Garden by the Shed, 7x5" Sold

Garden by the Shed, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

   This pastel was one of the four paintings sold at last weekend's Plowshares fair.  In fact, three of the paintings were bought by three different previous customers.  Still, doing the fair is a great opportunity for me to meet new people and to get them interested in classes and future workshops.
 
Last summer I lost a sale for not being able to accept credit card payments. This time around I was prepared for it and I'm glad I did!

Fall Crabapple, 7x5"

Fall Crabapple, 7x5" pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

   A few weeks ago a friend called and asked me if I was free to go with her to a nice place to collect nice dry flowers. She wouldn't tell where, but told me to bring my camera. It turned out the place was nearby: an abandoned golf course that I didn't even know existed. I came back home with lots of reference material to keep me busy in the winter months, but I had to paint this little crabapple tree right away, as I was afraid of forgetting how it looked in late afternoon light.

  For those of you in CNY, Plowshares Craftsfair and Peace Festival is this coming weekend at Nottingham HS. If I'm not mistaken, this will be my sixth year there! Stop by and chat with me!

Alfalfa and Corn, 11x14"

Alfalfa and Corn, pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

Last Tuesday afternoon I went painting with my friend Marybeth to Otisco.  This is one of my favorite areas to paint and photograph. The variety of crops and the hilliness of the terrain add so much color and interest to the landscape that everywhere one looks there is a nice scene ready to be painted.

We found a field on Bailey Rd. and after being granted permission to park in the property by the owner's son, who was about to start mowing the alfalfa field nearby, we wasted no time exploring and setting up. We knew we had two hours at most before the daylight faded. This view attracted me right away because of the good feeling of distance and because it offered the opportunity to deal with orange foliage.  I have always found oranges to be very difficult as those colors can overwhelm a painting if used in large areas.

I used a black sheet of Richeson Premium Pastel Paper because it was the only surface I had in the size I wanted, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed working on it. The surface feels more like fibers rather than grit, but it's definitely coarse as you might be able to appreciate below.

Using Richeson pastel paper.

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!

In Hiding, 18x24"

In Hiding, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

This is a studio painting done a few months ago for the Onondaga Art Guild Show. It's from one of my favorite places in the area, Meadowbrook Pond. Who's hiding?

Changing the subject, it's official now, I'll be showing at Baltimore Woods Nature Center this fall with my friend Maureen Barcza (oils). The title of the exhibit is A Dialogue with Nature. I gradually learned to converse with nature when I started painting outdoors. These conversations continue in the studio until the painting is finished. The funny thing is that now, even when painting from a reference photo, it is normal for me to engage in a conversation with the photo and my memories of the place.

Skaneateles Lake, View South, 9x12" en plein air

Skaneateles Lake-View South, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

  Two weeks ago our plein air group had an invitation to paint at a lake front property on Skaneateles Lake. On arrival, I was tempted to paint the water and the distant hill in front of me, but there wasn't anything special about them: both areas seemed to have little color variation, and I have learned that unless there is something particular about what you want to paint, it is best to forget about it.

  After some checking I found an interesting composition involving part of the cottage, with a group of red Adirondack chairs in the distance as my focal area. The painting did not turn out the way I envisioned so I walked around looking for something else to paint. When I went to the shore the view south really captivated me and in a hurry, before the clouds were gone, I took my open box to a shaded spot and painted the pastel you see here. The scene could have been from any of the Finger Lakes because most of them, when seen to the north or south look like this, with several layers of hills as result from glaciation. I do feel lucky living in this area of NY!

Me painting, photo by Barbara Delmonico

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.

Below the Lower Falls, 19x27"

Below the Lower Falls, pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

    This is one of two large paintings I finished last week. Both were based on several photos taken at Letchworth State Park, south of Rochester, NY. This place is where they do portaging. At the time of my visit there, I had the intention of painting on location but to get to this point I would have had to carry all my heavy equipment for more than a mile, so I had to content myself with taking photos. It was quiet and beautiful, and we all in the family still remember the tiny water snakes and frogs we saw near the shore.

   Here is a progression:
First Stage. I decided to to use a sheet of Colourfix paper in terracotta to complement the greens. I started by blocking in the main masses-- I like to start with the sky because it helps to set the mood/temperature of the painting. Strokes are applied in different directions just to fill in the spaces.

Second Stage.  I began to define the masses. It's a good stage to look for areas that need corrections. This painting is all about the water, so I had to carefully determine what colors I was going to use in the different areas, and in what order so that I wouldn't end up with muddy water.

 Third Stage. At this point most of the pastel application has been done with the side stick.

Fourth Stage.I did a lot of blending, first with packing peanuts, then with my fingers. I loved working on that transition in the reflected sky, from cerulean to blue-violet, then to sienna. I had to wash my hands very often to prevent dirtying this area.

Fifth Stage. Rocks aren't a favorite subject to paint, so I took my time experimenting. I used color pencils and Nupastels for the submerged rocks. Almost done...

Final Stage (this is the same photo as at the beginning of the post). While I liked the color intensity in the stage above, it did not reflect the humidity of midday, so I grayed/dulled some areas. This was followed by more reflections on the water, some ripples and softening of  edges.

Winter Sunset, 9x12, Sold

Winter Sunset, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

  It seems that I begin to warm to winter's charm only when the season reaches its mid point. And then, I get the need to hurry and paint winter scenes before the snow and cold are gone.

  This scene is from a reference photo taken years ago on Rt 370. I did a drawing in graphite that came out nice so I decided to do it in oils, for the class I'm taking. Given that pastels are great and faster for experimenting, I did this version at home, but with less detail in the middle ground.  Now I'm trying to reproduce these same colors in  my oil painting.

 The feeling of hurry continues to creep up on me just thinking of the many early deadlines for competitions I would like to submit to, and the many half-finished paintings in the studio... Four of them show promise though so at this point it's just a matter of overcoming the fear of ruining a painting.

Garden Path at Baltimore Woods, 12x9"

Garden Path at Baltimore Woods, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

   This is the second painting I did during the Carsten Workshop early this month.
   I wanted the yellow grasses at the end of the path to be the focal area (highest contrast).  The hardest part was painting the cone flowers at the bottom. I wanted them to be distinctive but without much detail.Again, I used one of my own boards.

Under a Cloudy Sky, 12x9"

Under a Cloudy Sky, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

The Rose Garden at Thornden Park is one of Syracuse' summer jewels. One of my plein air buddies and I decided that even under clouds the place was great to paint. Selecting what to paint was tough though, as everywhere I looked offered painting possibilities. After spending almost an hour deciding what scene to paint I settled for this one.  This happened over a month ago. The painting has been on the shelf ever since, and I now I'm wondering if perhaps the hint of a person or a couple walking in the background could be a good idea... or perhaps that would better be left for a studio painting...

Yearning for Spring, 16x12

Yearning for Spring, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

     Living in Central New York for so many years I have learned to expect long, cold winters. But in those rare occasions when we get mild winters, my mind rapidly forgets what's normal and starts yearning for the next season. I wasn't that aware of this yearning until I found this photo while cleaning my studio. The need to paint it right away took me by surprise, and it was finished in no time. It probably needs more work but the yearning for bright greens is so strong that it has blinded me.

    The scene is from our orchard, from a time when the Nanking Cherries did  not have much competition from the nearby apple trees. 

Autumn Warmth, 10x8"-Sold

Autumn Warmth, 10x8" pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

 This pastel sat on a shelf for a long time, not because I thought it needed a lot of fixing but because the painting process went so well and the painting looked loose that I couldn't help it feeling that it was too good to be true. It's very hard being objective when you fall in love with your own painting.  I did find a few things and ended up pushing back the distant trees. I framed it yesterday and guess what, now that I see it here I've noticed that there are two trees on the left and two tree masses on the right... oh well!  This is a revisited scene and I know I'll give it another try some other time.

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

Last Year's Grasses-Green Lakes, 18x24"

This painting will be at the St David's Celebration of the Arts which runs this week only.

I had started it last year but had to put it away when it was 80% done because I had to prepare for an art fair;  I knew that if I tried to finish it in a hurry I was going to mess it up.  Anyway, I finished it last week, in time for the upcoming show.  It's a nice feeling when you finish a piece without looking at the reference material and you know (o think that you know) exactly what needs to be done.

The Farm, 9" x 12"

You cannot live in CNY and not like barns and cornfields! I do not remember exactly where this place is located; perhaps Rt 173 or Rt 20, but definitely in Onondaga County.

Although I've been thinking on painting this scene for a while, what decided me to do it was a frame I saw at a store! Somehow I though they would go well together. I'm hoping to have this piece ready for this coming weekend sale sponsored by the Onondaga Art Guild.