Jake's Crab Boat, 12x9, oil, plein air, Blackburn Point, Osprey Florida, Crab boat, paintings of old boats, Southwest Florida scenes

 Jake's Crab Boat, 12x9, oil, plein air

I painted this depiction of an old crab boat on the intercostal waterway at Blackburn Point, Osprey Florida about ten years ago. Sadly, that little piece of land looks much different today, thanks to development.

That is the good thing about painting on location. You can capture beloved scenes and places before they disappear for good. I painted there a few times with friends. Afterwards, we'd go to a little fish hut on the other side of the bridge and have lunch. Those are pleasant memories.

I held on to this painting for ten years, just because I enjoyed painting that day, and felt I had had a successful outcome. But now it is for sale for only $100, through my website.

Go here to purchase!

"Restoration in Progress"12x16, oil on panel, MAryanne JAcobsen art, Gloucester MAssachusetts, old boats, The Flight, paintings of old boats, welders, New England boats

"Restoration in Progress"12x16, oil on panel

Last spring, while up in Boston for my son's graduation, we took a day to visit Gloucester, one of the country's oldest fishing ports and a favorite haunt of mine whenever I'm up that way.

I always enjoy seeing all the old boats, and on this particular day "The Flight" was out of the water and being restored. I watched a man carefully welding her sides and I determined I had to paint her.

This one took mustering some courage before I even got started with it. I had to really concentrate on getting the details of the drawing correct, before I could move on to worrying about the paint application.

I also made some changes to the composition  in order to take some of the frivolous dock debris out of the background and replace it with the simpler suggestion of water and  distant shore.

Hopefully it doesn't look labored, but in truth it was a laborious task from start to finish!

"The Rebel and Company", plein air, 9x12, oil on board , old wooden boats, Cortex fishing village, The Rebel

 

"The Rebel and Company", plein air, 9x12, oil on board

I painted this one out at Cortez Fishing Village last weekend for the Paint the Town Paint-out. I stood on a dock and was happy to have shelter over my head so that I didn't have to worry about the sun.

The day was chilly and windy, but that didn't stop the people from coming to this quaint little spot to enjoy an outdoor lunch from the famed Starfish and Company seafood restaurant.

I wrote a little bit about the Cortez Fishing Village and the Paint-Out in my last blog entry. 

The Paint-out involved about 30 of the area's best plein air artists and I was happy to participate for the second year in a row.

My hubby was with me that day and he walked around taking pictures and chatting with people as I painted. Here are some of the great photos he took  that day.

First up- me painting the boats depicted in my painting!

 The captain of "Half Awake" with his dog, Sylvia:

 Me painting:

Smelling the fish!

Oh Captain, my captain!

Pelicans galore!

 Heron looking for free lunch!

The history of Cortez:

As you can see, the old Cortez Fishing Village is a really special place and hopefully it will retain its old world charm for many more decades! (In spite of the tourists!)