"Floribunda and Hybrid Teas", 12x16, oil on copper, hybrid tea roses, nasturtiums, persimmons, garden florals, still life, chiaroscuro

 "Floribunda and Hybrid Teas", 12x16, oil on copper

Painting on copper is very different from painting on linen. There is very little blending that can be done, and so it is probably a better support for a realist than an impressionist painter.

I still enjoyed painting this mixture of hybrid tea roses, nasturtiums and persimmons, in spite of the fact that I couldn't manipulate the paint the way that I wanted.

If you like this painting, feel free to make me an offer!

"Along Flowing Springs Road", 12x16, oil on copper, Chester Springs Pennsylvania, Birchrunville, paintings of Chester County, Pa. Pennsylvania impressionist, en plein air, Airbnb , Maryanne Jacobsen Fine Art, art collectors

SOLD

"Along Flowing Springs Road", 12x16, oil on copper

A few years ago my husband and I found a delightful Airbnb in Chester Springs, Pa. where we stayed for a few days after I finished a week of painting in the yearly Plein Air Brandywine Valley festival. It was our treat to ourselves to return to our beloved  neighborhood where we had lived for 15 years before moving to Florida.

Chester Springs is a hamlet of rolling hills, abundant ponds that flow from underground springs and stone Gentlemen's farms with a horse or two in the pasture at all times. It is a neighborhood  filled with nostalgic memories of long walks up and down country roads, sleigh rides in winter and  my kids and dogs chasing geese and deer in our back yard.

Our rental was  a tiny cottage off a winding country road, and especially beautiful at that time of year with autumn displaying herself in full fanfare to our delight. Here's my hubby enjoying a cup of coffee in the brisk autumn air.

Of course I did my best to paint as much as I could during those brief few days, even though I had just finished a full week of painting! I painted the cottage, of course.

I painted the burning bush shrubs around the corner on School House Lane, and I painted the little church up the road as well.

I also painted an old barn with a red roof on St. Matthews Rd, a block from where we used to live.

I painted a gorgeous oak tree at Marsh Creek Lake, and if you like the painting it is available through Stakenborg/Greenberg Fine Art in Sarasota, FL.

 In short I crammed a lot of outdoor painting into a few days!!!!!

The painting above was not painted that week , but it was the scene that you saw as soon as you stepped out the door of the cottage and looked up Flowing Springs road. I did attempt to paint it but there was not much room on that tiny country road, and a school bus almost put me out of commission for days!

Here is my painting from that day:

I love the freshness of plein air painting, and alas , it is often impossible to recapture the freshness once you are indoors! I titled this one "Autumn in the Country" and it is available through Station Gallery in Greenville, Delaware.

Unfortunately this delightful little Airbnb is no longer available for rent, so I will probably not have another opportunity to capture this country road en plein air.

So I painted it again, in the studio with mixed feelings. What do you think? Which one do you like better? Plein Air or studio?

I would love to hear your thoughts! If you are interested in "Along Flowing Springs Rd.", please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

"Along Flowing Springs Road", 12x16, oil on copper, Chester Springs, Birchrunville, Birchrunville Store Cafe, bucolic scenes, fall landscapes, Pennsylvania impressionism, paintings on copper, Maryanne Jacobsen art

"Along Flowing Springs Road", 12x16, oil on copper

This is my second attempt to paint on copper, and it went well this time around because I already had one painting under my belt!

Flowing Springs Rd. is a little winding road that weaves along Chester Springs near the border of Birchrunville where the old township building used to be located. It is quite scenic along there and I recall happy days riding my bike along there when I once lived in Chester Springs. I would bike from St. Matthews Road all the way up to the Sheeder-Hall Bridge at French Creek, passing the fabulous Birchrunville Store Cafe along the way.

There are very few homes along there, it is truly pristine rural countryside, and happily the residents of West Vincent Township have been able to maintain the bucolic countryside through their efforts to impede mass development.

I painted this scene en plein air two years ago when I was visiting the area for the annual Plein Air Brandywine Valley event. I stayed at a lovely little AirB&B right on Flowing Springs Road, which I painted recently and you can read about here.

I used the photo I had taken as well as the plein air sketch to create this new painting. Fall was in fall bloom and there is no better place to see the fall foliage than in Pennsylvania! Here was my view as I looked up the road:

If you are ever in the area, do make reservations at the Cafe.  It has been years since I was there, but I understand that the standards of culinary excellence have not changed!

If you are interested in this painting, please feel free to send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com. Thanks for visiting!

"Autumn's Kiss", 12x16, oil on copper , paintings on copper, Birchrunville, Chester Springs scenes, autumn landscapes, Flowing Springs Rd. Chester County landscapes, Pennsylvania impressionism, Maryanne Jacobsen art, experimental art

SOLD

"Autumn's Kiss", 12x16, oil on copper (Note: you can click on the image to see the detail better)

This was my first attempt to paint on a copper panel. As the Mayor of River City in the musical Music Man would say, "It's slipperier than a Mississippi sturgeon!" Where linen our canvas will  grab the paint and you'll have some resistance, the paint pretty much goes on like butter. Nice, but a little difficult to control.Although it is a very slippery support to work on, I did have fun experimenting with it, and expect to do more in the future. The trick is to expect the unexpected because it is so different from working on linen or canvas.

I chose a fall landscape because I wanted to see if the copper affected color. I did miss the luminous quality of working on a pure white support, but allowing little bit of the copper to show through was pretty much akin to starting with a warm wash. We stayed at this wonderful little cottage in Chester Springs, Pa. a couple years back and the fall color in the trees was breathtaking. I recall  the crispness in the air as I painted outdoors in the October sunshine.

The light was fading fast in the late afternoon, the day that I painted on the property. I used my plein air sketch and this photo for a reference for the copper support painting.

I do think that I'll continue to experiment with copper panels. Old Masters painted on copper centuries ago! Only problem is that the copper is heavy. But if you have a good sturdy easel it's not an issue.

Here's wishing a Happy New Year to my friends and blog readers!