Field of Dreams

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

This watercolor I started late this afternoon. There is some work to be done on the foreground and some finishing touches but I like the progress. In addition, I like the perspective looking across the field to the mountains.

While I was painting this picture it dawned on me that I most likely could not have painted this a year ago. It's not that I was incapable of tackling this scene as much as my increased knowledge of color mixing, application and improved sureness of hand have evolved significantly over the last year. By no means am I bragging, it's just that when I start painting I move along rapidly with little hesitancy.

Finally, it is great to get color into your life. We have such strong associations with color not unlike smells or food that it enriches our life. Often, when walking outside I challenge myself to how I would paint what I am seeing whether it is something in the landscape or a color I have not noticed before. 

2 New Brushes

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

It is always exciting to break out a new brush. The marks you make on your paper and how you move pigment around I find to be of the utmost importance. From my experience, the blending of washes on the paper in watercolor can imply atmospheric affects like no other medium.

I intend on experimenting with these two brushes in my plein air painting. I believe I can do an entire painting with just one of these small quill brushes. They can lay down a juicy wide wash where needed, yet can retain a fine point for details. Plus, with a simple set-up I am less likely to lose brushes outside and reduce clean-up time. The synthetic black brush on top, in the photograph, many urban sketchers prefer.

In the past I have ordered brushes from Dick Blick which are well made and last. Right out of the box I like the feel and control of these brushes.

Winter Light

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

On a sunny day the Winter light is lovely. It makes me want to grab my cross country skis and head out in to the landscape. However, we have had a season of icy storms which have been uncharacteristically uninspiring.

How to approach painting foliage in watercolor can be a challenge. I try to paint what I see and not revert to past techniques. This way I try to observe the colors with a sharp eye and fresh perspective. I find the massing and scale of foliage critical to painting trees. The foliage in this watercolor needs more work but I like some of the marks left by the watercolor.

There is a warmth in this picture that I find lovely. In addition, I have observed that tree trunks are not all brown or dark gray. In the sun many of our local evergreens have this mauve-like coloring.

Art Therapy

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

A few weeks ago I injured my left hip and upper leg area. I am not sure how it actually became injured. However, the muscles around that area were quite tight. Several nights I could not sleep well, particularly when laying on that area. Since then, I have been recovering quite nicely. 

During this time period I painted this romanticized landscape. There is no reference for this painting, just an imagination, but it still lingers in my consciousness. 

Originally, I imagined this massive, dark evergreen dominating the majority of the paper with it's far-reaching branches. This tree was backlit with morning light making it's way upon the horizon over the distant hill. While the background with the cool evergreen was dominant, the foreground had the warmth of newly fallen (orange) needles.

While this post may seem odd, I believe it depicts to some degree, the power of both our memory and imagination drawn from our landscape experiences. 

I certainly do not know how climate change will alter are relationship to the land. However, it is certainly something to consider with far-reaching implications.

Taking it all in

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

People watching can be endlessly entertaining. Particularly, when you have a wide range of people with diverse activities, dress and body language.

The setting for this painting is an outdoor concert during the summer months. I stripped the composition down to it's essence  - the individual. I stained the paper in advance to both eliminate the white of the paper and give the background some warmth. However, you can't see much warmth in the photograph. Take notice that all the cool colors are in the foreground. Often they are in the background.

With this profile you get a sense of the individual's presence. I like the abstract shapes and qualities left by the watercolor washes.

Along the Maine Coast

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

Last summer, my wife and I stayed along the Maine coast at an inn with a dramatic ocean view setting. This inn has a wrap around porch which attracts visitors with it's panoramic view of evergreens, ocean and sky.

This painting is inspired from that experience. Originally, It started out as a quick little study. However, this little watercolor has grown on me.

I changed the shape and color of the tree masses on both sides of the water.  Now that they are evergreens, to me, they seem more appropriate for the setting. By painting them this dark green, somewhat by chance, made the yellow of the grasses in the foreground really pop out.

This combination of dark greens with yellows is quite pleasing to the eye. Although I did not intend on painting a postcard of Maine I can see why this color combination would have such a strong regional association.

Out on the Water

(C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

Painting on Arches watercolor blocks is a favorite pastime of mine. I appreciate it when the paper is as tight as a drum, free of buckling. It is exciting to drag the brush across the texture of the paper and initiate the creation in watercolor.

I feel good about my start to this watercolor. The gray tones at this point makes the painting look like a value study. The focal point is absolutely clear - the canoe and two individuals. Adding color is like putting frosting on a cake.

However, I am usually thinking about how I intend on proceeding. The biggest question or judgement in this painting, is how should I handle the shoreline which is the background. I will paint the distant shoreline with one continuous wash by dropping in browns and greens to suggest foliage. As I make my way up the paper the washes will be more diluted and perhaps suggest mist.

These are at least my thoughts before proceeding. However, the result may be something altogether different. Regardless, I am comfortable with the direction this picture is heading.

J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from the Tate

J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) was a prolific British painter with an international reputation. Known as William Turner, his work was characterized with a strong use of color, imaginary landscapes and turbulent marine scenes.

Last week I was fortunate to view J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from the Tate at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. Primarily, watercolors, this exhibit is drawn from the Tate's collection of over 30,000 works on paper, 300 oil paintings and 280 sketchbooks known as the "Turner Bequest". As the exhibition literature states, this collection was donated to Great Britain after the artist died in 1851 and primarily conserved at Tate Britain.

These days it is rare to see a large quantity of watercolors in the same location for public viewing. It is just as impressive that these watercolors were painted over two hundred years ago, before the age of running water and electricity and some during the founding of our country.

The above painting, Venice: San Giorgio - Maggiore: Early Morning, was painted in 1819. While viewing this exhibit, I read of references to over nineteen thousand watercolors to Turner's credit.

The exhibition continues until February 23, 2020.