Wednesday, November 10, 2010

"View from the Porch-St. Augustine, plein air paintings of St. Augustine, by Maryanne Jacobsen


"View from the Porch- St. Augustine"- 12x16, oil on masonite-$69

This painting was done quite a while back, and I pulled it out last night and made some pretty minor changes to it. The perspective is a little weird, because I was painting from the second floor wrap-around porch at The Kenwood Inn, in the historic section of St. Augustine, looking down at the intersection of Bridge and Marine Street:



My biggest challenge was to see past the hammock on the porch and still get the perspective correct. This painting was started in the late afternoon, after a typical Florida thunderstorm had cleared, and the warm light on the buildings was yummy-like orange sherbet. The second floor porch at The Kenwood Inn has lovely breezes off the Matanzas Bay and it was a perfect place to paint plein air while being protected from the hot Florida sun.

I did the best that I could to see past the hammock, which I couldn't move, and since I had never painted from that kind of perspective before, I found the whole thing a bit challenging and over my head, lol. It's not a bad painting, but I suspect it would be better if I tried it today, instead of well over a year ago.

As you can see, the Kenwood Inn is in a wonderful location right in the heart of the historic district of St. Augustine, and a short walking distance to everything that is important. The water that you see in the upper left hand side of the painting, is where I stood and painted the early morning boat scene on the bay.

I also painted the old door that enters the garden of the Sanchez House, which is the colonial building with the green shutters that you see to the right in the painting above.


I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Kenwood Inn. It is a Victorian Inn that is being lovingly restored by its current owners, and in addition to having a fabulous location that is convenient to all of St. Augustine's best attractions, , innkeepers Pat and Ted were warm, gracious hosts and the ambiance in many of the rooms is incredible. Here is a view of the parlor on the first floor , where wine and hospitality is served up in big doses every evening:


If you ever visit St. Augustine, location is everything. Please check out the Kenwood Inn before anything else, since the rates are reasonable, the ambiance is perfect, and the hospitality is warm and friendly! There is also a swimming pool for staying cool, and a side courtyard with koi pond and fabulous old wooden door adorned with flowers and Florida fauna. The Inn also features prominently in the many ghost tours of the Old Town, as there are supposedly some friendly spirits in the house. Truthfully, that doesn't surprise me, as both my husband and I had a couple weird experiences in our charming second floor bedroom while we were there!

I've priced this painting at a bargain price, since it's an old one and was just a plein air study to begin with. Hope it finds a happy home;0)

Visit my blog at Paint Dance and use the Paypal button if you wish to purchase this painting.

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1 comment:

  1. There is a little cottage that is set back, behind the Victorian and to the right of the Kenwood which is a Sears Catalog house. And the lovely home that you painted which is facing the Inlet on Marine St. is actually THE oldest house. Papers were found which documented the home as an older structure than the OLDEST HOUSE on St. Francis St. Since it's privately owned - they wanted to keep it that way.
    St. Augustine is a lovely town with a painting on every corner! Love your street/garden door of the Sanchez House.
    Makes me homesick!!

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