Outward Bound (finished)

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is the finished version of the watercolor I posted from Sunday. In some ways the composition is very different from other buildings I have painted. The building is no longer in the center of the picture; in fact, some of it has been cut off. The focus really is about the changing of the seasons and the larger landscape. The building offers context, and I do like the shadows and warmth it projects. 

I seriously contemplated putting a figure on the covered porch, reading a book. However, I had already put in the trunk of the tree which sits right behind the porch and felt the figure would be lost in that very trunk. I believe painting a figure in the landscape would also reflect on the changing of the seasons with the warmer temperature and more conducive climate for outdoor activities. Regardless, I did not intend a figure to be the focal point. Often in town, here in Vermont, you go for a walk or hike and pass a home and you are not even aware when someone is around. I was searching to express that quality after I had started this picture when people begin to move outside from their winter 'cocoon'. People begin to rake the lawn, prepare the garden, and open their screen windows in eager anticipation of spring. 

When I do a picture of a Victorian house or some other architecture of this period, I frequently find people referencing Edward Hopper. Houses have many stories to tell, particularly when there have been many residents through the years and numerous building alterations. I do appreciate when an older home with fine architectural detail sits elegantly on the land with mature trees that complement its scale. Maybe that is my background in landscape architecture coming out.

I have altered the landscape significantly in this watercolor. All overgrown plantings and dark foliage have been eliminated. The land has been opened up to the the river valley in the background where the light is.

The sky in this picture I truly enjoy. I like implied movement in a picture and the passing of the clouds does it for me. The colors are not overstated. The shadows stretching across the ground plane suggest nearby trees and provide variety. Green, I find to be the hardest color to mix to satisfactory results. Most store bought greens come out of the tube in an 'artificial turf' like color. The green in the foreground is comprised of quinacridone gold with Prussian blue and occasional brushwork with ultramarine blue.