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.

Mud Creek, 7x5 --SOLD

Mud Creek, original pastel by Adriana Meiss

Every time I'm driving on Rt 481 N I always try to slow down when I reach the area where the highway crosses Mud Creek--just a few miles before the exit to Rt 31. Both sides of the road offer great views to paint, the problem is that there is no space for parking, that is, unless you have car trouble or decide to risk getting a fine.

The time I took the reference photo for this painting was such a beautiful fall evening  and I was lucky enough there wasn't much traffic; most important, there were no highway patrols either. I'm not advocating taking risks specially when driving, I simply like to be ready if the opportunity presents itself. Countless times I have let other cars pass me by with the hope of getting a chance to take a good reference photo. I have one particular pot I would like to photograph but the traffic has made it impossible so far. My camera is always ready just in case.

This painting will be for sale at the Onondaga Art Guild Spring Show and Sale this weekend at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 400 W Yates St East Syracuse
Sat 28th, 10:00am.-4:00pm
Sun 29th,12:00pm - 4:00pm
You are invited!

Almost Gone, 7x5"--SOLD

Another small painting I had in last weekend show.
It's loosely based on a photo I took last year. Fall colors were not as spectacular this year, very likely because of so much rain.

Some good news: I'll have a show in September next year at the Edgewood Gallery here in Syracuse. I'll be sharing the show with another pastel artist who paints mostly flowers, and a woodcarver. I'm already thinking of a theme...

Marina on the Salmon River, 18"x24"

This is one of the large pieces I had in the show last month.

It was a tricky piece from the very beginning because the photo reference was taken during late afternoon on a cloudy day and I wanted to experiment representing midday light and temperature.

Also, I had to get rid of foreground trees and reeds in order to create a more pleasing composition, and later on, I had to subdue the orange tree in the background because it was detracting attention from the boathouse. All in all, I think it works, but it left me with the need to learn more about the colors during midday hours.

Peeking Through, 7"x 5"

I recently heard a good instructor say that if you have a building in the focal area of a painting there is not much point in hiding it with trees, etc.

I have thought a lot about that because I happen to like things that are half-way hidden! What I liked about the reference photo was the quiet statement the house made amid so much color.

Last Days of Fall, 8" x 10" - sold

This year I had a ball painting fall scenes.
I used to shy away from yellows, ochers and reds because I did not know how handle those colors, but as with almost anything you try, you gain confidence after a few failures.

A Glorious Autumn Day, 14" x 11"

This Fall has been one of the most beautiful to me. Maybe I'm seeing things in a different way but I know I'll be sad to see the last leaves on the trees being carried away by the wind... Although I have not done any decent plein air this season, I have been painting a few fall scenes from photos and reworking some old ones.

I had started this painting during the Susan Ogilvie workshop back in May, but I had issues with the shadows on the road. This time around I reworked the shape of the shadows and their color, lightened the red of the house, and finally cropped the painting at the bottom. I'm happy with it now.

Autumn Willows, 10" x 20" Sold

This pastel received a Merit Award at last weekend CNY Art Guild Show.

The reference photo is from Ley Creek, in Mattydale. vI took artistic license with the photo by creating a waterway (the foreground was totally covered by tall grasses) and changing the time of day from early afternoon to early evening. Even if the channel looks more like a wet path to you, I do not think it detracts attention from the focal area and the overall mood of the scene.

Two from One

Sunset by the Pond, 9" x 12" SOLD
I'm planning on taking a workshop with Susan Ogilvie in a few months, and because her style and use of color is so different from mine, I decided to challenge myself color-wise. A blurry photo of a farm pond on Rt 13 near Dryden gave me that opportunity and more. Top one was the first version. I wanted a sunset, so I started with the pink flamingo sky.
Fall Reflections, 8" x 10"

I do not remember the reason behind the second version, but perhaps it was the water and the reflections. Although it's not so wild in color, it gave me the chance to explore color harmonies.
All in all it was a fun exercise, and what I liked the most was playing with the distance and changing shapes.

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.

Sunrays, 7 1/2" x 19"

This painting started as a procrastination piece when I was in the midst of serious house cleaning these past holidays. I think I'm done with it, but will let it rest for a while as I'm sure I'll find something to tweak.

In my family, we call sunbeams through clouds "the glory" because it's so awe inspiring.