FIGURE DRAWING: FOR ALL IT"S WORTH

Photograph Dale DiMauro

When I came upon this book in Hadley, Ma., at one of those large bookstore chains, I was struck by the quality of it's content. This book, Figure Drawing: For All it's Worth(A Book of Fundamentals for an Artistic Career), by Andrew Loomis, is considered a classic. This is the best book on figure drawing I have seen. And I have seen many. 

The cover may appear sexist for some and it probably is when you consider today's values. However, it was originally published in 1943 when times were different. However, I do believe the book and it's contents to be tastefully presented. 

Drawings by Dale DiMauro

Loomis provides a straight-forward approach at grasping the proportions of the human body and identifying key landmarks in conveying it's form. I like how he emphasizes certain exercises which pushes the artist along in capturing the human form. 

The above drawings I did based on this book. Loomis encourages the reader to repeatedly draw the human figure, free-hand, until you have it memorized. At that point you are familiar with the body in motion and can capture various postures. 

At this point I feel like I am progressing in capturing the human proportions quickly, in a fluid manner.

Along the Shore

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

Last week I revisited this watercolor, which was started in the fall. I knew it needed more work, but was not clear on what direction I was going to go with it. One year ago I do not think I could have painted this watercolor to the degree in which it has come thus far.

Usually, I work on several watercolors at a time. This way I do not usually get stuck on any one painting. Depending on the time I have available and how inspired I am, I can work on a big painting or proceed with a smaller one.

Throughout the winter I have been utilizing more browns from my palette. Some of them may be more on the red side than brown. The reddish brown in the grass is burnt sienna while the water has quite a bit of burnt umber and raw sienna.

For some season, to me, these browns project a warm and calming affect. In addition, they make the landscape appear more naturalistic.

Andrew Wyeth: Portrait Drawings

Photograph Dale DiMauro

Last summer when my wife and I were at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, there was an exhibit of Andrew Wyeth drawings. These are the kinds of things you do not see exhibited next to his finished watercolors or egg tempera paintings in a typical gallery setting.

When viewed in the gallery you discover how large some of these drawings actually are. Many are the size of a large painting while others are the size of a typical sketchbook. 

Andrew Wyeth had such precision in his portrait studies yet there are atmospheric qualities conveyed through his pencil. When viewing these portrait drawings I do not see lines conveying the facial features but a range of values depicting the contours of the head. This last statement I find extraordinary.

In essence, to draw the face an artist usually learns the reference points of the head from where the eyes are set in the face to where the nose is placed etc. However, while utilizing these reference points as a general rule he seemed to depict the facial features through the shadows they cast or the source and direction the light conveyed. I come back to this notion again and again when drawing and painting.

Brattleboro Retreat Woods

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

Late in the week I was fortunate to join an art group in Newfane, Vermont. With this group I did some more work on this winter scene, primarily the trees in the background. The thinner tree in the foreground had masking fluid applied early on, high up on the trunk. This was removed then. Raw sienna was added to the same trunk to exaggerate the contrast with the snow.

Overall, I like how this picture has come together. Originally, I was struck by the stunning light on the snow, when I came upon this scene, in the middle of the woods. I pre-stained the paper with a yellow pigment before I truly started painting. This area with the warm glow has the least amount of paint on it.

After meeting with this group, which I figured was about half way to Grafton,VT, I went cross-country skiing in some of the best conditions of this winter season.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Photographs Dale DiMauro

Last month I finished reading LEONARDO DA VINCI by Walter Isaacson. This is the best written book I have ever read about Leonardo. It is thoroughly researched with compelling diagnosis of his major projects and awe-inspiring.

The author discloses that 7,200 pages of Leonardo's notes and drawings amazingly survive to date, four hundred plus years, since they were recorded. Isaacson discloses that this likely represents one quarter of what Leonardo actually produced. These very drawings inspired me to dust off my fountain pen and put it to use. 

One of the emphasis of the book is Leonardo's endless curiosity with careful study and an active imagination. The reader gets the sense that by the time Leonardo finished his paintings or at least the ones he completed, his fertile mind and knowledge were leaps and bounds from the approach he had when he first sat down to start the painting.

I cannot do justice to the new discoveries about his life and work revealed in this book. After all the book is over five hundred pages long. However, there is one chapter in particular that I found fascinating above all others. 

In 1998 a drawing of a young women in profile came on the market and was then found in a gallery in Manhattan. After much research using modern technology and art experts across several continents it is attributed to Leonardo. The chapter goes on to trace the journey to identify the creator and it's existence since its creation. Research like this make the book a fascinating read.

Late Winter Light

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

At this of the year, late in the day, if the sun is out, the light can be magical. This glow can be striking. However, it does not last long. It can transform the landscape, though. 

I am not trying to imply that I captured this light, but it certainly is inspiring. Even though there does not seem to be a lot of color in the landscape, at this time of year, the colors often become intensified.

On my palette I occasionally use this electric blue called manganese blue. I have only observed this blue in the landscape around this time year, after a fresh snowfall. The extended length of day combined with the fluctuation of temperatures seem to make me aware of this atmospheric quality. Manganese in a watercolor painting energizes the landscape. It becomes a focal point even though it is often on the edge of shadows.

Retreat Woods

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This watercolor is inspired by a snowshoe through the Brattleboro Retreat woods in late January. I was struck by the warmth of the light on the snow and the bark of the nearby trees. There is this quality etched in my memory of the glow from the sun at a point in time like no other. In contrast, the background of woods has a cool yet preserved quality to them.

I started this picture before my wife and I went on a trip to Washington, D.C., last week. In my mind this watercolor was moving along nicely. However, right now I am little stalled with it's progress as I come back to it. Part of the issue is that most of the winter-like qualities that stir in my mind had begun to disappear as much of the snow around here has shrunk.

There is more to do to get this picture to where I would like it to be. However, when it comes to depicting nature I try to be true to the source. The spatial patterns and colorations I cannot make up or at least, I try to learn from, being outside in nature.

Official portrait of President Barack Obama

2018 Photograph Dale DiMauro

Last month, the official presidential portrait of Barack Obama was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Barack Obama, the first african american president, selected Kehinde Wiley, the first african american artist, to portray an official presidential likeness. 

Last week while my wife and and I were visiting with relatives in the Washington D.C. area, we visited the Portrait Gallery to see this painting. I was struck by the strong use of color in contrast to the older portraits in the gallery and the prominence the background plays. 

Certainly not a watercolor but a well-composed painting. There is a seriousness of posture and expression depicted by the president, yet a relaxed quality as he is not wearing a formal tie.

There is much flower meaning attached to President Obama's life. The African blue lilies I understand represent Kenya, his father's birthplace while jasmine stands for Hawaii where Obama was born. Chrysanthemums are the official flower of Chicago, where the president's political career began and the place where he met his wife, Michele.