"Red Onion", 6x6, oil on panel, onion, food as art, red, red onion, allaprima, painting every day, Maryanne Jacobsen, small studies, art practice, painting from life

"Red Onion", 6x6

Painted as Day 2 of my challenge to paint something from life every day.

Here's my reference:

My son made the shadow box for me a few years ago and it has really come in handy!

Email me if you are interested in this little gem. My email is maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

Have a great Sunday!

"Cookies and Milk", 12x16, oil on Arches oil paper, cookies, milk, sunflowers, quick study, painting from life, allaprima Maryanne JAcobsen art, food as art

"Cookies and Milk", 12x16, oil on Arches oil paper. (Note:, click on the image so you can see it better!)


I've decided to try to paint something from life every day for a month. I know it will definitely improve my drawing and observation skills, so I'll try to stick with it!

This was Day 1's attempt. I painted it late last night and the light on the easel was so bad that I felt like I was painting a nocturne. That being said, I did it. Day One completed.

Here was my set-up before I ate the cookies.

Please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, if you would like to purchase this study.

"Candlelight Vigil for a Dying Peony"8x10, oil on panel-study, small works, peony study, painting from life, all prima, Maryanne Jacobsen Fine Art

"Candlelight Vigil for a Dying Peony"8x10, oil on panel-study

Peonies are only available for a short period time, and so I always rush to Trader Joe's every June and stock up on these gorgeous flowers. You can't grow them in Florida, and by the time we get them from areas where you can grow them, they have been through the trauma of transportation, so they' re never quite fresh enough. The result is that they only last a few days after I buy them.

I struggle with painting these beauties, probably because I don't have enough time throughout the year to practice them at my leisure, or maybe I am just making excuses. They are truly complex! So this peony study was an attempt to get a little better at painting them.

As you can see from my set-up, although it had already opened completely, the peony wasn't in bad shape when I began the painting. However, since I got the bright idea to light the candle directly under the peony to add some "atmosphere", the peony became a victim of my stupidity and quickly wilted.

Oh well. These elusive flowers are like most things beautiful- they never last forever.

This little study is available to purchase through my website for only $300, unframed. Shipping is free! Just click the link here to purchase or visit my website.

"It's the little things that count", 8x10, oil on linen panel, lemons still life, floral alla prima, painting from life, Maryanne Jacobsen art, blue vase

"It's the little things that count", 8x10, oil on linen panel

It's been raining here in Florida for what seems like an eternity. The summer's are always so hot and humid here but at least there is sunshine. Well, not this year! It's been the rainiest summer I can remember since moving here in 2004.

What does this have to do with the painting? Nothing much, other than the fact that I have come to realize that painting from life always produces results that are superior to painting from a photograph.

So I am basically using this time when I am shut indoors to practice some still life paintings. The small flowers were picked from the garden and the lemons came from the frig. I dug a pretty marble out of a silk flower vase and added it at the last minute.

How easy is that?

Email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com if you are interested in purchasing this small study.

Blue Cap, 14x18, oil on canvas

"Blue Cap", 14x18, oil on canvas

This was my first time back to the Venice Art Center's life study group since June. We paint from live models for 2 and a half hours on Fridays and I don't really know why I took the summer off, but I did. It was good to be back today, and the model is an artist himself. He sat for us and painted the entire time we painted him. How cool is that?

"Nancy in Aqua", 14x18, oil on canvas

"Nancy in Aqua", 14x18, oil on canvas

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying my best to regularly attend the open studio sessions with a live model on Friday afternoons at The Venice Art Center. I have realized that the more that I paint portraits from life, the better I can evaluate values, colors and light temperature.

Nancy modeled for us last Friday as well, and this is the first time that I actually was able to attend two consecutive sessions with the same model. At the end of the day on Friday, Nancy had asked me if she could use a photo of my painting for her website, so I decided that I'd better make a good attempt to put on the finishing details at home.

I added the jewelry on her blouse at home, as well as playing around with that darned striped cushion! But for the most part , I was able to finish her face in the 5 hour session satisfactorily.

Nancy was a very good model- anxious to please and stayed perfectly still throughout. She is also an artist herself, so she had a very good understanding of the struggles artists go through in attempting to perform their craft to the best of their ability.

I was happy with the end result. I think I did a fairly decent job of rendering Nancy's character into the portrait. Nancy is an avid outdoors-woman, comfortable in her own skin, and like me she also enjoys ballet class :0) She also fishes, kayaks, hikes and paints images on coconuts, which she calls "Coconut Telegraphs", which she appropriately sells at a gallery in Key West. Whew! That's a lot of activity!

Nancy, however, has done a much better job at maintaining a ballerina's slim figure than I have!

Thanks Nancy, for the opportunity to paint you!

Nadia, portrait study

"Nadia", 14x18, oil on linen

Tuesday morning is my day to paint from a live model at a private studio. Although I was totally out of sorts this week, I did manage to turn out a decent painting, I believe. This week our model was Nadia, a woman with wonderful features, and very different from Carl of last week. It was her first time to model for painters and she kept changing position, but her large lips, small nose and Mediterranean coloring made up for it. Nadia is part Spanish with I think some Romanian blood as well, and overall she made for a very interesting model. We asked her to come back next week as well.

Although I should probably develop this painting a little more, I think I am going to put it aside for now and concentrate on new pieces for my upcoming solo exhibit in Venice in July. I am running out of time! If you have any interest in purchasing this painting, please email me at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.