Color swatches

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

When I go on a walk I may come upon a color in nature that is new to me. I will make a mental note of which pigments when mixed will approximate what I saw. In addition, I often read of color mixtures in art magazines that pique my interest. I take all these sources and experiment with pigments in a color swatch journal, as seen above.

For example, of late, I have been toying with the various combinations of permanent magenta, cobalt turquoise, and cobalt violet with Payne's gray. The atmospheric affects one can discover captivate my imagination.  

All this activity expands my vocabulary of color. Arriving at warmer or cooler colors or discovering new darks can be quite rewarding. Color, after all, is a powerful influence. It can change the temperature in a scene or reframe our perceptions.

Merry Christmas to all

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Earlier in the week I was able to spend time working on my self-portrait, which I recently started. One area I focused on was my left arm and hand as seen in the photograph. 

I am quite inspired at this point in the development of the picture. I like how the hand is depicted. There is warmth in the colors, yet the form is well developed. The simple green growth in the background provides a sense of optimism while making the figure push forward. The color of the fence has evolved to an off-white, as a way to not compete with the rest of the composition, yet provide a framework for what is seen. 

At this time of year with the daylight limited, it is often difficult to take a good quality photograph, consistently. I prefer to take my photographs during the daylight but other commitments make it a challenge. Taking interior photographs with artificial light and the shadows they project, requires more consideration, unpredictability and greater cropping.

Carl G. Evers

(C) 2016 Photograph by Dale DiMauro of Carl G. Evers painting

For many years I have had this little book of paintings by Carl G. Evers on my nightstand. I consider him to be one of the best ever water-based painters. The book is titled The Marine Paintings of Carl G. Evers with an introduction by Ian Ballantine. It was printed in 1975 and is less than fifty pages in its entirety.

I know very little about his paintings (techniques, materials, etc.). What I do know is that he was a master in depicting the sea and and all its many moods. Sometimes before turning the light off and falling asleep, I study his skies, which he seemed to master equally well. 

I suspect most of the pictures featured in his book were primarily painted in watercolor with some white gouache. Areas where there is a strong white feature, such as in the whitecaps of cresting waves, are difficult to achieve with transparent watercolor pigment. In his day, I do not believe Evers would have used masking to preserve the white of the paper, as is readily done these days. First I don't think it was as available, but also it may have been a custom that was frowned upon. Gouache is opaque and when applied on paper it blocks the passage of light.

Self-portrait

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I started this self-portrait. Last month, I had considered taking a local workshop in watercolor specializing in portraiture. Initially, there was a small group registered so I was anticipating which subject to focus on. Then I realized, my wife and I were scheduled to usher a live music venue the evening before which would get us home late. In the end I did not attend the workshop as the timing just was not going to work out.

However, I became intrigued by this picture my wife took of me when on vacation in Maine. There is personal significance for me as the bench is named after a relative of mine who lived to be over one hundred years old. I like the composition as much for the face as for my dangling hands in the foreground. Over the last year I have been trying to improve on the portrayal of hands in my paintings as many say that hands are the most difficult body part to capture.

The more I studied this composition, the more I realized it was an opportunity for me to practice the use of masking fluid. The wood, which the bench is made of, has peeling paint on some edge areas with textural qualities that I am looking to emphasize. The masking fluid preserves areas from paint, which can removed later on in the painting process. Defined edges or strong color contrasts can be preserved this way to great affect.

Eldridge Hardie

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Several years ago I purchased this book, The Paintings of Eldridge Hardie: Art of A Life in Sport, which I consider one of the best of many art books that I have. I particularly admire his watercolors of outdoor sporting scenes. There is something captivating about a figure in motion in the landscape.

This watercolor is inspired from the work of Eldridge Hardie. I tried to emulate some of the techniques and stylings he may have used in some of his watercolors. 

When he paints water he seems to achieve this great dry brush affect as he drags the brush along the surface of the paper leaving white speckles. His evergreens appear darker than mine and he uses wonderful vibrant colors to convey his fall foliage with warmth.

Aquabord

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Several weeks ago when I was in Northampton, MA, I purchased several aquabord panels. These boards were created specifically for use with watercolor. I had yet to try this new surface and was not sure how the watercolor pigments would handle it. The surface is textured not unlike a sheet of cold press watercolor but it is a board so the pigment more or less sits on the surface. I liked working with the panel even though I was not sure how far to carry the development of the picture.

I created an imaginary landscape inspired from the Connecticut River Valley with it's meandering river basin. The photograph is not quite accurate in that the sky transitions from the horizon with a richer cobalt blue the further up you proceed. 

I have been experimenting with the use of permanent magenta in collaboration with other pigments such as paynes gray and ultramarine blue to achieve greater atmospheric effects.

Chair drawing

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro; Photo credit: Squirrel Friends

My wife purchased a fancy new chair for me that not only rocks but also swivels and reclines. Don't worry; she has a brand new couch coming of her own choosing. However, one of the criteria for my new chair was that I needed to be able to sketch in it comfortably.

This is the first drawing I did in the chair two nights ago while watching television. The subject was from a photograph clipped from our weekly newspaper, just after I read the latest edition in my new chair.

I do find drawing a critical stage prior to painting as it makes me think of the composition in advance. In general, the more I can advance a composition or simplify it, the stronger the end result  

Apple orchards

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I have been working on painting this apple orchard inspired from back in the fall. I was taken by the fall colors as much as the rolling land and distant mountains. What really captured my imagination are the areas between the trees which seem to convey this organic open space.

When I originally put down my first washes they were very abstract shapes but it did not read as I intended. Thus, I had to unite all these separate landscape elements such as the trees, grass and distant mountains. I used a lot of burnt sienna which artists often say is an important color in landscape painting. Even though the painting is not yet finished I used burnt sienna in the foliage of the apple trees and in the warmer tones of the grass which unites the foreground with the middle ground.

The post in the foreground was moved from the right to the left side of the picture as a way to better frame the vista. I intend on refining the grassy growth in the foreground.