"Napa Garden", 11x14, oil, Napa valley, paintings of gardens, A good year, wineries, chardonnay, Sterling vineyards, Gallery444, San Francisco, oil paintings

"Napa Garden", 11x14, oil

There are few things that feed my soul like beautiful gardens, flowers, and glorious sunshine. A little chardonnay is additional icing on the cake. 

My hubby and I had so much fun a few years back when we took a trip out to California and visited Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries. There were so many wine tastings that I can't even remember the names of the wineries anymore.

We took an aerial ride up to Sterling vineyards and had a wonderful lunch there overlooking the breathtaking vistas below us.

Our little Airbnb was beautiful and we took time to visit one of my galleries that represent me in San Francisco- Gallery 444.

Overall, it was an amazing trip, and one of many we've enjoyed over the years since our son moved to California years ago.

Although having loved ones living far away can  make us grandmothers feel sad at times (I miss my grandkids), there are some benefits to having kids live in lovely places!

Thanks for visiting my blog.

 

"Chanticleer's Garden, 9x12, Chanticleer garden, Wayne Pa. Saint David's, Philadelphia area gardens, beautiful gardens, rooster, paintings of gardens, Maryanne Jacobsen art, rose garden, Chanticleer

"Chanticleer's Garden, 9x12

This majestic rooster stands atop his pedestal, gazing fondly about his garden.

"Chanticleer" usually refers to roosters, but it was also the name of Adolf Rosengarten's beautiful estate on the Philadelphia Main Line. Today,  the Chanticleer estate is now a pleasure garden open all year to the public in the Wayne/ St. David's area of the Main Line. According to the website, "Mr. Rosengarten's humor is evident in naming his home after the estate "Chanticlere" in Thackeray's 1855 novel The Newcomes. The fictional Chanticlere was "mortgaged up to the very castle windows" but "still the show of the county." Playing on the word, which is synonymous with "rooster," the Rosengartens used rooster motifs throughout the estate."

I love visiting Chanticleer whenever I am in the area, and it is especially beautiful in the spring. Here is another painting that I did of the estate a while back:

"Red Maple at Chanticleer", 16x20- SOLD

If you are in the Wayne/St. David's area, be sure to visit the gardens. Private and group tours of the Rosengarten's former home are also available. Visit their website here for additional information.

"Her Garden", 24x24, oil on canvas, paintings of gardens, women in gardens, summer gardens, florals, romanticism, art for romantics, Maryanne Jacobsen

"Her Garden", 24x24, oil on canvas

My garden has always been very special to me. A sanctuary for birds, a place to write down my deepest thoughts, a sunny spot on a cool day, and a shady refuge on a warm day.

I've had many gardens throughout my life. My favorite garden was in my last home in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. The geese would parade through the denser parts as they headed for the pond behind my home. The deer would gather in droves in the winter months, looking for berries as they sauntered like dancers among the brambles.

From my office, I would stare through the window at the abundance of wildlife proliferating in own back yard and yearn for the day when I would no longer need to be trapped at a desk, but would be free to spend time to my heart's content just tending the roses, pulling weeds from the throats of the holly hocks and wallowing in the splendor of the velvety grass beneath my feet.

Today, my garden is different. The pastels of the north have been replaced by the warm , sultry palette of tropical flowers, and palm trees have replaced the deciduous trees that housed blue jays, hawks and robins.

It hardly matters where I have my garden. I will always treasure the gift of the flowers' scent and the birds that warble in different notes of bird languages.

Very happy to be represented by Gallery 444 in Union Square, San Francisco. This painting is available through the gallery by calling (415) 434-4477

"In the Secret Garden", 16x20, oil on linen

SOLD
"In the Secret Garden", 16x20, oil on linen

When I was a little girl, I read a lot. Those hours that i spent with books were some the happiest times of my childhood. I, along with countless other girls my age, were hooked on The Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew series. I couldn't read fast enough, and the fact that I developed bad eyesight from reading in bed during a nasty bout of measles is a testament to the fact that I couldn't stop reading, even when my mother told me not to. One book that I read as a child and cherished, was "The Secret Garden", by By Frances Hodgson Burnett. In the story, Mary Lennox, a spoiled little ten-year-old girl, is orphaned by the plague in India and sent from India to England to live in a big, lonely house on the Yorkshire moors with her unpleasant uncle. Here she discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden, in a powerful story of compassion and friendship.

My son also had a lead in the musical version of "The Secret Garden" about ten years ago and I seem to recall that there was a movie version of the classic, as well.

I do believe that I was thinking of that old favorite book of mine when I painted this scene, as it is straight out of fantasyland, with the locked gate and the little girl with the swirling hair.

Usually it is very important to paint from life. But sometimes it's also fun to paint from what's in your heart and imagination. I think everyone should have their own Secret Garden in which they can wander when times get tough. What do you think?

"Wildflower Garden in Denmark"-12x16, oil on linen

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"Wildflower Garden in Denmark"-12x16, oil on linen

A few years back, my husband and I took a trip to Denmark to visit my husband's relatives and celebrate the birthday of a cousin. We had a wonderful time and were able to go back in time and trace my husband's history, which included a dad who was a stowaway on a boat out of Copenhagen headed for America many, many years ago. The stowaway dad was discovered at Ellis Island, became a merchant marine, and the rest is history for our family!

The Scandinavian cousin took us on a wonderful tour while we were there, and today I pulled out the pictures I had taken from the trip. This one caught my eye:

I recall the moment I spied this beautiful wildflower garden. We had just come over a bridge where there was a castle-like structure with a swan in the water and some red -timbered buildings with thatched roofs to the left of us... Sorry, I can't recall the name of that particular village in Denmark, but if anyone knows of it, I'd love to have a name attached to my painting!

At the foot of that bridge was this incredible wildflower garden, and although I was not a painter at the time, I knew I had to try to capture the beauty of that garden with my camera! Anyway, the trip was wonderful, and I am glad that although I was using a pretty lousy camera at the time, I was able to translate my memories of the moment into a painting!

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