Thursday, December 13, 2012

Stillness Before Dusk, 20 x16 -sold

Stillness Before Dusk, 20x16" Pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

   This scene is one I have painted before (Mud Creek) and will probably paint again as it has many interesting features that can be varied to create different moods.

   I learned many things in the process. After I thought it was done, I let it sit for a while on a shelf.  Although I was happy with my original sketch, some things did not seem right.  There was too much pink  and too much open water that was competing in color with the sky.  Some elements other than just color were needed in order to guide the eye to the focal area and to offer resting spots before getting  there. Perhaps some lily pads or grasses? Back to sketching  and problem solving.  Thus, the clump of dark grasses in the foreground. Darkening the foreground water on the right also helped to create the feeling of more depth.

   Lessons learned : 1. Be receptive to listen to what the work is telling you. My sister-in-law just gave me a great idea: talk to your work as if it were a living thing. You are likely to hear what your brain is telling you. 2.  Allow yourself time to let the painting rest so you can correct any problems. The goal is to be really happy with  the results.

   I entered this painting in the Bold Brush competition for Dec. If you like it vote for it here.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Adirondack Stream, 7x5--sold

Adirondack Stream, pastel on Ampersand Pastelboard by Adriana Meiss

I survived the weekend!  On Sat. I went to bed in the early hours of the morning, framing the painting above, that I had included in promoting the festival to everyone on my mailing list.  Why was it then the last one left to be framed?  I cannot answer that myself. Too many things were going on and it's obvious that I was not thinking clearly...

That same morning, on my way to the fest I had the feeling that it was going to be one of the worst events simply because I had not heard it advertised on the radio station of the previous year--instead, another similar event was being advertised for the same day.  Well, it turned out to be one of the best! I'm happy so say that nine paintings were sold, among them one that I had shown many times before at other events, and I still had faith in finding a home for.  I saw old friends, met new people, and got the chance to talk to some about the wonderful pastel medium.