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| View from the Green Bridge, pastel by Adriana Meiss |
I was in Old Forge this past weekend to see the opening reception of the pastel exhibit at View Arts Center, and to take a portrait workshop with Alain Picard.
While there, some friends wanted to see how I painted on location and for that purpose we went to the Green Bridge, which offers nice views in both directions. The "demo" was very short, perhaps half an hour, and I pointed out the most important aspects of painting outdoors: 1. select the subject, 2. Make small sketches first to determine the right composition and what the focal area is going to be, 3. pay attention to color temperature and values, 4. block in the main masses, and finally 5. provide some detail. I like to work as fast as I can so that the changing light conditions do not tempt me to make too many adjustments to my painting. This is the original piece:
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| en plein air, View from the Green Bridge |
In the studio I continued working on it and did some minimal changes to the composition. What took me the longest was giving the idea of a swift current. I realize that the freshness the original had is gone, but I needed to bring it to a level I felt comfortable with.
About the workshop, all I can say is that it was very informative to see the 2-hour demo Picard did the day before the workshop. I tried to approach the portrait as if it were a landscape, but one thing is sure, you won't be seeing portraits in this blog anytime soon.
3 comments:
That's really nice, Adriana; your friends were lucky to watch you do it! I've only been to Old Forge once and if this bridge is on the main road I must have seen this view. The portraits will come in their own time :-)
A beautiful view from the bridge, Adriana..nicely done.
Donna, Thank you!
The bridge is not far from the main road , it's in the area behind the train station. Another place you should visit is Rondaxe Rd: it's between Inlet and Old Forge. There are beautiful ponds on both sides of the road.
Hilda, Thank you!
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