Sunset on Island 27, 10x8"

Sunset on Island 27, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

This is what a painting I did while island-hopping during my trip to Saranac Lake looks like now.
The original (below) was painted in mid afternoon. Even after finishing, I knew it still needed work, but just before departing the island, the sun lit the tree from behind giving me the idea on how to finish it at home.  Big difference, no?

Original painting done en plein air.

 This coming week I'll be heading to Geneva to participate in the Seneca Lake Plein Air Painting Festival. I just hope to produce at least three good paintings. Wish me luck!

On Location at Saranac Lake

 I spent this past weekend in the Adirondacks with a group of painters from Syracuse. 

AuSable River-west branch, at Wilmington Flume Falls, 14x11" pastel on board 

Having registered for the upcoming Saranac Plein Air event in August, I was somewhat worried about going to paint at an area I did not know anything about, so I decided it was time to join Sharon B., from our local art store, who has been organizing this weekend trip in that area for several years now.

Friday morning we went to Wilmington Flume Falls, where I painted the above scene of the west branch of the Ausable River. I did a lot of walking before finding this shaded spot, at the bottom of a wide trail.  The splashing sounds of people jumping from the rocks and swimming tempted me to get into the water but I was there to paint!  My poor case on wheels took a beating on the way back as I took a different route closer to the canyon edge that was very steep, and to make things worse, I had to carry the painting in my hand because I had left the glassine paper in the car...  I think that rock in the foreground will either have to go or get darker.

Saturday was boat trip day and island hopping.  We rented a boat with an outboard motor at the Saranac Lake Marina and went exploring the lake, then went through a small lock to the Middle Saranac Lake where we saw marshy areas. On the way back we stopped on Island #27 and decided to paint there.

This first painting was a real challenge for me. I felt like giving up on it at some point but continued till the end. It was an exercise on what was important in the composition and of colors at that time of day (early afternoon). Half the trees were left out.

Island #27, first painting, 9x12" pastel on board

Having finished and seeing the others still painting, I tried a second one. This one needs more work. There were bright yellow reflections on the water that I was not able to represent.

Island #27-second painting, 10x8" pastel on board 

On Sunday, three of us were back at Wilmington Flume Falls. This time, I wanted to paint the ski trails of Whiteface Mountain. I knew I couldn't go back home without trying to paint this scene. I asked for permission to paint at the parking lot between the motel and the restaurant where if not the very best view, it was the safest.

At the parking lot of the Hungry Trout Restaurant

Ski Trails at Whiteface Mountain, 11x14" pastel on board

Two funny things happened while there, a woman asked me if I wouldn't mind letting her daughter take a picture of her pretending she was painting my pastel. Of course I did not mind at all especially after seeing a picture of this woman pretending to be carving a bear!  I bet they will have great stories to tell their friends.  Then, when I was packing to leave, a man who worked at the restaurant came to where I was with a small food container for me. It was a piece of berry pie! Both were sweet.

After farewells and directions for several other places to paint, we parted ways. Before my next stop, I saw places along the road that offered great views and parking areas, and stopped to take pics. At Two Monuments, my next destination, there is a section of the Ausable River that is all smooth and the afternoon light was perfect on the opposite side. Halfway into the painting it dawned on me that I must have been very tired when I just couldn't get to make the upper left side work, so I packed; at least I have enough info to finish it at home.

The Ausable at Two Monument, 12x9"pastel on board

I have to say that it was a worthwhile trip. It is always great to paint with people who seem committed to paint.  And seeing the Adirondack High Peaks was the tip of the cake!

The View from the Green Bridge, Old Forge, 10x8"

View from the Green Bridge, pastel by Adriana Meiss

I was in Old Forge this past weekend to see the opening reception of the pastel exhibit at View Arts Center, and to take a portrait workshop with Alain Picard.

While there, some friends wanted to see how I painted on location and for that purpose we went to the Green Bridge, which offers nice views in both directions. The "demo" was very short, perhaps half an hour, and I pointed out the most important aspects of painting outdoors: 1. select the subject,  2. Make small sketches first to determine the right composition and what the focal area is going to be,   3. pay attention to color temperature and values,  4. block in the main masses, and finally 5. provide some detail. I like to work as fast as I can so that the changing light conditions do not tempt me to make too many adjustments to my painting. This is the original piece:

en plein air, View from the Green Bridge

In the studio I continued working on it and did some minimal changes to the composition.  What took me the longest was giving the idea of a swift current. I realize that the freshness the original had is gone, but I needed to bring it to a level  I felt comfortable with.
 
About the workshop, all I can say is that it was very informative to see the 2-hour demo Picard did the day before the workshop. I tried to approach the portrait as if it were a landscape, but one thing  is sure, you won't be seeing portraits in this blog anytime soon.

Fog at McCauley Mt, Adirondacks, 12" x 9"

Last October, I was invited to participate in a two-weekend plein air paint out and auction to support the Arts Center at Old Forge. The only day I was able to participate turned out to be drizzly and foggy. We were given some locations to choose from, so I headed for McCauley Mt. since I had never been there. I had to work from the back of my van because the drizzle had turned into rain. Half an hour into my painting, the sun came out, and a little later hordes of people started to head for the chair lifts to enjoy the great fall colors. I had good time talking to a group of Amish or Mennonite women who showed interest in what I was doing and seemed fascinated by the pastel sticks.

When I considered the painting done, I headed to another location to start another scene. I ended up donating my second painting because although I liked the first one more, I knew it was not quite right yet.

At home, I did several changes to the painting, and still was not satisfied with the results. Finally, I realized what the problem was. The change in weather conditions at the time, had made me change colors in the middle of my work, and mentally, I was fighting with what I wanted to represent. After serious consideration, I decided to paint what had struck me the most, which was the fog coming down the mountain.

Island Pines, 18"x24"

Good news, my piece Island Pines, which had been juried into the 5th National Northeast Pastel Competition, received an Ampersand Art Supply award! I was thrilled enough for just being accepted, so receiving an award is like the icing on the cake.

The exhibit will be open to the public from June 13th to July 12th at the Arts Center at Old Forge, NY.

More from the Adirondacks

I cannot believe it's been almost a month since last time I posted. I was working full time for a while and found it very difficult to paint when I was so tired and there were other things to take care of. My applause to all of you women who manage to do it all! Although I had had time to paint in the last two weeks, I found it very hard to get back to it. The reason it's not because I didn't want to do it but because I needed to find something good enough to motivate me to start again, and help me break the invisible wall that prevented me to get to my easel. Somehow I got there, but with not so good results at the beginning--good thing I worked in small format!

These two pieces are both 9" x 12".
The one on top is Bald Mountain Pond. It was done from a photo that didn't have much detail. The funny thing about this painting is that I didn't know the name of the location. All I knew was that Rt 28 basically touches the edge of the pond, and that the mountain on the left had bare rock. So I checked google maps and figured it had to be near Bald Mountain. To make sure I was correct I checked in googled images and found this painting titled Adirondack Silence by Michael Ringer,
www.bigbookofyou.com/artists/thumbs/adrandacks.jpg

The bottom one I think it's from White Lake, which is close to the Adirondacks. This is based on a photo I took while we were driving on Rt 28.

It's good to feel that I'm back on track.

Island Trees, 12"x14" (Sold)

Two years ago my family and I camped at 7th Lake, in the Adirondacks. I came back with lots of photos that eventually turned into a series of paintings. This scene was in my head for a long time. When I finally decided to paint it, it basically painted itself.

This is one of the ten pieces I currently have on display at Art Mart, City Hall Commons in downtown Syracuse. The place will be open till Dec. 24th from 11:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Mon-Sat.