All aboard!

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This painting was inspired by two train excursions my wife and I took earlier this year. We had a brief break from our travels when the engineer encouraged passengers to step outside and get some fresh air for many and a smoke for others. I was struck by the abstract form, shadows and industrial quality of what we were riding in.

When I started this painting I was attracted by the composition, with this gray mass dominating the page. However, I found painting the various grays to be quite challenging as there is minimal other color in the painting. As the painting has developed I have come to appreciate the subtle variations in gray and their application is critical to expressing the form of the rail cars. In addition, painting the red stripes was important as the viewers eye is drawn to this color, which is complementary to the various gray color range.

What gives the painting its final impact in my mind, are the darks that I have added since last discussing this subject. The dark area below the train and between the cars provides such depth and a cool feel to the changing light. The brush of green at the bottom of the picture was to offer some contrast without drawing too much interest yet provide seasonal context. I consider this painting essentially finished.

The question of where to sign a painting and how large to make the name is not taken lightly. I have been contemplating signing this watercolor in the lower left with a red pen on a modest scale. Yet the name cannot be lost to the viewer once it is framed so it needs to be in from the edge of the paper as if in a margin when typing a word processing document.

Lastly, the framing material I have on hand is a charcoal gray, which I think will harmonize with the painting and contrast nicely with a white mat.