A Chance of Rain, 12x9" en plein air

A Chance Of Rain,  paste on board by Adriana Meiss

  An oldie from last year, when our plein air group went to Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, NY. This was actually the second piece I painted that day.  The first piece (here) was done under sunny skies, but by the time I was half way done with this one, threatening clouds were moving in. Fortunately, I had captured enough of the mood to recently finish it at home.

  I used one of my own prepared masonite boards, and the rough surface seems to work well for cloud reflections or even to indicate rain drops on water --hum, that's giving me an idea...

Farm in Pompey Center, 11 x 19" - reworked

Farm in Pompey Center, pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

This is another reworked pastel. The original painting, done on location in 2009 is below, and you can read more about it here.

original pastel, done on location

 The first thing one notices is that light in the original pastel is too blue, but that was my fault when taking the photo. The real problem which, I did not see at the time, was that the rows of corn stubs in the foreground pointed to the plowed field in the distant left, thus guiding the eye outside the picture plane. Once I knew what and how to fix it, it was really fun to work on it.

The following are the main changes done:

• the plowed field in the distance was  removed 
• the color and value were adjusted in the distant row of trees 
• ochres were added to the closer row of trees to indicate late afternoon light
• blue and turquoise were added  to the barn
• the direction of the rows was slightly switched to the right in the middle ground to guide the eye towards the barn

So far I think it works and I might frame it soon.

Twilight by the Pond, 12x12" -SOLD

Twilight by the Pond, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

 Here is another version of a scene I have painted before. When  painting from photographs I like to take lots of  liberties, and in this case I transformed the creek into a pond to emphasize the quietness of twilight.

  This painting is currently on exhibit at the St David's Celebration of the Arts until next Sunday. I was informed by a friend that my other painting there, Winter Sunset has sold!