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.

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 ....