Moving Storm-Setting Sun, 10x8"

Moving Storm-Setting Sun, pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord by Adriana Meiss

The shed in the painting is an old garage surrounded by conifers, that never fails to attract my attention whenever I drive by.  When I was ready to paint it, I knew I had to modify the reference photo a great deal because of the problems with composition it presented: 1.There was a barrier of trees behind the shed, blocking the sunset. 2. Two thirds of the scene was a solid mass of green, yet I felt it was the right proportion in order to give an idea of distance.

Creating an opening was easy, but what to put behind it? I used my artist license and created more hills, thus giving me the chance to use aerial perspective. The grass, I have to admit, was the the area that took me the longest. I had to look at Richard McKinley's paintings to get an idea on how to deal with it. Sometimes there is nothing like a challenge to get you going!  

Variations on a Theme

Finger Lakes Vineyard, Adriana Meiss--SOLD

  A while ago, while fixing and old painting done on location the possibility of painting some other scenes based on that one came to mind ( see here). I liked the idea of middle ground with the path disappearing into what seemed to be a valley, and I also wanted to experiment more with yellows and oranges. The ones below are the two resulting paintings, but once you are having fun with something you just continue and that's how Finger Lakes Vineyard  above came about. While the reference is from the recent trip to Canandaigua, the color scheme is the same as that of the two previous paintings.
  I like it a lot since it doesn't have much detail. My plan was to trim most of the sky area, but I found a frame that seemed perfect for it and I ended up extending the edges instead. It sold at the Lavender Festival this past weekend!

Henneberry Field #1, Adriana Meiss

Henneberry Field #2, Adriana Meiss

Evening at the Park, 5x7"

Evening at the Park, pastel by Adriana Meiss

    Two weeks ago I took a one-day workshop in oils at Stone Quarry Hill Park with George Van Hook, a NY artists whose wonderful work was being exhibited at the park. I had worked in oils a long time ago, but because I was self taught, there were big gaps on my knowledge of the medium.  I thought it was about time I learned the basics the right way.

    I loved the workshop and came back home with two paintings that although were not ready to frame, captured the atmosphere of the place. One of them provided me with enough information to paint the pastel you see in this post. Painting it was very enjoyable, mostly because it was in pastels, but also because by then I felt familiar with the place and knew what mood I wanted it to have.