"Artist Colony- Balboa Park", 20x16, oil on wrapped canvas-by Maryanne Jacobsen

"Artist Colony- Balboa Park", 20x16, oil on wrapped canvas by MAryanne Jacobsen

One of my favorite cities in the United States is San Diego. In addition to fabulous weather year round, it has so many things to offer- a dynamic area with beautiful museums, trendy restaurants and a gorgeous beach on Coronado Island. I was there last year for a visit and I had brought my new Mabef French easel on the plane, determined to do some plein air painting while I was in beautiful southern California. So while my hubby visited the space museum, I sat down and started to paint this colorful scene in the little artist's community in Balboa Park.

The place is so colorful that it's hard to explain. Bougainvillea greets you at every corner,and there are colorful umbrellas and potted plants that adorn each of the brightly painted buildings. I chose this scene because I loved the perspective looking up the street (and all the colored umbrellas, of course).

Well, since it was a large canvas, I had promised myself I would go back every day that we were in San Diego to continue to paint the scene. (Hmmmmm... guess what didn't happen?)

Anyhow, this painting was not completed on site and sat in my closet for months unfinished. Truth be known I think I was unable to finish it because I was pretty intimidated by those colored tiles in the sidewalk. I had read that when you are painting even roof tiles and sidewalk tiles that you need to maintain the perspective in the scene. Well, as if it isn't hard enough to figure out how to paint the tiles without overwhelming the viewer, I was pretty intimidated about trying to keep the danged things in perspective as well!

I finally finished it a while back, and it's one of those happy paintings that you don't mind looking at over and over again, even if the perspective is not quite perfect! I even put my hubby in the scene! (Psst! He's the one with the bald head!) Here's my reference photo:


The painting was painted with a palette knife and has nice impasto throughout. I have priced it below my current pricing structure because it was completed over a year ago. If you would like to purchase this painting for $550 plus $15 shipping and handling, please visit my blog at Paint Dance.

To see more of my original art, please visit my official website at Maryanne Jacobsen Fine Art.

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