Jordan Pond

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This watercolor was inspired from a hike around Jordan Pond, on Mount Desert Island, this past summer, in Maine. My wife and I weren't the only ones on the loop trail which includes board walks, foot bridges and raised planks. All the scenery is quite lovely, but the quiet inlets with rocks peering above the water and embedded in the shoreline are quite striking. I particularly, was taken by the soft shadows and layers of green growth.

This scene is painted on 300 lb watercolor paper, which many artists consider thick. After soaking the sheet early on, it would not lay flat so I decided to turn it over and soaked the back with water. While the paper was still wet I put empty jars on it so it would dry flat. This technique worked so well that I am considering pre-wetting both sides in advance of future paintings.

In hindsight, I like the earthy brown tones in the foreground with the splash of red off the shoreline in contrast to the cool background colors.