"Kathy's Vase", 14x11, oil on linen, pink peonies, still life green vase, Maryanne Jacobsen fine art, Peonies, impressionist florals

"Kathy's Vase", 14x11, oil on linen

So if you follow my blog, you probably know that I work on peonies every year during the month of June, when they are in season in northern parts of the country. I go to Trader Joe's in Sarasota and scout out the best peonies I can find, and then the journey begins.

It is definitely a challenging journey to paint these things, because they are troublesome to capture. At least for me.Once they start opening , their petals go on and on forever like the pieces of tulle in a ballerina's tutu.

Here was my set-up in my shadow box in the studio:

I put them in the refrigerator overnight, but the one front and center lost most of its petals when I took it out, so I had to wing it.

I definitely will need another decade, before I can master these beautiful flowers!

"Peony Party", 10x20, oil on linen, paintings of peonies, Maryanne Jacobsen art, white peonies, pink peonies, summer flowers

SOLD

"Peony Party", 10x20, oil on linen

I always look forward to June when I know the peonies are blooming up north. That means that they'll soon be making their way to markets further south. It's a short season, so I have been on the lookout since May.

As soon as we came back from Boston, (where I saw dozens of peonies, by the way!) I found what I was looking for in a local supermarket.

So I've been painting peonies over the past few days. Here' my favorite of the three paintings that I did. I decided to call it "Peony party" because the brightly colored place-mats that I set them on gave the set-up a festive feel.

If you love peonies as much as I do, enjoy!

"Porch Peonies", 8x10, oil on board, pink peonies, blue vases, porch paintings, plein air, impressionist paintings, flowers, Vixen Hill Cottage

"Porch Peonies", 8x10, oil on board

During my trip to Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, I noticed that the peonies were in full bloom. I absolutely adore peonies so I determined to pick some, set them up outside out Vixen Hill Cottage, and paint them.

So one night I went out and picked a ton of them, determined to begin my painting the very next day.

I found vases in the cottage and set them up on a table outside and arranged all my paints the night before so I could get started first thing in the morning.

Instead of awakening to the usual slice of sunrise coming through the windows, I noticed that the skylights were being battered with heavy rain. So I sighed and figured it would stop before the day was over.

Well, the rain continued, and continued and went on and on and on. After 5 days, my peonies were almost completely spent by the rain. That was when I decided to collect the survivors and set them up in the porch. The sun was trying valiantly to peek through, but by now I didn't trust it!

In the end, the sun did in fact make a comeback that day, but I finished my painting on the porch, unperturbed by the prospect of another downfall.

Please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, if you would like to purchase "Porch Peonies".