Fresh Snow

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

While Boston received upwards of three feet of snow yesterday, we here in Brattleboro Vt, or at least at our house, have 6-9" of freshly blown white powder. Our snowblower sliced right through it, creating nice little channels with crisp edges and fresh lumps. 

After a snowstorm I like to walk through our neighborhood or nearby woods and take in the dramatic changes in the landscape. I try to notice the windswept patterns of snow, the appearance of birds and the glow of light in the atmosphere.

This watercolor(9" x 12") is of a house in my neighborhood with mint colored siding contrasted with the forest green trim and fine touches of understated architectural detail. This new winter storm seemed to bring a fresh clarity to the winter scene from the contours of snow hanging over the roof, to the warmth in the windows to the cool shadows and colors of the exterior.

I thought of painting this house without the neighboring ones to give it a stronger focal point while offering a greater atmospheric affect. What would you have done differently?

Giant Winter Storm Coming!

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

With reports of a giant winter storm coming our way I thought it was timely to upload a watercolor I did last year, when we had better snow accumulations and fewer ice storms. Personally, for this time of year, I love the landscape shrouded in drifts of powder. Little could inspire me more, here in Vermont, particularly with the late afternoon sun fading after the cloud cover finally breaks away. 

This house in my neighborhood is completely transformed with snow. The warmth of the house color pushes forward against the cool of the sky, snow and shadows. Driving around Windham County earlier in the day, everywhere I went I saw cobalt blue shadows, which is the primary color used in developing the massing of snow, with ultramarine blue and raw umber in the sunny areas. The deciduous tree silhouettes brings a sense of warmth and depth to the house and landscape. I was using phthalo blue exclusively for my skies but have since evolved to also using cerulean and indanthrene blues, among others.

This watercolor is relatively small (9" x 12"), so one could consider it a study. I have started and am well along on a full sheet version (22" x 30").

A Summer Evening in Maine

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This watercolor reminds me of last summer on Mount Desert. There is a sand bar to Bar Island which disappears as the tide comes in and reappears when it goes out. There are spectacular sunsets from this vantage point, but if you don't time it right, you can get stuck on the island until the next tide goes out. If you park your car out here, it may be under water when you return.

People walk to this island on a spit of land with water lapping over their ankles while creating fascinating and unending patterns across the surface. It is the perfect spot to people watch and engage in conversations with travelers as they take photographs of everything imaginable. People are looking out, across the bay, at birds, at passing boats and down through the transparent lapping water.

This watercolor (12" x 16") was done on an Arches 140 lb block. I love that the focal point is the figure looking down at the disappearing sand spit and the subsequent patterns and reflections of water. The figure below the horizon strengthens the dramatic sky and scale of the bay. For me water can be tricky to paint. I don't want to overwork it, so as to keep it fresh. There are so many layers of rich color and value in the water. It is a challenge to figure out where to start and where to end.

Theodore Roosevelt

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I began reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's sizable book, The Bully Pulpit which I received for Christmas in 2013. In essence, as its subtitle states, it parallels the work of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism. In the process of reading this book and beginning to become intertwined in their lives, I became interested in painting each of the two Presidents.

The above watercolor (7" x 10") of Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was done on an Arches watercolor block. The image was derived from the photograph of him on the cover of the book that cropped off the top of his head. It follows a pencil drawing I did, which I have included below. At this scale it is challenging to get into much detail, however I do think it characterizes many of his known traits. 

The eyeglasses in particular, are challenging as they often can be. The rimless lenses both are transparent and offer defined edges on areas of his face. Each layer of subsequent watercolor washes over the face further diminishes the presence of his glasses which led me to painting greater values in the eye socket areas to make the lens project forward.

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Birds in flight

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I have been interested in putting birds in my watercolors for some time, at least when appropiate. For me they add movement and give a sense of scale. The two birds to the right in the above picture are red-tailed hawks, and the bird in the upper left is a ruffled grouse or at least intended to be. Both are found in our area, here in southern Vermont.

This is just a little sketch of a watercolor, not intended to be a finished painting, as is evident from the bird on the lower left, perched on a branch suspended in the middle of the air.  Off to the left of him (not visible in the photo) I have another fellow sitting on a piece of barbed wire.

It is easy to over do it by adding too much detail for the scale of the bird. I have learned it is important to get the bird's torso just right and then give color variation in the wings to suggest the reflection of light. Birds need to be just above the tree line or they get lost in the picture. I use Ogden Pleissner and Carol Evans, both successful watercolor painters, for inspiration.

Pencil pictures

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I love to draw in pen or pencil when I can. I consider it my dry media while watercolor is my wet media. I enjoy sketching the landscape outside in good weather and have even gone to swimming holes on hot days here in Vermont, taken a dip and painted little watercolors.

Many years ago I started drawing faces and figures while the news was on in the winter. Sometimes I draw a face in some hockey magazine or alumni magazine sitting on our kitchen table. In the process I have picked up knowledge on the contours and proportions of the face, in particular the eyes, nose and mouth. 

The above drawing I did at our kitchen table using an HB pencil found in a local art or office supply store. I do not prefer a yellow Ticonderoga pencil because the point breaks too easily and often while the lead can be scratchy and smear easily. I prefer to use a kneaded eraser, if I use any at all, but often I don't bring one with me. I draw in a sketchbook, which has lighter weight paper or in this case a Strathmore spiral-case drawing pad with 80lb heavy weight paper. This drawing is 11" x 14".

I have drawn from live models, which I find challenging yet rewarding. You have to draw quickly while communicating and in some situations entertaining the model and adjust to quickly changing light.

I do the layout for my watercolors in pencil as well and sometimes draw in areas which are unclear as the painting progresses.

Winter is back!

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

With dangerously low temperatures returning, with a vengeance, I must add, this little watercolor reminds me of the Vermont winter. It has the stark silhouette of hardwood trees, the feel of long winter shadows and the cool blue snow in the foreground with the accumulating frost and thaw cycles. I must add the late afternoon sun does not warm it up much.

With the forecast in Brattleboro, Vermont, expected to reach a low of thirteen below tonight, I figured this watercolor I did over a year ago expresses all of that. While it is small(9" x 12") it has great impact in feel of temperature extremes. Even the evergreen in front has a foreboding quality. It also has that rural half-kept up quality. Years of weathering cold, snow, rain etc., have given it character you can't create. The occupants may have given up on gutters years ago, the stairs do not appear to have been shoveled in a while or they simply gave up on using the front entrance altogether.

What I do like about painting winter scenes is the opportunity to use many different kinds of blue pigments. Blue is the most used color on my palette. The snow is a variation on cobalt and ultramarine blue, while the sky in this case is largely phthalocyanine blue.

Retreat Fields

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This little watercolor(9" x 12") is of a field not far from our house, in Brattleboro, Vermont. I was on a late afternoon walk and particularly like the light at that time of day, at this time of the year. It was a late December day, so you would have thought it would have looked more like winter, with ample snow, but not in this case. It took less than two hours to complete this painting. I like the freshness and how the warm and cool colors portray the scene. It was painted much more watery and looser than others I have done. It seems to me a timeless and classic subject. What are your impressions?