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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
When my painting is interrupted, as it has been many times this summer, I often experiment with different techniques on a test sheet, which are often little landscapes in and of themselves. For the past two weeks we have had masons working on our chimney, which has disrupted my painting routine.
On this little painting I have been experimenting with a neutral tint, which is a watercolor pigment, to arrive at a richer dark earlier in the painting process. The neutral tint in this picture is used in the dark tree massing in the distance. I also have been using mask, which when lifted created all those fine white marks that were left.
Finally, I am looking for a better way to sign my paintings. I do not want my signature to be too dominant as to take away from or compete with the painting. However, I like the idea of signing my paintings with a vibrant red, which to some degree is absorbed into the picture. In many watercolor paintings there are various grays such as in some of Winslow Homer's work, which is the complement to red, offering possibilities to expand upon.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
Recently, I was informed that my painting No Trespassing, was selected for the Fall Exhibition of the Vermont Watercolor Society. This exhibition takes place from October 21 - November 11, 2016 at the AVA Gallery on 11 Bank Street in Lebanon, NH 03766.
For me this is exciting as I also had a painting selected for the Spring Exhibition which took place at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vt. The painting selected for this show had been Heading up River, a picture of a kayaker paddling on a glorious fall day with many reflections cast across the water.
There will be many other fine artists exhibiting their work, so if you have the time or are in the area I encourage you visit the AVA Gallery.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
You don't know your hand until you draw it. The process of drawing your hand makes you aware of the characteristics of your fingers and wrist. I find drawing the hand to be the most difficult aspect of the human anatomy. For me the face and feet are not nearly as challenging.
My left wrist was reset after fracturing it two winters ago in a snowstorm. As a result my wrist has a different shape these days. The light area on my wrist is usually where my fitbit sits. My hands are very slender, giving me great dexterity and touch. It is also creepy to see how your hand may actually be. I do believe the drawing is relatively accurate.
I tan quickly and have an olive complexion so this hand may come across as a hand of a darker skinned man.
I took this photograph yesterday at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., in the hallway with new acquisitions. This is a painting by the late Merv Corning (1926-2006) done in 1981 in watercolor and graphite on paper. It is one of hundreds of portraits Corning produced from 1966 on of players for the National Football League.
Walter Payton was a Chicago Bear running back from 1975-1987, nicknamed "Sweetness." He was born in Columbia, Mississippi, went on to have a very successful NFL career, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993. He was named League MVP in 1977 and 1985.
One of the characteristics I admire of Corning's work is his tendency to leave a lot of the paper unpainted. To some this may seem unfinished, but I find it forces the viewer to zoom in on the player's posture and expression. In addition, he gives reverence to his subject by making us look up at him through Corning's perspective, while capturing Payton's true presence through realism.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
This past summer in Vermont we have not had many cloudy days or at least the string of overcast weather as in past seasons. It is great to wake up to beautiful, sunny days, but there is something special about the somber, quiet, stillness of overcast weather. This is the kind of weather that might make you want to curl up and read a book.
When studying Winslow Homer's watercolors earlier this summer, I noticed that there are many grays both warm and cool, and the subtleties of color really create strong moods on the landscape. I have used a lot of darks here by combining various degrees of shadow green, ultramarine, Payne's gray and sepia. These darks bring out the light, and as you can see there is precious little in this picture. I think there is a misty quality in this watercolor.
At the bottom where the water is, I lifted paint to suggest disturbance on the surface of the still water.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
Recently, I purchased this hardcover, spiral-bound sketchbook from a local art store. I am determined to fill it with portraits until there is no paper left. After having experience with many different sketchbooks through the years I have learned that pencil smears and will dirty the front pages over time. Thus, after this first drawing in this new sketchbook I thought it would be a good idea to try using a workable fixative, which prevents smudging and wrinkling. I bought this spray fixative at the same local art store and am eager to see how it goes.
To minimize smearing in the past I either have used sketchbooks with perforated pages where you can cleanly remove a sheet as needed and use pencils that lean more to the hard end of the soft scale. That is I tend to use an HB or 2B pencil instead of an 8B, for example.
In the past, when I used other fixatives, I had to spray them outside as the stuff smelled foul, but I was told this product is much better. I'll let you know what I think of this product in a future post.
P.S.: The source for this drawing originated from the USA Today Sports: Special Edition which I picked up locally prior to the beginning of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. I am interested in capturing the varied expressions on people's faces and their individual characteristics.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
This painting is a fond memory of this past summer. With the shorter days upon us and the humidity subsiding it is finally comfortable to paint again. I have been inspired and feel like I made significant progress on this picture. However, it is not completely resolved, but I feel I got off to a great start.
This watercolor is a study for a larger painting I hope to do in the fall. The reason it is a study is because I was not sure how best to arrange the figures for the composition. Figures in a picture immediately become the focal point so it is important to get them correct.
I do like the presence of light in this picture and thus the shadows that reveal the various forms. There is an overall outdoor feeling conveyed by the light and the colors which is true to form, I believe. Through much practice I am mixing colors that are more accurate and attaining the degree of darkness I am seeking. The earlier stages of my paintings continue to be executed with an uninhibited manner and I slowly am getting better at depicting the human form.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
Last week I started this watercolor of my wife at the beach along the Maine coast. I like the composition with the figure off center and the great rocks in the foreground. I have been adding a touch of red into my blues for the sky, which seems to add an element of drama, setting the stage for the painting. I have begun to appreciate an unsettled sky over the shoreline, second only to the setting sun, particularly since the viewer cannot see the water.
At this point I have not put much time into this painting but the most laborious aspect of the painting has been the rocks. I have been building up the quality of the rocks through various color washes, which has included spattering. By spattering I am attempting to suggest the texture of the rocks and create some variation of their form as they are in the foreground. In order to spatter, I tap a brush loaded with dark pigment against my forefinger, and the paint is thrown randomly in small areas.
My wife's left arm is darker than the rest of her body, which will have to be corrected further along in the painting's development. I will most likely be required to lift paint by wetting the area and wiping it with a paper towel.
With my art mentor, Gerard Doucette's input, I added a sliver of land to the right of the figure providing more depth to the picture and further uniting the landscape. In reality the scene is a very small island connected at low tide by a sand bar to Pompham Beach State Park.
