A ripple in time.....

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

In my travels I am always seeking to capture the light on the landscape or an object. When some element of the landscape is awash with natural light you notice things you normally wouldn't. 

Often I start a painting seated in a chair and get up to view my work from a different perspective. At some point along the process I often do quite a bit of the painting from a standing position. In this instance, I was struck by the graphic nature of this piece. 

The absence of pigment created this movement of water on the surface of this pond. The other thing I noticed was the unified mass of washes which tie the image together. It has been said it is best to keep things simple and leave out the details until the end. Well these are some of the thoughts that have been going through my mind lately.

This watercolor was inspired from a popular, yet local swim spot here in Vermont. When I hop in my kayak I always bring my camera with me as I don't want to miss anything.

late summer heatwave

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

When I walked on the tennis courts in the late afternoon you could feel the increased humidity in the air. Mind you, this is not the site of flushing meadows(aka, the United States Open), but southern Vermont. This latest waft of humidity, reminded me, of what we are in for, the next several days.

My mind immediately returned to this watercolor painted not long ago. There is something enticing about cool green foliage and the sound of lapping water along the shoreline.

High humidity stifles my creative output. My arm sticks to the paper while the pigment can be slow to dry. In addition, my attention span wanders while I work on smaller paintings.

I long for a day, most likely in September, when I won't perspire as much as I have this summer. When that days comes I have all sorts of ideas to put down in paint. With a rapidly evolving palette I feel like my best days are ahead.

Great Head Postcard

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This watercolor is a little memoir of my summer vacation in Maine. As mentioned in a prior post, my wife and I like to hike Great Head, in Acadia National Park, which is in Bar Harbor, Maine, when the sun is beginning to set. It is east-facing which in the heat of the day can be sweat-inducing. However, when the sun starts to go down, the light can become magical with a glow on the rocks and meadow areas.

This watercolor was painted on a damaged corner of Arches watercolor paper. I saw it as an opportunity to try out my Holbein paint palette which has vivid pigments. I like how the pigments run into each other.

I am cheap. I try not to waste any paper. If a watercolor becomes a dud, I either divide it up into smaller pieces to use as a test sheet or turn the sheet over and use the back.

Lowell Lake landscape

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This summer, in Vermont, at least in Brattleboro, has been particularly strange. We had a late winter followed by a long stretch of sunny days with little precipitation for spring. Then towards the end of July it seemed to rain nearly everyday.

As a result of all this moisture, the landscape is verdant. This panoramic, I believe, conveys much of the range of greens we live with during this time of year. I do not remember a growing season where you could not skip mowing the lawn, one week, before it really gets out of hand.

Needless to say, I included a lot of yellow-greens and cool blues in developing this watercolor. The feeling of moisture with all it's atmospheric qualities seems to dominate this late summer landscape.

Great Head(Bar Harbor, Maine) Panorama

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

All summer I have been flirting with the idea of painting bolder landscapes. The other night I quickly painted this panorama on a scrap of Arches watercolor paper that has been kicking around. 

This watercolor is inspired from my recent trip to Maine. Great Head is one of my favorite hikes in Acadia National Park which is in Bar Harbor, Maine. My wife and I prefer this hike late in the afternoon when the glow on the rocks and vegetation is magical.

Painting the sky and water was truly an exciting moment for me. The paper was wet and the pigment was glistening on the surface. However, I wasn't so sure how the green in the foreground would turn out but am pleased with the result.

It seems like I learn something new each time I work with watercolor, whether it is the pigments, the paper or the impact a brush can make.

Robert O'Brien Watercolor Workshop

Photograph Dale DiMauro

In southern Vermont, we have an art group called the Saxton's River Art Guild, which puts together a calendar of art-related events. On Saturday, I attended one of these functions, a workshop in watercolor held by Robert O'Brien, a Vermont artist. Often Saturdays do not work for me, but this timing worked out well. This extended period of rain closed the deal for me, too.

This is a photograph of the watercolor Rob worked on as a demonstration at the workshop. He arrived with the drawing for the painting transferred to his paper so he could readily start painting. The circular white areas in the foreground are where Rob applied masking fluid which is removed at a later point in his painting process. Masking fluid is used to preserve the color of the watercolor paper from further staining.

I have had some success with using masking fluid but often find it frustrating. So far I have used it in small areas of my paintings. The issue for me is that most masking fluid dispensers clog easily and some dry the same color as the paper. It is important to know where it is on your sheet. This way when you remove it, you can be confident that you got it all.

I believe the workshop had thirteen in attendance including Rob, which is a nice-sized group. There were many familiar faces and quite a variety of artistic approaches. It is good to get out as an artist and broaden your perspective.

Winslow Homer

Photograph Dale DiMauro

This is a Winslow Homer graphite and pencil drawing, presumedly done as a study for a painting. It was created in 1879 and is titled Man with a Scythe. This depicts a period of mourning and renewal, following the civil war.

This photograph was taken last week when my wife and visited the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. We were impressed with the current exhibit on Homer's use of the camera during his life as an aid in his painting process. Seldom do you get to view paintings from such as master, at least in watercolor, these days.

I appreciate anyone who can draw, period. However, when an artist captures the human figure in motion with the correct proportions, scale etc, now that is impressive. 

When we were viewing the rest of the exhibition I kept wanting to come back to this drawing. Those simple pencil strokes captured my imagination.

Not far from the coast

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

Usually, I get some drawing and painting done when I travel, but this trip has been challenging. Each stop on this Maine vacation has been hot and humid. And I do not mean just during the days. There have been evenings and even nights when all of a sudden I start sweating because of the humidity. Perhaps, I take our heat pumps, which we use all summer, at home, for granted.

This watercolor, I started, one sticky evening, the other night. This picture I treated as a plein air yet was done inside. It has a freer nature than my studio work. What I do love about these are my willingness to try different techniques while my palette continues to evolve.

Since the Spring I have been thinking about better ways to incorporate opaque paint into my plein air paintings. When we visited the Bowdoin College Museum of Art recently, I studied this aspect of Winslow Homer's watercolors. 

For me, opaque paints are best applied after the transparent washes, but in limited areas. When painting outside this can simplify the painting process by making it more direct which is important as the natural light is constantly on the move.

I will discuss other revelations, to me, in my approach to working outside in upcoming posts.

Winslow Homer

(C) 2018 Photograph Dale DiMauro

The other day my wife and I visited the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, in Brunswick, Maine. We were impressed with their current exhibition titled Winslow Homer & the Camera: Photography & the Art of Painting. This exhibit runs from June 23 - October 28, 2018.

Winslow Homer was an American artist who lived from 1836-1910. Some consider him the most important artist in American history. In fact, earlier in the week, when I was at the Portland Museum of Art, one of the ushers told me that Homer is their most requested artist. 

This exhibition looks at Homer's lifelong fascination with photography and the use of the medium as applied to his paintings. Originally, Homer used the camera while fulfilling commissions for illustrations. He often used the camera as an aid in developing compositions and recording information.

This watercolor painting, Canoe in Rapids, was created in 1897.