Summer paddle

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Paddling in the summer season in Vermont is a special experience. We have many small bodies of water, perhaps more than most states, particularly those in the dry western regions. It seems that you can get closer to wildlife in these more intimate waters if you respect your surroundings. I have paddled up close to deer, painted turtles, beavers, bald eagles, cormorants, and blue herons on a pretty regular basis in the summer. The herons do not allow for a close approach, but I can reach out and touch the sunning turtles.

This is a watercolor I have recently started working on. I like the vivid colors in the foreground. Of particular note are the dramatic reflections on the water with the red stripe and the yellow of the boat. I have decided to paint the paddler's shirt off-white because this way it will not compete with the blue in the foreground and the yellow below him. 

However, I am struggling a little bit with how to treat the middle ground behind the boat. Should it convey the branching even though only the foliage is visible in the photograph I snapped of the original scene? Or should I show the details of some leaves and then put a wash over the distant shoreline? I am a little unresolved at this point.

Periodically, I am somewhat stalled on a painting, and that is why I prefer to work on several pictures at various stages of completion and on different scales at the same time.