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.