Fall Colors

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Last week I hiked on the trails behind our house, here in southern Vermont. I wanted to catch all that fall color before it passed us by. What struck me was the amount of yellows that dominated the tree canopies. 

I picked these three leaves which caught my eye, off the forest floor and set out to paint their colors and shapes. The day before I planned on working on this painting I put the leaves under a heavy book so they would not curl up on me. To start I put a wash of quinacridone gold over a wet watercolor block providing that warmth you see projecting from the paper. Next, I studied each individual leaf and leaf margin with their colorations, holes and blotches. I had to build up watercolor washes to arrive at the vivid colors which I saw.

As I write this, it is pouring out. I imagine much of the remaining deciduous foliage, full of color, will be washed away. My perspective shifted earlier this week from individual leaves to fall clean-up when I needed to start raking some of our leaves in time for our town's leaf pick-up.

GOUACHE

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

In watercolor there is not a white transparent pigment, so artists either preserve the white of the paper or add gouache. You can mask an area of a painting to preserve it from the staining of pigments, but I find this approach frustrating.

Gouache is an opaque paint that cleans up like watercolor. It comes in a range of colors from the primary colors--red, blue and yellow--to other pigments such as green, black and white. Illustrators have long used gouache to convey their stories. Some artists do quick studies or even drawings in gouache. I even use the same brushes for gouache as I do for watercolor.

When there are white areas in a painting such as the white caps in an ocean swell, a buoy or white beads on a women's necklace, white gouache can come in handy. By identifying a few specific areas in a painting, you don't have to plan every detail in advance, knowing you can add a few touches of white at the end.

In a late summer painting of a lobster boat I used a razor blade to remove the paint to create the effect of sunlight reflecting off the water. You have to scratch the paper as if drawing, to enhance the perspective with greater marks in the foreground and smaller less frequent touches in the distance.

Noam Chomsky

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I attended the Brattleboro Literary Festival (October 1-4, 2015). Also, I helped set-up various venues for the readers and authors, who, as you can imagine, have diverse backgrounds, literary genres, and subject matters. For example, author Laura J. Snyder, a TED speaker, discussed how in seventeenth-century Holland, scientists and artists alike sought the discoveries of nature through the microscope, the mirror, and the camera obscura. While another, Nina MacLaughlin wrote about the challenges of being a female carpenter in a male dominated occupation. 

I discovered a photograph of Noam Chomsky featured in the Brattleboro Literary Festival booklet. He was pictured in a promotional piece for his Requiem for the American Dream, with no identified photography credit. Between two of the readings I was taken by the depth of emotion that is evident in his expression, so I began to draw Chomsky from this photograph. The eyes in my version are a bit more reflective or contemplative than in the photo. I find subtle unconscious changes emerge as I draw, whether in tweaking an eye or aging someone. Drawing regularly can provide powerful insight; it is fascinating to look at someone and imagine how they may age.

I'm not sure if I will bother to complete the top of the head.  I have learned along the way that there are occasions when you do not have to draw the whole head to get the essence or the expression. The shape of the mouth and the eyes convey so much. In fact, capturing the eyes alone with accuracy can be enough. There is much truth in the cliche of the soul being in the eyes.

Sun on the hill

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I started two years ago. I like the angles of the building, along with the sun and shadows. The downward view appeals to me too. I attempt to be true to the colors I see. Of course in watercolor the pigments dry much lighter than when they are wet.

As I often do, I move trees around to hide unsightly objects, enhance open space or to match the scale of a structure. In this case, by moving the evergreen behind the house, it makes the building come forward, particularly since it is such a light color. It also clarifies the form of the house. Basically, I try to enhance or simplify the composition when I can.

I like to include power lines, street signs and guardrails amongst other road amenities because they are cultural and historical references. Some of these utilitarian elements, such as a guardrail, can become quite dated in appearance. We take them for granted in our environments, but they become noticeable again when placed in a painting. 

On the Water

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I have been working on recently. I had joined a group of Brattleboro Outing Club paddlers on a September outing when the weather was fabulous, with clear blue skies and low humidity. That experience was the inspiration for this picture. I posted on this painting when it was in its early stages (October 4th, "On the Water").

The vertical orientation with the dark water, reflections and surface movement seem to draw the eye towards the paddler. The colors are dynamic and their is something very appealing about the sense of floating on the surface. I also like the woodland edge in the background. It gives the picture some context for the middle ground.

I did not mask any of this painting as some artists do. This involves preserving the white of the paper using masking liquid or tape. I have very little experience masking and am not particularly seeking more, at this point. I prefer the traditional approach of anticipating the negative space.

I do not yet consider this picture done. I feel the ripples on the reflection from the kayak need a little more definition. The paddles need a little more dimension where the fins meet the handles.

The color of the paddles was not an easy decision. Red is a complementary color to green, which is seen in the woodland edge. However, the red would compete with the orange skin tone reflection on the water, so I went with lemon yellow because it is a complementary color to the blue of the water. The lemon yellow is to separate the paddles from the richer yellow of the storage bag in front of the paddler. The lemon yellow in its pure color also looks artificial with a simple wash, which is intended to differentiate the paddles from nature's colors.

Newly Framed

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I framed this watercolor which was done over one year ago. It was intended to be a study for a larger painting with some compositional changes. The larger painting I envision has a drive entering the picture from the right foreground, sweeping along the contour as it settles before the barn. In the above picture, the existing road juts by the barn in a harsh manner. However, this painting sat on my desk with other watercolors yet to be completed. Since I had a pre-cut mat sized for it, I figured it was a good time to frame it.

Since I often paint in standard sizes, (this particular one is 12" x 16") it is relatively easy to find pre-cut mats and existing frames discounted in this size. Indian King Framery in Keene, N.H. a regional framing shop, has on the last Saturday of the month, a discount day, which I have been taking advantage of, recently.

I had purchased some pre-cut mats from Cheap Joe's, a mail order art supplier, at the end of summer. I then found a frame and purchased picture glass from the Indian King Framery at thirty percent off enabling me to simply assemble the frame and have it ready to be exhibited.

It was brought to my attention that I must have completed or nearly completed over fifty watercolors in the last two years or so. Over this period of time I have begun to paint larger and more compositionally sound paintings than before. My drawing ability has improved along the way too. I seem to attain a closer proximity of the values(the degree of darkness) I see from life or drawn from a reference photograph. In addition, my use of color and the pigments I mix have continued to evolve. I seldom use any colors straight out of the tube. Also, I have noted how the darks and the quality of darks in a picture bring out the light and warm tones.

Flat Files

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Several years ago I started to make a bunch of flat files, twelve drawers in actuality. I made the drawers, added two coats of polyurethane to them and installed pull handles. They are faced in oak. However, I have had a hard time finishing the cabinets that hold the drawers. Part of this delay is because I do not have a formal workshop--I use my unheated garage. Once spring arrives there are other demands on my time, and the garage gets really hot in the summer. In addition, there are complications due to the precise dimensions of the sides, drawers and back (dust cover). Also, they require the use of nearly every tool I have: table saw, compound mitre saw, router etc.

Well, I am pushing to get them done before the snow flies and it becomes too cold to work in the garage. I really need to use them to store unframed paintings, sheets of watercolor paper and even mats. There is another flat file in my studio/office space which is well used. Even the top surface is a great place to look at paintings in process and to store large watercolor blocks.

On the Water

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This past September when we had such a great stretch of beautiful days with low humidity I got out and paddled my kayak. I paddled both by myself and with a group from the Brattleboro Outing Club. I brought my old digital camera with me and snapped photographs with an eye for composition. Everyone who has a kayak these days, seems to have a vessel with bright and cheery colors, which create stunning reflections on the water when the light is good.

This recent weather and paddling inspired me to start this watercolor. The photograph I took as a reference, cannot be improved upon. Or at least that is what I think.

I particularly like the vertical composition with the fresh colors of late summer and early fall. The reflections conveyed on to the water from the boat and its occupant are dramatic. As a result I prefer to study the patterns on and of the water. I like how the focal point is high on the sheet almost pulling the viewer into the scene. It is also a forward looking perspective which makes the viewer look diagonally into the distance towards the next bend in the river.

I do enjoy the first washes, creating the placid water and developing the woodland edge with yellows, greens, and ochres. You can go on and on with all the variations of color and value on the water. I still have much more to add.