Spring in the Adirondacks, 7x5

Spring in the Adirondacks, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

     This little pastel basically painted itself after a short break from the dust.  Paintings that "happen" this way always have a special spot in my heart. I get back to my pastels expecting a struggle and instead everything is smooth sailing.   The reference photo was from three years ago and it's been on top of my studio table, moving from one spot to another. Finally it was time to paint it. 

But was it really how it happened?  I've been reading Incognito a book about how the brain works by David Eagleman, and basically he says that most of our actions are processed in the brain way before we put them into action.  Is looking at a photograph for quite some time --for  weeks or months, a good way to start a painting?  Has my brain been painting this scene without my being aware of it?  Eagleman's book seems to infer that.  Maybe that's why most of the paintings in the "bad pile" are those started on impulse...  I hope this is food for thought, in the meantime, I'm going to tape some reference photos on the studio walls so that my brain can start the process...

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.

A Moody Day, 11x14"

A Moody Day, pastel on board by Adriana Meiss

Another painting in the exhibit at the Edgewood Gallery, which will run for two more weeks.

This painting is based on two different references. The background with the barn was from some friends' adjacent property that for a long time I've been wanting to paint it. The only problem was that I didn't want a manicured lawn in the foreground and I didn't know what to do instead. Then, I saw another reference with the blooming tree and immediately I knew the two would go well together.

I had almost everything worked out, but spend several weeks figuring out what else to do in the foreground.  At the end the opening of the trees in the middle ground suggested a path and I was satisfied with the way it turned out.  There is something about fog that I find very appealing, and one of my goals is to do a series of paintings on this subject.

Fading Light, 9x12"

Fading Light, 9x12" pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, by A. Meiss

          
    It's been very busy around here but not because I'm painting. It seems that preparing for the show took so much energy away from me that I have not touched a dusty pastel since. I've started to feel the need to paint on a regular basis once again and to encourage myself a little bit, I went to get some beautiful flowers to start a few small sketches.... at least that's the plan for today...

   On opening night at the Edgewood, four paintings were sold, yeah! For the one above, which is in the exhibit,  I played with the original reference photo for  while, and ended up flipping it because it offered a better composition. I know it is very simple but I found it very challenging to paint, mostly because I wanted subdued colors in general, and had to fight the tendency to use brighter ones where they were not really needed. The scene is from the Otisco valley.
           

Brooding Sky, 13x13"

Brooding Sky,  13x13 pastel on Pastelmat by Adriana Meiss

   On Tuesday I delivered 17 paintings to the Edgewood Gallery for the Play on Light exhibit which opens today. I was still framing that very morning--talk about rushing! Of those, 14  are new ones, that even though I have posted them here in the last months, have not been exhibited before.

    The last month in particular was very productive. Knowing that the deadline was fast approaching  made me work even harder. Several times I started working on scenes that  were not part of the original plan, like the one above. Luckily for me, some worked out, but two others did no make the cut so I had to put myself back on track and continue working on the larger pieces. Now I have 6 paintings left to finish ....

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.

End of the Day --Reworking an idea

End of the Day, 9x12" pastel on Wallis paper by Adriana Meiss

    I tried fixing so many things in the painting from the previous post, but the more I worked on it the worse it got. The grit of the board was gone in some areas and even though I tried applying pastel grounds, some dark shadows couldn't be covered with light pastel.

    Very frustrated, because I wanted a painting with lots of yellow for the show, I started this new one, using the same reference. I still got into trouble in some areas simply because in my hurry and desperation I didn't "think it through"  before starting so I had to do that halfway into the painting and change gears. The hills in the distance for example, were an afterthought that was needed to break the tree barrier and give distance. I know this one doesn't have the same mood of gold evening light but I like it.

   The other one, I had to wash it off completely--believe me, it hurt. I applied a mix of grounds and pumice to restore the tooth of the board so it can be reused.  I'm a little bit angry at myself for having ruined something that had some good things but  for the moment, an "Aglow" painting is still in the works in my head.