I've had these artificial flowers laying around for years. I put them on a shelf today and painted them for the second time in 2 days.
I admit, that they were not very easy to paint. I hope my struggles don't show too much.
If you would like to purchase this little painting, just send me a message at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, and thanks for looking.
Sometimes if I have a good linen panel that I paid decent money for, I'll end up doing a really lousy painting on it. In the past, that would have really bothered me, because these linen panels can be very expensive! Recently, I solved the problem of guilt over a lousy painting on an expensive panel by taking it outdoors, sanding it down by hand till the surface becomes as smooth as I can get it, and then putting a nice thick coat of Gamblin white ground on it.
The portrait above was painted on just such a surface. I wasn't able to get all of the impasto marks completely smooth, but they were smooth enough to do this portrait, and I was pretty happy with how it came out.
I think I could have been a little bolder with the light on her red hair, but otherwise, I was okay with the result.
Have you ever felt like you wasted something and figured out a way to salvage it?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for visiting my blog, and do come back again!
It's always fun to go to The Devon Horse Show and see all the ladies in their fancy hats. While I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those, I admire their creativity in dressing for the occasion!
This fun little portrait is available through my website- collections- "Little Gems". Just click here to purchase.
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Years ago I painted a larger version of this scene for a gallery and it sold right away. I decided to do a smaller version of the same scene, because it is so very pretty! I set up the fruit basket and bouquet of roses on a table right next to our pool one day. I loved the contrast of vivid colors and the shadow design that the basket made in the sun. The painting began outdoors and I finished it inside because I wanted to preserve the shadow pattern.
This sweet little painting would make a lovely gift that brings sunshine into a home every day of the year!
It is being sold for $300.00 through my website. Click here to purchase.
I have always loved all things old-fashioned and poignant. I am not a fan of modern clothes, music, hairstyles or furniture. I love anything that makes me feel nostalgic about the past, because the past was a simpler time.
No computers, cell phones or electric cars. No hustle and bustle on crowded streets with garish lights. People stayed home at night and mothers knitted, children played music or did homework, and little girls learned how to crochet.
I don't think many people go caroling anymore. Especially children. It's not safe and kids would probably rather stay home and play with their electronic gadgets.
I know. I sound like a cynic. Perhaps I am.
Anyway, I wanted to get into the Christmas spirit, so I painted this yesterday. It is offered on my website for $200, plus shipping. Please click this link, if you would like to purchase it.
This is the time of year that I dream of a White Christmas! As a Floridian of 20 years, I get to wear shorts all year, and see my garden bloom throughout the year.
But during the holiday season, I yearn for those beautiful winter scenes of tranquility and peace, that I once enjoyed when I lived in beautiful Chester County Pennsylvania.
I am offering this painting for sale, with the frame included, through my website. Please click here to enjoy the serenity of a snow scene all year long!
I love old cars. They are so classy and fun to paint. I haven't painted any old cars in a really long time, so yesterday, I decided that I wanted to paint something different from my usual, and I chose to try my hand at painting this beautiful old classic car.
The car depicted is an Auburn Speedster from about 1936. In the world of classic cars, there are few that can match the sheer elegance and style of this one. With its sleek lines, powerful engine, and undeniable charisma, this iconic automobile remains a symbol of luxury and sophistication to this day. These cars made a social statement with their beautiful lines, and were fitted with a supercharger, the engine output measuring 150 horsepower. This allowed the Speedster to reach top speeds of over 100 miles per hour!
That's pretty remarkable for a car built in 1936!
These cars were the brainchild of Auburn Automobile company, located in Auburn, Indiana, and you can still see some of them today at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
The 1936 Auburn Speedster is more than just a classic car; it's a symbol of an era when automotive design reached new heights.
If you are an old car buff, interested in owning a version of your own Auburn Speedster, this little gem is available through my website. You can purchase it directly here.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoyed this short history of the enduring allure of classic cars, and the shining example of luxury and elegance imbued in the Auburn Speedster!
Lately, I have decided to work on improving my drawing skills, since drawing is such an integral part of painting well.
Today, I wanted to work on ellipses, because they are such an important part of still life painting. Actually, they are an important part of all styles of painting!
Take a lake filled with waterlilies, for instance. You simply cannot paint those waterlilies successfully unless you can paint an ellipse and understand how they change with perspective. Here is one of Claude Monet's famous waterlily paintings:
Notice how the shape of the flower changes as it goes back in perspective.
So I set up a still life with some ellipses in it, and worked on it all day. Yes indeed those things are hard to paint accurately! (At least for me.)
I love the little French sugar bowl and lid that my daughter-in-law gave me a while back, and so I included that in the picture as well as some Ghirardelli chocolate! Yum.
In the end, I think I made some progress in painting ellipses from an overhead perspective.
Maybe, I'll work on some water lilies next....
This painting is available through my website, under the "little gems" collection. Or send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if interested in purchasing a little coffee and chocolate.
This little pink building was a little ice cream shop in Rocky Neck, in East Gloucester back in 2010, when I photographed it. I have no idea if it's still there (the ice cream shop), but the pink building was adorable to look at, and filled with pink flowers in the front yard. It was directly on the water in Rocky Neck, which is an artsy community in the seaside town of Gloucester.
Although I took the photo years ago, it took me this long to paint it! It was just a quick little 2 hour study. If you like it leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
I used to love painting outdoors (en plein air) until a couple nasty bouts with skin cancer discouraged me from continuing. But the really unique thing about painting on site is that the experience of painting that scene stays in your memory for a long time afterwards. Which makes it easier to go back into the studio and paint the scene again.
I painted this church some years ago and I remember the challenges I had to deal with then, such as the raking palm shadows on the building, and the many palm trees that had to be dealt with. I think I did a pretty good job with the little plein air piece, and it did in fact sell quickly.
So today I decided to paint it again, and while the challenges were still the same, the process went quicker because I remembered the experience.
Here is a photo of the little painting I did on location:
This little church is a favorite spot for the artists that come and paint on the island of Boca Grande. If you are interested in the painting, just send me a quick email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
To a budding young ballerina, nothing in the world is as important than her first pointe shoes! As the former director of a large ballet school and regional ballet company, parents would often anxiously ask me if their daughter was ready to go on pointe.
Obviously, this question will depend on many things. Here is a very good article that discusses this issue and although every child is different, your child's teacher is the best judge of when she will be ready.
I painted this to commemorate your little dancer's special day. It was painted in the impressionist style, and after the Vaganova training method that I used as a syllabus in my own school.
If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please use this link.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Leave a comment if you enjoyed this post.
I recently finished a mystery by Ruth Ware, called The Death of Mrs. Westaway, where magpies figured prominently in the story. We don't have a lot of magpies in America, but there are plenty of them in England and Australia. The story took place in Cornwall, and if you have never read any Ruth Ware mysteries, you are missing something.
Anyway, the story inspired me to learn more about magpies, which is what led to this painting. We think of magpies as crows, which of course, they are. But there are varieties of magpies with red bills and blue feathers that are quite lovely.
If you like paintings of birds, you can purchase Molly through my website here.
And if you are interested in good mysteries, check out Ruth Vare's books here.
The second day of my little mini vacation at Lake Glenville arrived once again overcast, foggy and threatening rain.
Although we had hoped to hike to some waterfalls, we decided that under the circumstances, it was probably not a great plan since some of the hikes involved treks down into chasms with slippery rocks and such. So the morning was spent painting a floral from a bouquet of snapdragons that I purchased at the Farmer's Market in Cashiers.
The afternoon weather was unfortunately the same as the morning with threat of rain increasing. We had an outstanding lunch of homemade black bean burgers and fresh fruit at Cornucopia Restaurant in Cashiers, and after returning back to our Airbnb, I decided to have another go at the gorgeous lake scene I had painted the day before.
This time I decided to change the composition a little by inserting a bit of the neighboring house.
Overall, I felt more confident the second day, and realized that I just need to get outside and paint and my confidence and abilities will return!
I painted in many competitive Paint-outs over the years and it is sad that I wasted 2 years as a result of fear of more skin cancer and other stuff that is somewhat preventable with a little caution.
Here was the scene from the porch as I painted it.
I loved the fact that porch was covered, and I could paint to my heart's content without myself or the painting getting drizzled on!
"The Lake House" is available for purchase for only $99, through my website. Please click here to purchase.
Thanks for visiting my blog!
We took a brief trip to Cashiers North Carolina and although our Airbnb is lovely and has a view of Lake Glenville, the weather has been damp and rainy.
We had hoped to do some outdoor activities, but with the bad weather, I was happy to buy a bouquet at the farmer's market in town and paint the flowers out on the beautiful porch overlooking Lake Glenville.
So that is what I did.
This painting can be purchased through PayPal by using this link on my website. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great day.
I will always be an old-fashioned girl at heart. I have always loved things that reflect timeless beauty, history, charm, and a simple way of life. So I am of course attracted to things of the past.
I think it would have been amazing to live during the Roaring Twenties, when fashion was influenced by the Jazz Era or the Great Gatsby era as told through F. Scott Fitzgerald. I also love the Victorian age and the 40's and.... oh I could just go on and on. The fashion of today is just not fashion at all!
Anyway, I digress. This little tiny painting is all about a romantic era. The girl's dreamy eyes are thinking perhaps of a lost love, or a husband at war.
All I know is that she is sad, but still beautiful.
I enjoy painting little small portraits because I think they can be more expressive when they are done quickly, as this one was.
I named the painting "Printemps", which means springtime in French.
Thanks for checking out my blog. Check out more of my paintings at my website here.
Hollyhocks are incredibly beautiful with their tall stalks and majestic heads, clustered about. These red ones are magnet for butterflies.
This little gem is available through my website for only $100. To purchase through PayPal just follow this link. If you would like to purchase it framed for a gift, please send me an email for pricing at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.
Thanks for visiting my blog today!
