It's a beautiful day

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I started this watercolor and am eager to move it along; however, I am slowed with a cast on my left forearm!

This picture is not of a winter scene but one of late fall as the length of day is reduced noticeably, creating the strong shadows on the land. There is no snow in the painting! Simultaneously, the setting sun illuminates the western walls of the old home, strengthening the character of the building, or at least this is what I subtly attempt to exaggerate. In watercolor, as in other media, we think in terms of cool or warm colors in order to advance or recede objects in a picture. In this painting, the wall in the sun is (or will be) a warm color, along with the upper part of the building behind the primary building. In addition, these areas will be painted with greater clarity and description than the areas in shade. By this I mean suggesting individual clapboards, subtle color changes, imperfections on the trim and roof eaves, etc.

I will keep you informed on how this painting turns out along with the challenges and problems that evolve along the way.

Portrait of a lady

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

As I continue to recover from my broken forearm, most days I draw the face of someone on a magazine or alumni cover. I even have a folder with photographs of people that I cut out from magazines and journals etc, of all ages, ethnicities and genders. In this I include photographs of family members. I look for people with strong characteristics such as unusual expressions, postures, facial markings etc. This way I can utilize a source for a subject and keep improving, even when time is limited.

I prefer drawing and painting an individual with a three quarter view. This gives more facial dimension and I can exaggerate it through the light source and shading. I often do these while watching television and talking to my wife. John Singer Sargent drew live model 'heads' and called these 'mug' shots and he created over five hundred of them! I draw these with an HB pencil or softer lead such as a B or 2B. I prefer drawing paper(80lb) over sketch (60lb) as it is heavier and more durable. I also utilize several sketchbooks of different sizes to force me to be versatile at different scales and levels of detail.

Before long I intend on drawing and painting my own self-portrait and perhaps entering it in one of the many portrait competitions. You too should try to draw a face. Why not. You learn a lot about yourself. I look back at drawings and can detect areas that are not quite correct or conversely areas where I have improved greatly!

Sunshine and rising temperatures

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Today, we finally had some sun by mid-day. I took a walk in that good weather with the temperature reaching north of thirty for the first time in a while. I really noticed melting on the roofs and roads of Brattleboro, VT where I live. Neighbors were talking to each other while others were jogging and walking. This little window of suggestion offering the potential of spring I find in the above watercolor. 

The blue in the sky, strong shadows on the snow and walls and the overall brightness of the environment offers great promise. Granted, it is not painted with the mountains of snow we have had lately. I often paint blue sky, but recently have been adding more variety with clouds, subtle color gradations and greater atmospheric affect. There is also a great clarity of forms which are muted in the cloudy overcast weather cycles we have had this winter. I think I got the color of the distant hills in the background and the warm "earth colors" in the shrub and tree silhouettes.

Does this picture make you feel optimistic? It works for me.

Watercolor study

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

As I continue to recover from my broken arm, which was injured last Sunday, I will focus on smaller paintings, until I am back to normal. However, there are larger paintings not far from completion. 

This little watercolor study I did yesterday was done quickly in an attempt to get the subject's skin tone correct. I use these little studies to prepare for larger paintings and to test if I have mixed a proper color. I also try out new techniques on these test sheets such as masking, lifting, scraping or flicking paint. I will draw right on these studies from the get go. Most watercolor artists I know layout their subject on a separate paper and transfer it to a sheet of watercolor paper thereby preserving the surface of the paper. It is generally not a good idea to erase on the watercolor paper as it removes the elevated surface areas of the paper.

The skin in the above study, is a combination of yellow ochre and quinacridone rose with raw umber. The hair is a combination of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue with a touch of sepia. 

I have increasingly been mixing my own greens instead of using them right out of the tube. The lower left corner of the above study is prussian blue with quinacridone gold providing a foliage color. Lately I have been mixing prussian blue with aureolin which offers a grassy woodland edge kind of green.

Watercolor Figure Studies

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Every so often I like to do figure studies in watercolor for future reference or because I have limited time. As I begin to recover from the fractures to my lower left forearm which occurred last Sunday, I may end up doing many as they are small and not nearly as time consuming as a larger picture.  When a figure or figures are in a picture, they usually are the focal point, so the placement, scale and details of movement and clothing etc. are quite important. I particularly love how a human figure or bird in flight can add movement and draw the eye across or beyond the picture plane.

The figure studies in the above picture (5 1/2" x  7 1/2") are inspired from two outdoorsmen Ogden Pleissner painted in two separate watercolors. I like Ogden's paintings because most of them are of Vermont scenes, which feel familiar to me. Although he did not typically paint in Windham County, the scenery is similar to that of this area. 

I paint my small studies on the backsides of watercolor remnants from finished pictures. When I work on a painting, I usually have a watercolor test sheet by my side for trying out colors as I mix them. In watercolor, the paint usually dries lighter than it was when wet. Paynes' gray for example, on it's own, dries much lighter. It is always good to have an idea how the mixed paint will look when dry.  The study pictured above has washes of bright yellow and grass green covering the opposite side.  Other small studies have reverse sides with busy displays of color reminisent of Pollack or Kandinsky.

William Howard Taft

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I finally finished Doris Kearns Goodwins' book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism. This seven-hundred fifty page book inspired me to paint the above watercolor of William Howard Taft, which I interpreted from the cover of the book even though his head is severely cropped.

I really knew nothing about Taft other than his weight, which often has been the butt of jokes. His father was born in Townsend, Vermont, which is here in Windham County where we live. He came from a family of lawyers, graduated from Yale and lived most of his childhood in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. His wife had political ambitions for him, yet he was content to work in law and serve a greater demographic than merely those of privilege.

This watercolor is 7" x 10", the same size as the one I did of Theodore Roosevelt. Taft was well-liked and at ease with people, which I attempted to catch in his facial expression. I composed him in presidential attire to reflect the importance of his position.

I did the drawing first in the same size as the eventual watercolor.  I will try to keep up with my drawing and painting, but I am bit hampered at the moment.  While raking snow from a roof this afternoon, I fell and broke my arm.  While we were in the ER, my wife joked that I'd have to do tonight's blog one-handed. Somehow I have managed to get it done.

Harris Hill Ski Jump

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

The Harris Hill Ski Jumping Tournament in Brattleboro, Vermont this year will be on February 14 & 15, 2015. I feel quite honored that the town I live in hosts this event, and I live close enough to able to walk to it. In fact, I volunteer as a hill marker, one of the people on the side of the hill who helps judge their landing distances. This is quite an experience, seeing people whizzing over your head through the air in colorful body suits. The sound of cowbells rung by spectators is not an everyday occurrence either.

This watercolor is of the Harris Hill Ski jump base area. I worked on it this past December, just before the snow started to collect. I often walk up into the woods this away and particularly like the angle of the sun and its subsequent shadows in November on sunny days.

This watercolor is done on a 18' x 24" Arches watercolor block using 140 lb paper. The entry sign beyond the outbuilding provides a map of and gateway into the woodland trails. 

On the Retreat Trails

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

In late fall and winter when I am not so busy, I try to walk, hike or snowshoe the Brattleboro Retreat trails as they are a block from our house. This picture is from one of those walks. Overnight a new thick coating of white gives the woods that fresh snowy look as seen in this watercolor. I love how the fresh powdery snow sits in the crotch of this hardwood tree seemingly protected from any disturbance. 

This little watercolor I did on an Arches watercolor block (9" x 12"). The challenge in this picture for me, was to depict the roundness of the two trunks and provide a sense of depth to their girth. I ended up putting more dark washes on the shadows and painting the ridges of the bark, which I discovered cast their own small dark shadowed edges.

The forecast for the next twelve hours includes chilly temperatures and another 12+ inches of snow.  I don't mind at all, particularly with the Harris Hill Ski Jump in less than two weeks.