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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
We have had beautiful, sunny days for the most part, to close out 2018. Lately, the landscape looks more like a late November day than some point in December. The snow has receded enough that I found I can walk through the woods without boots or the ice grabbers that often are required in the winter.
One can truly see the natural colors of nature if you really look. I hike through the woods and fields challenging myself. I ask myself what pigments on my palette would express these warm and cool washes found in nature. The long shadows are an important component of this landscape.
I believe these colors tell us a lot about the regional landscape, the time of year and where we call home. Hopefully, I can manipulate these colors and patterns in subtle ways which will create stronger paintings and a greater connection to where we live and in the time we live.
And by the way, Happy New Year to you....
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
Is Winter coming or going here in Vermont? It certainly has been cold. However, much of the snow we had last month is no longer with us. My wife and I did in fact, skate on the retreat meadows earlier in the day. We thought the conditions were great. The sun was out when we got there too.
This watercolor was started when we had more snow than we now have. I like the atmospheric qualities of this scene. There is an eerie quality in this watercolor which I find appealing.
Often subtlety in the landscape speaks volumes. When there is a soft change in color or the edges of elements are less defined often make for a memorable landscape. When I think of these qualities the paintings of George Inness comes to mind.
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
This watercolor was inspired from a hike my wife and I took in 2017 on Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, Maine. For us the best time to hike is late in the afternoon during the hot, humid summer. At this time of day, the crowds thin out and we are not usually exposed to the sun. This is in part, because we favor certain eastern facing mountains. Of course, the view in all directions is stunning.
Hopefully 2019 will provide great opportunities to plein air paint along with some major studio works. As they say, you can't stand still. You gotta keep moving.
I want to wish all a Happy Holiday season and a great New Year. May 2019 be your best year ever.
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
In early fall while hiking I was struck by this scene. The grand vista across the field and into the distant hills with the varying degrees of light inspired me to try a much larger landscape.
Throughout the summer season I painted many smaller landscapes. Each one I believe showed some sort of progress. Whether it was mixing richer greens or browns, more varied skies, or deleting unnecessary elements, to simplify the composition.
In this unfinished watercolor the middle ground is the challenge. It is important for the artist to make the viewer perceive the landscape clearly. This will require going back into the shadows and articulating some of the clumps of grass. In addition, the foreground will need opaque paint to suggest some of the blades of grass against the shadows.
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
We are fast approaching the shortest days of the year. When the sun is in fact, out, I try to go outdoors and take in at least twenty minutes of direct sunshine, usually on a hike. Shadows so dominate the countryside at this time of year that it makes painting the landscape quite dramatic.
This is a plein air watercolor I painted looking through the bay window of our living room last December. The low light at this time of year reminded me of this picture. There is warmth and cool temperatures in this watercolor. Prior to painting this picture I toned the paper a warm yellow which gives the areas in the sun such as the snow increased warmth.
The slate-gray colored road at the bottom of the image provides a cool contrast with the vertical elements jutting up out of the snow.
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| (C)2018 Dale DiMauro |
This fall was really different here in southern Vermont. Or at least that is my feeling on the subject.
At the end of a summer that brought many rainy days, the fall foliage was forecast to be quite good. However, the rainy weather continued. In fact, I do not recall many full days of sun or consecutive days with sunshine. After that, the early winter moved in.
I had hoped to plein air paint quite a bit as the humidity waned. The damp air and low light discouraged the outdoor painting I would do. I did paint, but it was mostly done indoors.
This watercolor was inspired from a hike I took through the Brattleboro Retreat land on a pleasant late fall afternoon. This scene is what I think of when someone mentions fall in Vermont. It doesn't have the reds we tend to treasure but has much warmth in the landscape with the yellows and tawny colors.
In a previous post on October 31, 2018 I mentioned an admiration for the work of watercolorist David Curtis. He is an english painter steeped in the tradition of using neutral colors such as warm and cool grays with soft light in his work. I have his book titled, David Curtis: Light & Mood in watercolour and refer to it often.
Figures and automobiles can provide a sense of scale in a landscape or suggest a time period. David Curtis paints these lovely figures and automobiles which appear so natural in his paintings.
I have been trying to learn his approach and color scheme where it might become useful in my work. These watercolor sketches are basically copied from his book. In addition, I have learned to appreciate the subtlety and range of grays that are available in watercolor.
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
This is a different subject matter than I usually tackle. It is both a large self-portrait and an urban scene. In addition, this painting has a lot of color in it. More color I believe than other watercolors I have done.
The background with all the angles and planes was challenging. There is a contemporary quality with the water bottle, chip bag and sunglasses which I like. In the end, more paint was lifted in depicting this scene than on any other watercolor I have ever worked on.
Except for signing the painting, it is finished. I must say when it rests under a mat it looks impressive, both for it's size and pleasing colors.
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
Any scrap of watercolor paper is valuable to me, assuming it is good quality paper such as Arches or Saunders which have been manufactured for centuries. If I lose interest in a watercolor for whatever reason I often turn it over and paint on the back. The other alternative is to divide the piece into smaller remnants which I can use as a test sheet for sampling color mixtures.
This is one of those test sheets. In fact, in this case, I used Arches watercolor paper which is a reliable friend where an artist can achieve an unlimited range of marks.
I had started a portrait on the back but had lost the excitement of how this watercolor was developing. Not only do I experiment with new color combinations but sample different brush techniques. For the speckled area in the sky I was experimenting with dragging the brush across the paper with a sharp angle.
It is fun to just play with the pigments and different brushes without any expectations. This intuitive approach is particularly rewarding as a way to loosen up if you have been away from painting for some time.
