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!

Marina at Raquette Lake, 12x12

Marina at Raquette Lake, pastel by Adriana Meiss

   This piece was started several years ago, inspired on a camping trip near Raquette Lake. The intended format was vertical. At some point I started having trouble with the evergreen branches closer to the top. and after removing and adding pastel several times, I finally gave up on it.

   Recently, thinking about what to submit to the Adirondack Pastel Society show, this piece came to mind, and remembering also that I had some gold frames in a square format, I just put one in front of the painting and, voila! With the square format the area that was overworked could be removed without detracting from the focal area!  There was some more work done, mainly on the trees, but I was happy to finally say that the painting was finished.

Eventide, 5x7 -sold

Eventide, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

  This small paintings was among the ones I sold at Plowshares in Dec.

  The last two weeks have been just too cold to paint in my studio, but before the cold spell set in I did a winter scene in pastel which I showed to my oil instructor and he suggested I use those same colors in an oil painting I'm working on.

  Oils? Yes! A long time ago when I started with art, oils were my favorite medium, but at the time, the trend in teaching art students was "let them find things for themselves." This approach did not produce good results with me,  as sometimes things worked but the majority did not, so I abandoned them. Now, I feel ready for the challenge of working with them once again, but with good guidance this time around. One big difference though: I find it extremely hard being patient with oil's drying time. This fact makes me appreciate pastel's immediacy even more, so I don't see myself putting my precious sticks away anytime soon.

Field Sentinels, 10x8"

Field Sentinels, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

 
   This is the second paintings based on the same field of the previous painting.

   I'm really enjoying painting when I force myself to imagine different weather conditions and light for a scene. There is always a lot of thinking involved and one has to experiment with colors; and even if things don't work, one is likely to come up with a pleasing color combination that could be used in another painting.

Grazers, 8x10"

Grazers, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

  
   This painting has been sitting on the shelf for months. Not being familiar with painting animals, I saved them for last.  I did not want to give them much detail though, in order to keep everything loose. But now I wonder how dark I should make them...

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.

Sailboat at Sunset, 10x8"

Sailboat at Sunset, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

In August we took a dinner boat trip with some friends on Skaneateles Lake, and of course I came back with lots of reference photos to paint from. This is one of them, and hope to post new ones soon. I'm taking this painting and another one to Gallery 54 next week.

Improving Frames

In this post I just want to share something that I do to make some ready-made frames look better. 

When a  frame is too dark or dull for a specific painting I use Rub'nBuff, which is a wax metallic finish that comes in different colors in small tubes. I apply this paste to the inner edge of a frame in order to make it look like a fillet. 

The picture below shows some of the colors I use, from L to R: Gold Leaf, Antique Gold, Grecian Gold, European Gold(greenish), and Autumn Gold (reddish).

The steps are as follows: First, I isolate the area to be highlighted  with painter's tape, making sure that the tape is positioned correctly.

I apply a small amount of the metallic paste (Antique Gold in this case) with a cotton swab, pushing it hard so that it gets into the edges of the moulding. I do the same thing with the inner side of the frame opening. making sure the application looks even. The paste/wax could be applied with your finger or a soft cloth, but I prefer the cotton swab method, and as a precaution, I also wear disposable gloves.

Once the whole area is done, I let it rest for a few minutes before removing the tape. It cures really quickly.

And this is how the frame looks with a painting:

Country Lane, 5x7"

Tobihanna Morning, 5" x 7" -Sold

A while back, an artist friend and I took an overnight trip through the Finger Lakes with the sole purpose of taking photo references for future paintings.

This painting is from the the grounds of the B&B where we stayed. The B&B doesn't seem to exist as such anymore but the memory of walking surrounded by fog is still very fresh and brings me peace.