Wednesday, October 27, 2010

"Block study #1", 16x12, oil on masonite

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"Block Study #1", 16x12, oil on masonite

We started John Ebersberger's workshop last week with a slideshow that started with the birth of Impressionism in France, and how it eventually came to New England, through Charles Hawthorne, who was a student of William Merrit Chase, and who came to found the Cape Cod School of Art about a hundred years ago.

Hawthorne was a proponent of block studies outdoors, and that is how we spent the first day of Ebersberger's workshop. Since I had never done these block studies before, I was excited to try them. It is amazing how hard they are to actually do! Painting outdoors is challenging to begin with, but when thinking about keying objects to the light temperature and using a palette knife to aplly the paint in the blazing sun, it can get a little overwhelming. Luckily, this first study was actually a good start for me. John was pleased with it, and when I brought it home I decided not to mess with it.

I will hopefully use this study for future outdoor still lifes painted in the Henry Hensche method of impressionism.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

"Sophie the Mudhead", 12x16



"Sophie the Mudhead", 12x16, oil on masonite

I took a workshop last week with master impressionist John Ebersberger at The Southern Atelier. John studied with Henry Hensche during the last 10 years of the artist's life. John has certainly mastered this amazing style of painting in the impressionist manner, started by Charles Hawthorne over 100 years ago. John's paintings are filled with beautiful soft color and dynamic palette knife strokes.

We started the workshop by going back to the basics and painting block studies in the hot Florida sun. Over the weekend we headed over to Sarasota Bay and painted live models all day long. John is a hoot and we all learned a great deal about this technique while having an enjoyable time as well. All weekend there were fish literally flying out of the water every couple of minutes which added some levity to trying to learn a technique that is certainly not easy to master. We used a palette knife for every painting, but John allowed us to take out the brushes during the final afternoon.

This painting probably looked a bit more Hensche-esque before I messed around with it today, but nonetheless I was happy with the result.

John is a wonderful painter, teacher and a lot of fun. I'm very glad that I took the workshop and hopefully John will return next year to do another one in Sarasota!


To learn more about Henry Hensche and his teaching methods, , please visit the Hensche foundation website here.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

"Portland Head Light", 12x9, oil on canvas, paintings of lighthouses, Maine art, seascapes of Maine

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"Portland Head Light", 12x9, oil on canvas

This beautiful light house off the coast of Portland , Maine has been immortalized on canvas, in photography, as well as in poetry for many centuries. It is truly a magnificent site to behold what with the beautiful lighthouse perched atop the rocky cliffs overlooking a wild Atlantic Ocean crashing frenetically at its feet.Historian Edward Rowe Snow wrote, "Portland Head and its light seem to symbolize the state of Maine -- rocky coast, breaking waves, sparkling water and clear, pure salt air."
The hundreds of thousands of people who visit Portland Head each year would agree; this is one of the most strikingly beautiful lighthouse locations in New England.
My hubby and I took at least a hundred pictures of this lighthouse. This one, with the foliage in the foreground, was the inspiration of today's painting.

I painted it with palette knife and tried to feel the motion of the waves as I attempted to interpret the scene on the canvas.

If you would like to read more about the lighthouse, please go here.




Saturday, October 16, 2010

"Safe Harbor- Bass Harbor Head Light",16x20, oil on linen

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"Safe Harbor- Bass Harbor Head Light",16x20, oil on linen

I had sold the smaller painting that I did of this lighthouse so here is another painting that I just completed of Bass Harbor Head Light on Mount Desert Island in Maine. On the day that we visited Acadia National Park, the light quality was just beautiful, but towards sunset it became cloudy and chilly. The colors of the rocks and the terrain in the park and throughout the area are nothing less than spectacular. The rocks all have quartz in them so they take on an orange-pinkish tinge when the sun is low in the sky that is quite something to see.

Here is one of the photos we took from Cadillac Mountain:
It is quite a beautiful park, where the mountains meet the sea!

It feels good to actually enjoy painting again. The inspiration that I received while vacationing in New England, will probably last me for quite a while!

Note, if you wish to purchase this painting, please feel free to send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com. If the painting doesn't sell, it will go into a two month solo exhibit that I will be doing at The North Port Art Center from Nov. 1st to January 1st.



Sunday, October 10, 2010

"Motif#1-the Old Lobster Shack", 20x16, oil on linen, Rockport lobster shack, Motif #1, by Maryanne Jacobsen

"Motif #1-the old Lobster Shack", 20x16, oil on linen (Note: Please click on the photo if you would like to see the impasto.)

Funny, when I saw the old red lobster shack at Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Massachusetts, for the first time last Sunday morning, it seemed like an old friend. I knew immediately that I had to paint it!

The weather was raw, but I knew I wanted to return to this wonderful spot, and so we did. We returned on Thursday and the weather was now dazzling- about 70 degrees with fair skies. My hubby took a picture of the famous lobster shack just as the sun was sinking on the horizon. The light quality was spectacular, and I knew I needed to paint this dazzling old thing as soon as I could. The boat was a problem. Gorgeous as it is, I don't like to paint boats. But I did it, since it was in the picture. The painting was done with a palette knife and has gobs of expensive thick paint throughout, so I priced it accordingly.

This scene is an icon around the world. Known as Motif #1, it is a favorite subject for artists past, present and to come. I hope I did it justice. As the saying goes,"Buckley owned it,Lester G. Hornby named it, but Thieme proclaimed it!" All three of these artists were celebrated members of the wonderful Rockport Art Association, which was founded in 1921. The building is lovely, old New England in style with cornflower blue shutters. It was closed when I was there, but hopefully I'll be back to walk its hallowed halls someday.



Saturday, October 09, 2010

"Whale Watcher's Cove", 9x12, oil by Maryanne Jacobsen, Bass Harbor Head Light

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"Whale Watcher's Cove", (Bass Harbor Head Light) 9x12, oil

Just when all possibility of inspiration had seemingly dried up, my hubby and I took a trip to New England and the tide turned!

We just returned last evening and this is the first time in months that I am actually excited about painting again! We started in Boston and traveled up through Cape Anne and through the scenic towns of Gloucester and Rockport, before heading up to Maine. The foliage was lovely, the seafood was great and there were enough fishing boats, scenic harbors, lobster shacks, and quaint little towns to whet my appetite for painting and keep my creative juices flowing for months to come.

Over the next weeks, I'll share with you some of my favorite memories from the trip, hopefully with a new painting to accompany each memory!

Thanks to Susan Roux , a wonderful Maine artist, for telling me the name of this lighthouse! It's known as Bass Harbor Head Light, and is located within Acadia National Park on the southeast corner of Mount Desert Island, Maine, marking the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay. From Bar Harbor you can take a whale watching cruise out to the many islands that dot the coast there, where you can enjoy the beauty of the park from the water. It was too late in the season for us to see any whales, but next time I go to Maine, I definitely won't leave until I spot a whale and some puffins, too!

We had mixed weather on the trip. Some days were warm, and abundantly golden in the spirit of Indian summer days that truly dreams are made of. Some mornings were raw and dreary, only to burst into sunshine as the day progressed and end in soft grays scented with the pungent aroma of freshly lit firewood. I painted the lighthouse on an especially raw, rainy day on our way back to Boston.

We had stopped at a delightful Inn called the Harbour Towne Inn on the Waterfront in Boothbay Harbor. It rained like a nor'easter was descending upon us the day of our arrival and with nothing else to do, I pulled out my portable easel and began to paint. We were in a charming little room which looked out over the harbor. Here's a photo of the painting in progress:

I kept going outside on the wrap around porch, hoping the rain would stop enough for me to paint the harbor, but it never happened.

The next morning, the sun tried valiantly to make an appearance and here is a scene of the harbor from our porch on the second floor that morning:


We went downstairs to enjoy a sumptuous breakfast, prepared by our delightful innkeeper/hostess Stephanie, who must have stayed up all night preparing a breakfast feast for her many guests! (It was a full house, so be sure to make reservations ahead of time, if you go.)

We enjoyed fresh blueberry juice (to die for!), a cheddar and sausage quiche with a flaky crust and lots of cheddar, breakfast potatoes with onions and rosemary, a spinach and feta cheese frittata, soft coffee buns that will make you quit your diet instantaneously, as they were warm and dripping in a lemon zesty syrup that was finger-licking good, fresh fruit with kiwi, peaches and other delectables that were still in season, and blueberry muffins that tasted as though she'd gone out in the woods and picked the blueberries the day before!

Here is a view of the parlor of the Inn and I'm sure that you'll immediately notice why this bed and breakfast was a perfect fit for me!


(Note: there was a Monet print on the second floor as well, and an abundance of original art from local artists, too.)

There were flowers leading up to the house and all around the decks and i can only imagine how colorful this lovely inn was during the summer months when all was a'bloom!



Anyway, if you would like to purchase "Whale Watcher's Cove", please use the Paypal button below, or send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com. To learn more about the Harbour Town Inn on the waterfront at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, just go here.
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and if you are considering an autumn trip to New England, don't wait any longer! It was wonderful!


Saturday, September 25, 2010

"Language Barrier", 14x18

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"Language Barrier", 14x18

I did this quick study last night as an experiment to see if I could paint people with a palette knife. I discovered that it was hard, but not impossible. The result is very impressionistic. I kind of like it so I'll probable do another one with even thicker paint. I've priced this very low, since it was an experimental piece and it only took me a short time to complete. So grab it if you like impressionist works that don't have a great deal of detail. (You can click on the image to see the detail a little better.)

I decided to name it "Language Barrier" because of a funny thing that happened yesterday.
I am looking after a friend's dog while they are away and yesterday when I went to their home, I let the dog out back into the fenced yard. The dog , whose name is "Sammy" could see his "friend" next door, a pit bull looking out from the sliding glass door of his home, probably wishing he could go out and play with Sammy. They started barking at each other , as is they were talking. Then a funny thing happened. I started hearing another loud strident voice coming from the pitbull's home. It sounded like a bratty little kid screaming his head off, but I know these people have no children. The racket got louder and louder and then the strange voice started whistling and heckling Sammy, who just kept barking back. I finally realized it was a cockatoo, a tropical bird which is known for its loud and rather harsh voice. I began thinking that it would be really cool if we could all talk to each other, animals and humans and birds communicating back and forth. Anyhow, that was the inspiration for this painting.






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Thursday, September 23, 2010

"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!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

"Ofu Island", 16x12, oil on linen, by Maryanne Jacobsen


"Ofu Island", 16x12, oil on linen,

This painting has soft pastel purples, blues and pinks and a calm, serene feeling to it.

If you have never heard of Ofu Island, it is a volcanic island in American Samoa. It has a population of only 289 persons as of a year 2000 census. Can you imagine?

Here is a little more from Wikipedia:

Ofu is the western part of the volcanic outcrop of Ofu-Olosega Island. The main village of Ofu is located on the western shore, protected behind an offshore islet (eroded tuff cone) known as Nu'utele. Ofu has a small airport and a boat harbor that serve the population on Ofu and Olosega. The flight from Pago Pago takes about half an hour.

Olosega village 1896
Most of the southern shore and associated coral reef are part of the National Park of American Samoa. The U.S. National Park Service is presently (2005) negotiating with village councils on Olosega to expand the park around that island.
Situated on the south coast of the island is Ta'oga lagoon which has a high diversity of corals and fishes. The marine site has been part of long term research and study on coral reefs and global climate change.
The island is also home to the Samoa Flying-fox (Pteropus samoensis), a species of bat threatened by habitat loss.

Friday, September 17, 2010

"Taking Off", 14x11, oil on linen by Maryanne Jacobsen

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"Taking Off", 14x11, oil on linen

Although news about the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the Macondo reservoir have dropped off the radar screen for most people, I am definitely not convinced that things are well (sorry the pun) in and around the Gulf of Mexico.

I read the website Florida Oil Spill Law everyday, and if even 50% of it is accurate, then we have not even begun to scratch the surface in terms of the consequences of this epic disaster. What is going on in the Gulf? I for one, believe that the environment has already been irrevocably damaged, and I think that this disaster has global implications that have not even begun to reach the mainstream. I also believe that the environmental disaster in the Gulf is why our President invoked two important executive orders in June and July, while the country was preoccupied with other things and not paying attention. I believe that after the November elections are over, more truth about the far-reaching extent of this disaster will come out, and that it will eventually be recognized as global in scope.

I hate to be an alarmist, and I for one hate to see the value of my real estate sink into the dark depths of uncertainty (much like the oil has sunk into the cold dead depths of the Gulf, thanks to Corexit). But unfortunately, most Americans are too busy to pay close attention to details, and that is probably not a good thing, if you value things like unalienable rights. I really do prefer reality over fiction when it comes to the health and safety and welfare of the planet, so for that reason I spend a good deal of time researching as much material as I possibly can, in order to get the REAL STORY. That means looking at both sides of the story, preferably without bias, and that is where people usually get lost.

My husband often tells me that I should have been a CIA agent, because I figure out the plot of most thriller and suspense movies within 15-20 minutes of the beginning. That's not always true, but I admit that I am pretty good about anticipating things most people wouldn't even dream of thinking about.

The two of us sat down together the other night and watched "The Pelican Brief" on Netflix. I had never seen it, since I am really not much of a movie buff. My hubby however, had, back in 1993, but he sat still, hoping I wouldn't nail the plot, as usual.

I did. Within 15 minutes, or maybe less, though I must admit, the title was a pretty good give-away.

I nailed it faster than Julia Roberts. It's tough living with a mind like mine. Tough, but never dull. Here's the tagline:

"Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead."

I'll give you a hint. This movie rang too many bells for comfort, regarding the BP oil spill and the way in which it has been handled. Okay, 'nuff with all that. Hopefully, everyone will live happy ever after, as BP and the government would like us to believe.

The painting of the Great Blue Heron taking off was inspired by the many herons who have frequented the beach where I have walked, read, painted, swam and played over the past 5-6 years that I have lived here. The beaches here are very special, and the marine life and wild life is unlike anything I have ever experienced in my many travels to beautiful places. It's lovely. It's peaceful. It's sacred. I hope that God will heal these waters and that we all can find alternative ways to produce energy that are much less threatening to the environment and the people of this planet. I hope that the many people who work in oil and gas can find safe places for exploration and that the companies who do this work can adopt safer methods of conducting their explorations, and that the agencies involved will pay more attention to details. Even I know that sea lions and seals don't swim in the GULF!, for heaven's sake!


If you are interested in this painting, please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, or call Leah Sherman directly at Collector's Gallery and Framery at 941-488-3029.


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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

"Red Beret", 12x16, oil on linen by Maryanne JAcobsen

"The Red Beret", 12x16, oil on linen

I started painting about 5 years ago after moving to Florida from Pennsylvania, where I had had a successful career in both real estate and the performing arts. After I moved here I had some free time on my hands and so I decided to do something that I had always wanted to do from the time I was a little child-paint! So I picked up some inexpensive watercolor paints and played around a bit. After a couple months I moved over to oils and decided to sign up for some lessons at a local art guild. One thing led to the next and before I knew it, I was winning awards and getting juried into national competitions.

My desire to paint has dwindled significantly in the past six months. A combination of things has put painting and artistic endeavors on a back burner.

It is funny how quickly you can lose confidence when you stop doing something that you think that you know how to do.

I have been struggling of late to find stimulating subject matter to paint and to find the incentive to paint-period. I have painted all subjects-landscapes, portraits and still lifes, and I can't really say I like one genre more than another. It all depends on my mood. Today I went through some reference photos that I had in my art file. This file contains photos I had taken of subjects that I had hoped to paint one day. Out of the thick stack I pulled out a photo of a man who had posed for a workshop that I took about three years ago with fabulous figurative artist Rob Liberace. As a new painter, I was probably the least experienced person in the class. That being said, Liberace was a grand teacher- and at the end of the workshop I felt like I had learned a good bit about portraiture in spite of my lack of experience.

There were three models during the workshop and we rotated positions throughout the three days. I never had a chance to paint the man with the distinctive features and the red beret and I was a bit disappointed. He obliged when I asked if I could take his photo, and when I pulled it out of the file last week something clicked inside my brain. I felt that although I was not painting from life, he would be fun and challenging for me to paint after being rather unproductive for almost 6 months now.

Unfortunately I cannot remember the man's name, but if he ever happens to read this blog, thanks so much for the opportunity. You have a very interesting face carved with years of thoughfulness and life's varied experiences. The painting was done over the course of a few days and I think it is turned out to be a good study.

Friday, September 03, 2010

"Moody Bayou", 12x16, by Maryanne Jacobsen, paintings of bayous, atmospheric paintings

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"Moody Bayou", 12x16, oil on canvas

A bayou is a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or to a marshy lake or wetland. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, particularly the Mississippi River region, with the state of Louisiana being famous for them. A bayou is frequently an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is moving much more slowly than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant, though the vegetation varies by region. Many bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, alligators, and a myriad other species.

The definition above was taken from Wikipedia.

I have been under the weather all week with a severely abscessed tooth. Today was the first day that I actually wanted to paint, and felt able to paint, and since my heart was and is and has been in the bayou these days, that is what I decided to paint. I didn't have a reference photo, just the many memories embedded in my head of quiet, peaceful Florida bayous, usually full of secretive birds and dancing mosquitoes!

The Gulf states and Louisiana in particular have suffered a great deal in recent months as a result of the horrendous Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, and I was incredibly encouraged today to hear that progress has been made in sealing the well permanently. The old damaged BOP (Blow out preventer) was removed and soon a new one one will be installed. After that the final relief well will be drilled, and hopefully the chapter in this eco-disaster will change to God's healing of the damage that this massive disaster has had on our precious ecosystem.

I believe in God and I also believe that God has made nature very resilient. So I am hoping that new chapters in the history of this disaster will show new growth for precious marshes, new spawning of healthy fish , phytoplankton, coral, and an increasingly healthy environment for all the fish, birds, turtles, mammals and especially the people along the coasts who have suffered as the oil is gradually degraded. I am still extremely upset about the dispersant use, but instead of starting on a new rant, I would prefer to thank God for His goodness and grace in helping people get through challenging times. For all the people in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama who have suffered the most for from this tragedy- God Bless You. Stay strong.

If you are interested in this painting, please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, or call Leah Sherman directly at Collector's Gallery and Framery at 941-488-3029.

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Saturday, August 28, 2010

"Remembering you, Mr. Van Gogh", 10x10, oil on linen

SOLD"Remembering You , Mr. Van Gogh", 10by10, oil on linen-

I bought a book in the airport recently to read on the plane when I returned from visiting with my mom. It was a blessing that I did, since we sat on the tarmac for three hours during stormy weather! The book was called The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva, and although I have not finished it yet, I am enjoying it quite a bit. The book is a mystery about the heist of an unknown work of Rembrandt's, valued in the millions. The book describes how under-protected the great masterpieces truly are, and the fact that there are many art heists of masterpieces every year in large museums and elsewhere.

Just a few days a go, I happened to pick up the newspaper and read that one of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings had been stolen from a museum in Egypt. The painting, tiled "Vase with Flowers" was worth $55 million dollars!

"Vase with flowers and poppies" by Vincent Van Gogh"

There is something so incredibly poignant, unassuming and melancholy about many of Van Gogh's paintings. I love the simplicity and innocence in this piece and would want it in my home even if it was not worth $55 million dollars!

I wish Vincent Van Gogh would have known how much joy his paintings would bring to others, in his own lifetime. For me, I have come to realize that that is what is the most important part of painting for me- giving other people a sense of joy, peace and a sense of poignancy. I dedicated this little floral to Vincent Van Gogh in the title. I hope he is enjoying many starry, starry nights, and the fragrance of lovely little flowers in his place of eternal peace and rest.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

"Window with an Water view", 14x11, oil on linen

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"Window with an Ocean View", 14x11, oil on linen

I decided to re-work this painting that I did last week, because my daughter-in-law told me that it could use a little more development. Since she is an artist herself, I took her advice and re-worked some of the passages.

It's funny , but I changed my studio to a room with north light a few months ago, and i think it's noticeable in my paintings that I have been struggling with the new light source. I have had a dreadful time adjusting to the cold northern light, and as a result I sometimes move back into the kitchen, where I used to paint and where the light is very warm. This painting was done in the north light room, and I think that's why I had trouble with it. I'm not sure that north light works for me, personally, though I know many artists swear by it. At any rate, I warmed up some passages, cleaned up some messy areas and added more paint to the flower arrangement and now it is definitely finished and re-named. Here are some of my thoughts about the last few months and how the Gulf disaster has affected my ability to be creative.

Over the past three months I have lost interest in painting. I have become a bit of an activist, in
trying to make the public more aware of how the oil disaster here in the Gulf has affected so many lives, especially of fisherman and their families, in a very horrendous way. I am very hopeful that the worst is behind us now and that the well will be sealed permanently soon.

So as my mind has returned to a tiny semblance of normalcy, I have tried to begin painting again. Although I have been painting infrequently these past months, it is not as though I have completely given up the love I have for painting beautiful things. Rather, let's just say that I have put my passion on a back burner in the hopes of doing something more productive for others during this difficult time.

This painting, too, is overall a success in my opinion- loose and generous with paint where it needs to be, and also restrained in areas where more modest color and brush strokes take a back seat to the lush floral bouquet in the foreground. It was tricky trying to do a painting like this, because the background needs to be painted first. The hard part is to keep the background from interfering with the focal point, while still incorporating its story into the overall theme. I hope that I was successful in that.

The background is a scene from a lovely little fishing town in Nova Scotia, called Peggy's Cove. I took some liberties with the setting and hope no one minds that I sat my window sill right smack in the middle of St. Margaret's Bay, overlooking a little fisherman's hut.

If you are interested in this painting, please send me an email at maryannejacobsen@aol.com, or call Leah Sherman directly at Collector's Gallery and Framery at 941-488-3029.



Fantasy Impromptu, oil on linen, 18x24

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"Fantasy Impromptu", 18x24, oil on linen panel

This painting has just sold through Collector's Gallery and Framery to a collector in Texas. I have been having good luck with Texas art collectors purchasing my art work recently. I am wondering if there is a gallery out there, perhaps in Houston, looking for me? I'd love to have some representation there!

As a child I played the piano every day and was considered an accomplished pianist by the time I was in high school. It was my love for classical music that led me to my next passion, which was ballet. I loved losing myself in ballet class to both the beautiful piano music as well as the physical demands of classical ballet training, and I would always leave class totally relaxed and in a positive frame of mind.

How I miss taking ballet class!

Every day before I begin a painting, the choice of music that I listen to becomes just as important as the lighting in the studio, and I believe that it ultimately affects the success of my painting.

I named this painting after my favorite composer Frederic Chopin. His hauntingly beautiful piece, "Fantasy Impromptu" is probably my favorite of all of Chopin's compositions. I hope he would be pleased with the outcome of this painting, as he has certainly supplied me with a great deal of listening pleasure over the years!

This painting won a second place ribbon at The Ringling College's Englewood Center and has also been exhibited in Sarasota.