All Aboard!

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

On the train ride home from Philadelphia, which is long, I painted a watercolor. Even though it was a challenging painting environment with crammed quarters, vibrations and such, I was satisfied with my efforts, nonetheless.

This was my set-up once I lowered the lap tray. I attached a sheet of watercolor to the top of my sketchbook with a clip-on watercolor container which has a screw-on lid. However, this is not my usual palette, but I made do.

The conductor mentioned that he could not recall the last time he saw an artist on the train, even though he himself had gone to design school. In addition, a traveler behind us requested to take a photograph of my watercolor. So you never what will happen when you put your work out there. This is in contrast to the majority of the travelers plugged in to their devices during the trip.

Returning to a Painting

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This is a painting I started a long time ago, at this point. The background was unresolved and critical areas of the boat needed to be completed. It can be daunting to paint a pure red stripe across the middle of your painting and not mess it up.

Recently, when returning to this painting, I realized I am a different painter than I was. I use a broader palette of pigments and for example, seldom use green straight out of the tube. Greens that I mix from my palette provide a fresh, less artificial looking pigment. Jumping back and forth from different size paintings has become more fluid, too. In addition, my drawing ability has improved or at least I pick up on things that don't seem correct in conveying a perspective or attaining better facial proportions. 

Once I got started again on this painting, inspiration kicked in and I could see where to go with it. In addition to the background, I sought to develop more of the human form, in the paddler and exaggerated the artificial color of the boat.

As a footnote, I will not be publishing a post on Wednesday. My wife and I will be on a short trip to Philadelphia and we will be traveling as light as possible. When we return I am sure there will be rich sources to post about from this trip.

Finishing touches

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I worked on this winter. To me it summed up the extreme cold we had over the holiday season. I heard the weatherman on the radio state that we had some twenty days since the temperature was last above the freezing point.

It had been nearly four months since I last saw my art mentor, Gerard Doucette. With his input I addressed some final details. These included filling in more of the apple tree, above on the left. This gave more variety to the skyline. The silhouette of the figure was refined as aspects of the anatomy weren't quite right. Last, but not least, I signed the painting.

Signing a painting is always a challenge. The act of signing the painting is simple in itself. However, determining where you should place your signature and how big to make your writing our questions that run through my mind. 

A little more progress....

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

While finishing our taxes, I was able to squeeze in some time on this watercolor from the last post. This picture seems to be developing into an illustrative work more so than a literal interpretation. As a result, this image makes the building look like it is part of an estate. 

When working on a landscape painting, I like to make changes to the grounds. Simplifying and sometimes deleting plantings around the building, opening up vistas, makes for a better composition. Or at least that is my intent. Taking full advantage of artistic license can be empowering.

This watercolor has an English quality to it. The building makes it a period piece, perhaps. Also, the muted colors with the expanse of lawn or meadow remind me of some of the great landscape designers and watercolorists from England. Lancelot "Capability" Brown and Humphry Repton come to mind along with the watercolors of Rowland Hilder. Brown was known for his landscapes with sweeping contours, winding drives, and clumps of trees.

Landscape painting

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

Now that this long winter is finally passing I am eager to paint some landscapes. Since last fall I have upgraded my plein air supplies and am equipped to get back outside in the warmer weather.

I now have in my arsenal a new easel for outdoor painting which sets up quickly. In addition, I have various shoulder bags to transport supplies depending on how involved I want to get. At times I find an available picnic table to paint at, which does not require me to bring as much stuff. For my birthday I just ordered a sun umbrella which will attach to any easel leg. This will provide shade and cut down on glare when working outside. 

I did a plein air version of this watercolor last summer. However, this is a studio painting I recently started. Lately, I have been yearning to paint a building in the landscape. For me there is something about seeing the ground and plants re-emerge and give life to the buildings in the landscape.

Across the field

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This is the early phases of a watercolor inspired from the natural patterns and colors of a local field in the fall. There are lovely folds of earth, turned under by the ruts a vehicle had created, jutting diagonally, across the field. As much as the warm light is inviting, the shadows convey great drama.

A year or two ago I posted about a painting from a similar viewpoint. It was on a much smaller scale. However, this painting at least so far, has cleaner washes, less detail and better brush work. 

Landscape painting, I believe, has the ability to draw the viewer into a scene like no other art form. The landscapes we grow up in, shapes and molds our perceptions of the world and ultimately forms our identity as we go through life. 

After I stepped away from this watercolor, I felt all this movement across the page. Some of it was the changing light and shadows. It was also the changing of the seasons. However, since I had crossed the field, by foot, previously, I felt transformed by the grand scheme of things.

The End of Winter or is it the Beginning of Spring?

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This painting was inspired by one of my last cross-country ski outings, in Grafton, Vt. This group of apple trees with their seasoned character and twisting habit are such icons in the natural environment. Most people I run into have a story or two to tell about an impressive apple tree from their youth. Some mention that it framed their childhood as they hid under it's arching branches or climbed high up to pick apples. 

The fact that I could look through the tree trunk and see the distant hill caught my attention. It is similar to an old barn leaning over, shaped by the seasons, yet standing on it's last leg. However, within a month, new buds will burst forth, full of greenery and new life.

What I like about this watercolor is the warmth of the sky in contrast to the grays. In watercolor it is said that neutral washes bring out the colors in the picture. A certain balance can be achieved which provides the viewer with a calming affect. It makes me realize that if you know the palette well, a limit of color can go a long way.

Beyond the Forest Edge

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This watercolor was started as an in-between picture, sandwiched around the production of other paintings. I was seeking to paint a landscape with no concern for the human figure, in it. In fact, I had already sketched out the framework for another watercolor on this sheet when I started painting.

The warm and cool colors drew me to this scene. The warmth of the field with the distant woodland edge belies the cold shade of the forest in the foreground. Even the dull and dark washes of the solitary tree transmit an element of the cold.

However, I do like the silhouette of the tree with it's scraggly edges and unkempt branching. When one comes upon a tree in it's natural state, shaped by the elements, it is quite a sight. 

These are some of the thoughts I had when considering to paint this scene. When I am in the great outdoors, thoughts come to me as to how I would compose a scene and which pigments would best communicate the subject matter.