Watercolor sketch

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

This week I forgot to include my paint brushes when I met with our dedicated art group. That is a first, at least for me. Fortunately, we share not just our experiences but our materials. It gave me an opportunity to practice with some different brushes. In particular, I liked the feel and control of this Holbein brush I used.

This little imaginary watercolor sketch was done with the Holbein brush. Since I was unfamiliar with the brush and how it handled, I figured it was best to do a warm up exercise.

It is always satisfying to complete a watercolor in one sitting, when possible. When you're inspired and you feel a good vibe, the painting progresses well. During this process, I feel the freedom to experiment and drop in pigment to existing washes. I find this freshness hard to duplicate at a later date. It may not be my best painting, but I learn from them all, nevertheless.

Painting techniques

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

This is a detail of a painting that I began recently. When I was painting the clapboards as artists often do, I began experimenting with different techniques. 

I really don't want to paint every single clapboard. More than that, I don't want the painting to look over worked and labored. So I began painting the clapboard where it meets the vertical trim on both ends. In from the trim where the paint was still wet, marking where the clapboard is, I blotted the paper with a paper towel. 

I found this technique quite effective. It dried fast and I could move on to the next clapboard without fussing around too much. I became quite inspired by this development in approach.

I'll see where this takes me and let you know my thoughts on a future post.

One if by land, two if by sea...

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

In watercolor there is an abstract quality with how the washes dry on the paper. Once you gain a feel for some of the affects you can achieve, one can really use it to your advantage. By no means am I a claiming to be a master of the medium. However, in the above picture, for example, the speckles in the water is where the brush left a few unpainted slivers of paper to the imagination. Also, at the trunk of the tree you have this cloudy area which may suggest the lifting of fog in a different context.

You can strengthen your drawing through your painting. We know that warm colors advance while cool colors recede. This principle is good to keep in mind when painting. 

In addition, you can convince the viewer by painting the horizon dead even with a sureness of hand. This is a great place to build your picture going forward. 

On the other hand it feels good to simply play around with paint. Particularly when you free yourself from expectations. An unconscious element may kick in and the picture develops in a direction you could not foresee. At the end, you can add a little color by dropping in a figure or two as I did in the above watercolor.

ANDERS ZORN: Sweden's Master Painter

Anders Zorn (1860-1920) was quite the artist. Zorn, from Sweden, was a contemporary of John Singer Sargent. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, achieving international success as one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his era. With his ability to capture the individual characteristics of his sitters, he went on to paint three American presidents: Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Recently, I came upon the book Anders Zorn: Sweden's Master Painter, which is shown above with its front and back covers featuring two of his watercolors. I had not realized Zorn was such an accomplished watercolor painter. 

The watercolor on the back of the book, Summer Vacation, was painted in 1886, one hundred and twenty-three years ago. It is painted on a full sheet, which I thought was uncommon for the time. In addition, I understand it is the priciest Swedish painting ever sold. It sold for 26 million Swedish Krona in 2010 (about 3.7 million U.S. dollars, I believe). And this is for a watercolor, not an oil.

Cederlund, Johan, et al. Anders Zorn, Sweden's Master Painter. Forward by Colin B. Bailey, Rizzoli Electra (with Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), 2013.

Bar Harbor(Maine) Sunset

(C) 2019 Photograph Dale DiMauro

One evening during my vacation in Maine, I hurried down to catch the sunset. During low tide, if you are lucky enough, to catch the sunset in good weather, the walk along the beach to Bar Island can be spectacular. 

Recently, tourists have become foolish enough to drive out by the edge of the island. Before long the tide moves in and your automobile is under water. In addition, this blatant disrespect for the natural environment ruins the experience for other people, including children playing along the beach.

As you can see this area is home to dramatic sunsets at this time of year with the changing light and ever moving shoreline, lapping at your feet. 

It is not difficult to imagine a watercolor derived from this photograph. With the natural patterns of the waves in the foreground and the vibrant washes of oranges and blues in the sky, the landscape takes on greater meaning.

Summer in Vermont

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

There is no other place I have been in this world with the richness of greens in the Summer as in Vermont. When I have left to go visit other states they often have drought-like conditions but once I arrive back in the Connecticut River Valley, the lush, verdant landscape smells of moisture in the air. 

Lately, I have been painting the skies I experience as accurate as I can, which is not easy. When you really look above you there is great diversity in the light and cloud patterns that influences our day. 

How you paint the sky is really important as it is often the first thing I put down in watercolor. It basically, sets the mood for your painting. The other thing about skies it that they are abstract. Or at least you can tweak the colors or exaggerate the values as long as your perspective with the horizon is working in your favor. 

Also, I have learned that the landscape is a couple values darker than the sky which gives it a solid foundation. I keep this in mind while working on a painting. It seems to be a good principle to build upon instead of going back to the ground area and making corrections.

Lake Sebago

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

Coastal Maine is a great place to visit, particularly in the Summer. I read somewhere that Bar Harbor had 30,000 people on one particular day when the residential population is in the neighborhood of 5,000. When your town has Acadia National Park on it, you attract crowds. Clearly, we were not the only ones visiting Maine but a change of scenery is alway welcome.

On one of the hotter days when traveling my wife and I visited Lake Sebago, which has the vast openness of a small ocean. However, the beach has smooth sand, free of rocks for the most part, which makes it great for swimming. Set back from the beach, Lake Sebago is distinct in having a transition area between the parking lot and shoreline dotted with mature pine trees. These trees provide a canopy from the sun over the picnic tables and walking trails with dappled light reaching the ground.

This watercolor is a 'memory' sketch from our day at Lake Sebago. My camera was left behind for the day so I painted what I recalled at a specific location along the beach. 

Of my three times visiting Lake Sebago, this was by far, the largest population at the beach. Scores of young children, in matching swimsuits with other day campers, are bussed to the beach in the Summer.  

Landscape Painting

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

Summer is a great time to paint watercolors. You don't have to go far for inspiration. Also, the days are long which gives you the opportunity to notice the changing light and capture it one way or another. I try to capture it with my camera. Or with pencil and brush. It makes you see things differently.

These are watercolors I have done in the last year. It is very satisfying to lay several out in a group not unlike a collage. It is also rewarding to try different types of watercolor paper and different sized formats. These paintings were done on Arches, Saunders and Fabriano watercolor paper.

Creating depth in a picture through foliage can be challenging yet rewarding if you come upon the right color combinations. This Summer season I have been eager to see what I can do with Hansa yellow. It is such a clean, transparent color. I like the range of greens it provides when mixed with various blues.