Monday, June 11, 2012

Canandaigua Plein Air Competition



Roses on Main, pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord 9x12" by Adriana Meiss

Yesterday was the last day of  the Finger Lakes Plein Air Competition in Canandaigua, NY,  my first en plein air competition event. I'm still exhausted but it was worth it! Not only did I produce four decent paintings--three of which sold yesterday during the award ceremony and sale, but I got also an invitation to show in the Finger Lakes Gallery! I couldn't ask for more...well, it would have been nice to win an award but after seeing some of the great work I realize that there is a long way to go.  Other pluses were the chance to meet other artists, some whose work I have admired for some time, and seeing all the work produced in one place.

The painting above was my first one in the early morning. My friend Linda and I were heading to Sonnenberg Gardens but the place was not open yet so we painted in the surrounding area. For this scene I kept on thinking how Lois Griffel would had painted the fence and that kept me from giving it too much detail.



I Love Roses, pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord 12x9" by Adriana Meiss
-- SOLD

 Painting #2 was at the entrance of Sonnenberg Gardens. The plan was to go to the Japanese Garden, or the Rose one, which we had visited two weeks ago, but the profusion of color in this area captivated us, besides, it was noon and we where looking for a sheltered are from which to paint.


Fast Moving Clouds, pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord 12x9: by Adriana Meiss--SOLD

Day 2 was cloudy and threatening to rain at any moment. My friend and I went along the west side of the lake looking for a location that would allow us to paint aerial perspective. We ended up at the south end of the lake in Woodville and settled for this peaceful scene.




Pier 1, pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord  9x12" by Adriana Meiss--SOLD

Back in Canandaigua we went to the pier to have lunch and decided to paint the colorful boathouses under a still cloudy sky. Just like the previous day, there were lots of artists painting. I wanted a different view from what I had seen other people paint so I settled on this scene. I did not look that difficult to me until I realized that I had spend one hour just painting the roof tops and checking their angles and their line up with each other.

All in all it was wonderful and it whetted my appetite for more vents of this sort!


5 comments:

hmuxo said...

Congratulations, Adriana, on selling the three paintings...these four are beautiful. I love the first..the way the light is hitting the fence and the gorgeous roses...and of course, the third!!! the way you caught the reflections of those clouds in the water is amazing..like you said...very peaceful!

Adriana Meiss said...

Thank you Hilda! I saw the roses on the way to the gardens, but when I came back to the spot to take pics, this side offered a more interesting view thou it was more challenging.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful paintings Adriana. Congratulations on the sales, but even more so for the invitation to show in a gallery - how wonderful!

Your plein air paintings are getting better and better - not that they were bad in the first place!! (Your studio work has been inspirational to me since I first 'met' you at Wet Canvas.) Your ability to choose strong and interesting compositions is only going to enhance your plein air work into the future.

Elaine

Donna T said...

Congratulations on such a successful event Adriana! Sales and a gallery invite! Your paintings are all beautiful!

Adriana Meiss said...

Elaine, Thank you so much for your kind comments. It really makes me happy to know that my work has inspired you in some way. I find inspiration in other artist's works too and know that only by painting and more painting I'll get where I want to be--at least that's the way it's supposed to work!
Donna,Thank you! I see now little things I could have fixed in those paintings... hopefully, with more practice I'll develop the eye to spot them right away.