"Four Dog's Afternoon", 12x16, oil on copper panel, Four Dogs Tavern, paintings on copper, quickdraw, Marshalton, Pennsylvania, plein air Brandywine valley, historic buildings , interesting architecture, Chester county Pennsylvania paintings, Maryanne Jacobsen original art

"Four Dog's Afternoon", 12x16, oil on copper panel

Just returned from a fun week of painting in Pennsylvania with the Plein Air Brandywine Valley festival which benefits the Children's Beach House.

It's an event I look forward to, because it gives me an opportunity to paint in the beautiful fall weather in a gorgeous countryside that I  know well.

One of the highlights of the week was the Quick Draw event, in which painters are required to complete a painting in two hours and have it framed and hung for the public display. The event was held in the scenic and historic village of Marshallton, which is just outside of West Chester Pa.

I chose to paint at the Four Dogs Tavern because it has always been our favorite restaurant to visit with friends and family when we lived in Chester County, and now whenever we happen to be in the area. The tavern once served as a stables for the historic Marshalton Inn which is right across the driveway.

The afternoon was sunny and fairly warm and  I enjoyed portraying this old building because it has come to reflect many happy memories over the years of gatherings with friends and loved ones.

To learn more about the little town of MArshallton and its history, here is a very interesting article: Living History: A tale of two names, Marshallton and the Marshalton Inn 

To inquire about the painting, just send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com.

"Periwinkle Hydrangeas and Plums", 12x16, oil on copper panel, hydrangea, paintings on copper, impasto florals, sunflower paintings, paintings with texture, Maryanne Jacobsen art

"Periwinkle Hydrangeas and Plums", 12x16, oil on copper panel (Note: If you click on the image, you can better see the impasto in the painting)

This summer I have done some additional experimentation with painting on copper panels. There is a wonderful patina that peeks through the painting in the areas that you don't paint. Sort of like a warm underpainting, only better. The problem with painting on copper is that it is slippery and the paint does not adhere to it the way it would to a canvas or linen panel. That being said, I enjoy the challenge of the slippery surface and feel as though I am getting better at handling it.

The painting above was painted with mostly a palette knife, so it's loaded with thick impasto, adding to  the special effects of the copper!

I set up the still life on my lanai (Florida word for (patio), and finished it in my air-conditioned studio.

Here's my set-up:

I am thinking that I'll do a few more florals on copper before I use the copper for figurative work.

If you would like to purchase this painting, it is available through Gallery444 in San Francisco. Phone number is (415) 434-4477. Thanks for looking!

"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

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"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!