't have the eggs or the fowl. So now Harry howls at the fowl day and night and drives the rooster and hen, as well as my son and daughter-in-law bonkers. Which makes the cockatoo that lives on the other side of Harry very happy. And if you think Harry's howling, the rooster's crowing and the hen's clucking is bad, you should come around when the cockatoo joins in the choir.

So thankful I don't live anywhere near Harry and the boys.

"Hazy Beach Day", 6x6, oil on board, Maryanne Jacobsen, beach paintings, hazy day, little girls at the beach, red bucket, sand, waves, surf, impressionism

"Hazy Beach Day", 6x6, oil on board

I've been studying the paintings of the 19th century impressionists and the beautiful way in which they handled water and clouds. Water, like clouds, is something that is hard to paint from life, for the simple reason that both clouds and water are moving constantly.

The best we can do as artists is to try to paint the movement of water with some degree of passion and emotion, otherwise, the water has no movement and appears lifeless. The best we can do when painting clouds, is to try to portray their ethereal qualities with a light hand, as clouds have no borders. As Don Quixote said in Man of La Mancha, (though he wasn't speaking of clouds, but of the hem of Dulcinea's garment),  they are like gossamer, sheer, gauze-like, yet having substance that changes constantly through varying times of day and light temperatures.

In this painting, my goal was to create that warm hazy light that we sometimes get on summer days, when the sun is trying to break through, but isn't quite there yet.

I hope you enjoy this painting, because I enjoyed painting it!

"Senior Stroll", 12x12, oil on board, figurative, three men walking, seniors, European cityscape, MAryanne Jacobsen fine art

SOLD

"Senior Stroll", 12x12, oil on board

Wow. It seems like it's been forever since I posted. Have been so busy I can hardly keep track of everything. I painted this one right before Thanks giving and never had a chance to post it. This is a color palette that I don't normally paint with, but I'll definitely be using it again as it lends itself well to the old buildings in Europe. I used Ultramarine Blue for the lights and Raw Sienna for the darks.

The last time I tried a combo like that was when I painted a doorway in St. PAul de Vence. It worked well for the that one, too.

This painting is available through Galerie Du Soleil. Please call 239-417-3450 for more information.

"Wildflower Meadow", 11x14, oil on board, palette knife, mountain, colorist art, wildflowers

SOLD

"Wildflower Meadow", 11x14, oil on board

This was a color study that I've been working on for the past couple weeks. My goal was to make the color receed as it went back into space. It was painted with a palette knife.

Email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you have any interest in purchasing this color study.

"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!

"Guileless", 14x11, oil on board, paintings of children, little girls, girls with bonnets, children, Renaissance fair

"Guileless", 14x11, oil on board

This is a painting that I started months ago. Every so often I'd take it out and change a few things on it. Finally, I thought it was finished when it looked like this:

I liked the fact that it looked impressionistic and so I titled it "White Bonnet" and called it done.

The other day I took it out again and decided that I hated it. So I totally reworked her face as well as other parts extensively. I definitely think it's done now! The little girl now looks exactly like my niece's little girl. She's a beautiful child and her name is Faith. I met her recently for the first time , and I think I had her in the back of my mind when I decided to re-work this painting.

More often than not, I mess up a painting totally when I go back into it and re-work it. In this case, I'm definitely glad that I took the chance!

"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.

"Porch Peonies", 8x10, oil on board, pink peonies, blue vases, porch paintings, plein air, impressionist paintings, flowers, Vixen Hill Cottage

"Porch Peonies", 8x10, oil on board

During my trip to Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, I noticed that the peonies were in full bloom. I absolutely adore peonies so I determined to pick some, set them up outside out Vixen Hill Cottage, and paint them.

So one night I went out and picked a ton of them, determined to begin my painting the very next day.

I found vases in the cottage and set them up on a table outside and arranged all my paints the night before so I could get started first thing in the morning.

Instead of awakening to the usual slice of sunrise coming through the windows, I noticed that the skylights were being battered with heavy rain. So I sighed and figured it would stop before the day was over.

Well, the rain continued, and continued and went on and on and on. After 5 days, my peonies were almost completely spent by the rain. That was when I decided to collect the survivors and set them up in the porch. The sun was trying valiantly to peek through, but by now I didn't trust it!

In the end, the sun did in fact make a comeback that day, but I finished my painting on the porch, unperturbed by the prospect of another downfall.

Please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, if you would like to purchase "Porch Peonies".

"Early Morning View"- Valle Crucis B&B, plein air, 12x12, oil on board

"Early Morning View"- Valle Crucis B&B, plein air, 12x12, oil on board

There is a stunning view of the mountains from the porch of the Valle Crucis Bed and Breakfast in Valle Crucis, North Carolina.

On our trip back home from Pennsylvania we stopped there for the night and I knew I had to get up early and paint that scene before breakfast the next morning. It was a beautiful morning, not warm yet, but not cold enough for a jacket. There was a blanket of fog across the mountain ridge before I started the painting, but it dissipated quickly as I set up.

The Valle Crucis B&B is quite lovely and our "Mountain View" room was very comfortable. Our hostess Suzanne made a wonderful breakfast and the other guests were very congenial. Over all it was a wonderful stay and I recommend the Inn highly. Check it out if you are in the Boone area!

"Silent Forever", plein air, 8x10, oil on board, paintings of sculptures, heronsYellow Springs village, plein air

"Silent Forever", plein air, 8x10, oil on board

In Florida we have beautiful big birds- herons, cranes, ibises, egrets- the sky is the limit. I always take these beautiful birds for granted until I go north.

Recently, I took a trip to Pennsylvania to visit family and paint in the open air in the beautiful Chester County countryside.

We stayed in Chester Springs, where I know the terrain like the back of my hand.

IN the small village of Yellow Springs is a metal sculpture of a great blue heron. It is next to the historic Washington Building, which served as a hospital during the Revolutionary War for George Washington's groups.

So I set up there early one morning and painted the metal bird, glad that I would be soon returning to hot, sticky Florida, where the birds are real.

If you would like to purchase this plein air sketch, please send me an email 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.

"Red Maple at Vixen Hill Farm", 9x12, oil on board, impressionism, red maple tree, colorist art, Pennsylvania art, Chester County art, Chester Springs

"Red Maple at Vixen Hill Farm", 9x12, oil on board

I have been loving the weather in Pennsylvania this week and using it as an opportunity to get back into painting outdoors, (en plein air).

Painting everyday on location gives an artist the opportunity to really hone their skill sets. The light changes constantly and one must be on their toes in order to turn out a decent plain air painting.

In this painting, I was attracted to the long dark shadows on the ground and the beautiful light on the red maple in the early morning hours.

I did a quick thumbnail sketch to zone in on the darks and lights in the scene, before attempting to transfer my concept to canvas. 

The lights atop the maple were a beautiful reddish orange color in the morning light and served as  the focal point for the composition. Here's the photo that I took before beginning the painting...

In the end, the only problem were the gnats that started attacking the painting as I finished it up after about an hour and a half. I plucked them out gingerly. Here's the finished painting:

I painted this one with a palette knife exclusively. I hope you enjoyed  seeing my concept from start to finish.

To see more of my paintings, please visit my website at Maryanne Jacobsen Fine Art.

"Mission Morning Glories", 16x20, oil on board, morning Glories, Mission Capistrano, gardens,

"Mission Morning Glories", 16x20, oil on board (note: Click on the image to see the detail better.)


Mission San Juan Capistrano is located in southern California in Orange County, about an hour north of San Diego and just south of Laguna Beach. I have visited it three or four times and never grow tired of that beautiful place. It is a national treasure and historic monument, and most people have heard the beautiful legend about the swallows that return there every year to nest. To read more about the mission and the swallows , please go here.

If you would like to see more of my Mission San Juan Capistrano paintings, just insert the word Capistrano into the search box located in the left hand sidebar.


This painting was done with a palette knife only. It has thick, juicy passages of paint throughout.

Thanks for following my blog. To see more of my paintings, please visit my website here.