Further development

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Watercolor paintings take time before they develop into an image I can be proud of. It is important to get the composition as strong as possible. I find the best watercolors have strong darks in them because they bring out the light which is often the focal point.

The above painting I started in the winter, in part, inspired from the lack of snow we had. We had so little snow this past winter it was easier to get around. If you paid attention, we had an irregular patchwork quilt of exposed earth most of the winter, in contrast to where we did have snow. This abstract landscape may seem all too ordinary but I saw it as an opportunity to enhance the figure both in his presence and in temperature.

The skin tone of the figure's face plays off the pink post planted in the ground. I altered the color of the figure's jacket to make it warmer and contrast with the blue background. With the help of Gerard Doucette, my art mentor, I was able to tweak the angle of the face to convey a stronger presence. In addition, the posture and body shape of the man was altered providing a greater sense of movement across the snow.