Evolving Style

      

The Backyard II, pastel on watercolor paper by Adriana Meiss

  Once in a while I feel compelled to take a photo reference I have used before and paint a newer version just to see how I would handle it this time. The painting aboves is my latest example. The reference came from a Wet Canvas challenge from 6 years ago, and below is my first version for comparison.

The Backyard, pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

   It makes me feel I have come a long way, but the funny thing is that I remember feeling so proud at the time because never before I had used purples and blues on the trees.

   It's so easy to look back and feel embarrassed of some of the things I produced years ago, but I have to accept that those paintings represent a different stage of me as an artist and without them I wouldn't be were I am.

Marsh on a Cloudy Day, 5x7" - Sold

Marsh On A Cloudy Day, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

 The colorful branches of the willows in winter and the pale yellow grasses surrounding a mall parking lot were the inspiration for this painting. I imagined there must have been some open water before the mall was build...  I'm not sure the water reads as such; maybe a few ripples is all it needs. In any case, I tried to make sure its color did not compete with that of the sky.

Sunset in Mauve, 8x6" - Sold

Sunset in Mauve, pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

     At the end of April the guild I'm in (OAG) will have it's annual spring sale. In my effort to avoid framing like crazy at the last minute, I have been working steadily for the last month, mostly producing small paintings. Some are already framed after having passed the test of seating on a shelf for weeks without any little thing screaming to have it fixed.
    The reference photo for this painting was an irrigation channel from a nearby town, but by changing the vegetation I turned it into a scene that could have been from the Adirondacks.

A Quiet Finale, 13x18"

A Quiet Finale, pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

This is a reworked piece and this is how it came about:
    Early this year I was asked by Gallery 54 to bring more paintings to replace two that had sold that month (yeah!). I really did not have anything ready in the sizes they wanted so I started working in  several pieces with the hope of having them ready by the end of the month. As often happens, when you are in a hurry, things don't work the way you want them or take longer than you think, so instead of ruining work by trying to finish it fast, I looked at old so-so unframed paintings I had put away.

    I found this one from 6 years ago, which at the time I liked, but never framed because I had taken the idea from an ad in a magazine--maybe you've seen it, anyway I consider it a good exercise but that was it.

Exercise done in 2006

I figured that with some work I could really make it "my" painting.
First, I questioned the composition with the repetitive forms (three groups of trees and three marsh banks in the middle ground), and the lack of a focal area. I also felt the need to get rid of so much blue so I opted for sunset colors. As I reworked and did sketches, ideas from places I have seen came to mind (in particular the area of Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge), and that way I was able to finish it feeling that it was my creation.

Barn at Night, 9x12"

Barn at Night, 8x10" pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

Last December, I had some paintings on exhibit at a local library and instead of  having a reception I thought that a pastel demonstration on how I approach painting night scenes would be more interesting.

The night before, doubts crept in and in panic mode I felt the need to do a small version of what I planned to paint:

Barns, Study, 5x7" pastel on board

 Next day, feeling more confident, and taking into account that I had just an hour and a half to do the demo, I decided to simplify the scene. This is a far as it got:
 

Barn, Demo

  Back home, I made further changes in color and composition to the demo painting. I had forgotten to leave enough space between the silo and the top edge so in order to make it work I had to reduce the size of the main objects. I'm happy with the result and can even imagine a similar scene with a light in the distant barn...

Ethereal, 9x6"

Ethereal, 9x 6" pastel on paper by Adriana Meiss

Very often when I need something to paint, I go through my photo reference files and if something clicks I get to work on it right away. That was the case with this one. I had a different color idea in mind when I started, but somehow along the way, the color of paper (brown Colourfix) made me choose these colors.  I like the quality of the light;  it makes me think it's going to vanish in an instant. It will be interesting to try the same scene with a different color paper, red for example, which I have...

Remembrance, 8 x 6 1/2"

Remembrance, pastel on watercolor paper by Adriana Meiss

Yesterday I felt compelled to paint this scene. It's all from memory. I had finished setting up eight of my paintings at The Oaks at Menorah Park and on the way down the driveway the pale sun caught my attention. Because I had left the camera at home, I had to do a quick mental-note-taking of the colors. Then that night, a stray cat from the neighborhood (I called him Proboscis Cat because of a patch of dark color on his face that gave him the impression of having a big nose) suffered an awful death. I didn't like him that much but for some reason his passing away saddened me so much. I cannot say that painting it had a cathartic effect on me, but at least I have something to remind me of that small creature.