A plein air revisited

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

It was a beautiful day here in southern Vermont, today. So I sought to take advantage of this favorable weather. A few weeks ago I started this plein air watercolor. When I started this, time was limited and the late afternoon sun was fading. When I first painted this, I stood on a causeway constructed of concrete while in the shade.

Well, early this afternoon I went back to this site and did more painting on this picture. However, when I set-up my easel on the same causeway, I was in the full sun. In addition, since last visit, some of the trees are beginning to acquire their fall color.

Regardless of the changes I have no control over, there is more depth added to the scene. From painting outside I have learned that marks here and there are just as effective as broad washes over a chunk of the paper. Many of these marks I add as other areas of the paper are drying. Ultimately, these marks can be interpreted as branching, reflections on the water or suggest direction in a scene.