Mood in the landscape

(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.