Mud Creek, 7x5 --SOLD

Mud Creek, original pastel by Adriana Meiss

Every time I'm driving on Rt 481 N I always try to slow down when I reach the area where the highway crosses Mud Creek--just a few miles before the exit to Rt 31. Both sides of the road offer great views to paint, the problem is that there is no space for parking, that is, unless you have car trouble or decide to risk getting a fine.

The time I took the reference photo for this painting was such a beautiful fall evening  and I was lucky enough there wasn't much traffic; most important, there were no highway patrols either. I'm not advocating taking risks specially when driving, I simply like to be ready if the opportunity presents itself. Countless times I have let other cars pass me by with the hope of getting a chance to take a good reference photo. I have one particular pot I would like to photograph but the traffic has made it impossible so far. My camera is always ready just in case.

This painting will be for sale at the Onondaga Art Guild Spring Show and Sale this weekend at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 400 W Yates St East Syracuse
Sat 28th, 10:00am.-4:00pm
Sun 29th,12:00pm - 4:00pm
You are invited!

Orchard Gate, en plein air, 11x8"

 My second outdoors painting of the year, the gate to our orchard. Last year I had attempted to paint this same view only on the other side of the gate, and my aim had been the blooming peach tree behind the leafing apple ones. However, I had started by painting the old house in the background first and got so carried away that I ended up giving it so much detail. By the time I added the peach tree I couldn't pull it off. Angry at myself because this wasn't the first time it had happened, I took a brush to remove all the pastel I could and washed the board. 

For this one it was the light on the tower-like structure and the adjacent building that called my attention.  It was painted in early afternoon but went through some tweaking in the studio.

 Some good news: I have been accepted into the Finger Lakes Plein Air Competition in Canandaigua (June 8-10) so I'm very excited about it and a little bit scared too since this will be my first plein air competition. One more reason to get out there and paint!

Spring, 8x8"

I always get the impression that spring passes by so fast. By the time I'm into "outdoors painting mode" the trees have lost that beautiful and delicate minty green. 

It's been too cold and cloudy to paint outside lately so this one was from a reference photo of my neighborhood that I took a while ago. I purposely tried to paint loose just giving a few hints of dwellings.

This piece and fourteen other new ones will be in the OAG spring show and sale at the end of the month.