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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
Painting has been a challenge lately. I keep wondering if I can plein air paint or not? With social distancing and public surfaces potentially carrying this coronavirus whatever I have worked on has been from home. I have considered painting from the inside of my car which I have done in the past. However, I have not gone that route. But, before long the weather will be very tempting and the itch to get outside will be great.
In the meantime, I started this watercolor this evening. I am attracted to the double bodies of water and that great expanse of sky. I like the layers of greenery too.
Often when I paint the ferrule on my brush seems to hold some pigment from a prior experience. This pigment is not visible but when I wet the brush and start painting it makes marks on my new painting. This can be quite frustrating. I often modify my painting to draw attention away from these marks. In this watercolor the lower sky had these dark red linear marks which I covered for the most part with the evergreens along the shore.
Have other watercolorists had a similar experience? I believe my brushes are cleaned fairly well but have yet heard from someone with a similar experience. Anyway, food for thought.
Since my wife and I have been self isolating for a while, I have increased my book reading. I found this book GREAT MASTERS of AMERICAN ART, by Jordi Vigue in a local bookstore, used. It profiles around seventy-five American artists since this country was formed. It is well-researched and I have learned much about some artists I had not heard of before.
While it features favorite artists such as Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent I learned for example, that John Vanderlyn(1775-1852) was sponsored financially for twenty years by Aaron Burr. Burr himself made arrangements so that Vanderlyn could study in Philadelphia with Gilbert Stuart.
In addition, the author profiles some talented Native American artists. One is quite skilled in watercolors based on my perusing of later sections of the book which I have yet to read.
In conclusion, I find many art books lacking in substance, but not this one. Vigue, truly, has broadened my view of American history through the artistic journey of so many interesting and inspiring painters.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
At this time of year I don't know if it is still winter or early spring. In Brattleboro, VT we are due to get some snow Monday evening, yet our crocuses have begun to flower. On that note, perhaps, this will be my last winter painting for a while. Or maybe not.
Cornfields are an important part of the Vermont landscape. I find it refreshing to walk across any cornfield if they are accessible, as you become enveloped in the larger landscape with it's dramatic light patterns and other changing atmospheric affects.
This watercolor reflects the late season colors and light of winter. Now, most of the snow in the fields is gone. I did lift some color with a knife to suggest lighter tree trunks in the distance. In addition, I inadvertently dropped a clump of cobalt blue in the foreground which I was able to spread around to my benefit. In conclusion, I don't think this photograph does justice to the colorings as seen on the paper.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
Today was a beautiful day in Brattleboro, VT as the temperature reached into the fifties with glorious sun. As I headed out after lunch to a prior commitment I thought it might be a good day to squeeze in a plein air.
However, this was painted later on at home. Since I hadn't painted outside in awhile I kept fussing with my materials and approach and noticed a stiff breeze. I did manage to take a photograph which inspired this watercolor.
That background wash behind the trees I am proud of. I took a gamble and mixed three primary colors which often gives you a gray and dropped in some red to get some variation. It seems like I learn something every time I paint with watercolors. A little growth spurt is always welcome.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
Oil painting is such a fun medium to work with. In this medium a subject can be painted in a direct way with little hesitation. Plus, it is a delight to paint on an upright or flat surface.
This is another oil I painted recently. It was done entirely with a palette knife thus making the clean-up quite simple and quick. I was fortunate to have access to a stained canvas(blue) from a local artist. I love the combination of the texture of the canvas with the effects created by the palette knife.
As this global crisis(COVID-19) hits closer to home, just viewing this landscape calms my mind. In addition, the clarity of colors and their free expression makes me want to paint more in oils.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
Recently, I have been fortunate to try my hand at oil painting. It is not that oil painting is new to me as much as an opportunity to meet with a group of local artists and paint as a guest in one of their studios.
This picture demonstrates what you can do with a limited palette. I do like how the brush drags across the texture of the canvas. However, for me, painting with the palette knife is even more rewarding. Painting with a palette knife can give you a hard but irregular edge. If you go this route, for example, you can suggest the texture of bark or sun on a tree trunk.
The advantage to watercolor is the easy clean-up and relatively harmless materials. I have been (re)learning how to clean-up in oil. It really is not that bad but I never was big on using paint thinner. Regardless, the smell of oil can be quite intoxicating.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
Thumbnail sketches are quick little drawings which help you consider your options as far as developing a composition. Before you get too far along in your painting it is important to have settled on a composition that you feel good about.
Sometimes I combine ideas or elements from one or more thumbnail sketches into one final sketch. More than anything it is great to look back at these drawings as a form of inspiration. Some are quite clear in their intent while others lack strong cohesion.
Regardless, I can see the evolution of a painting in these graphic notes. These usually do not involve color but I can imagine pigment combinations with strong associations. Many utilize techniques to draw the eye into the picture whether by depicting a meandering path or river.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
This odd little winter is finally inching closer to spring. In Brattleboro, Vermont we have had mild, erratic temperature fluctuations throughout the winter. We started off with a sizable storm before Thanksgiving, followed by snow accumulations which often ended up with ice or freezing rain.
Shoveling this winter was not fun. Our solar panels dumped the hard snow and ice with thunderous affect at times of the day and evening that were new to us. On the bright side, we seemed to have many lovely, sunny days.
Over the last few winter seasons I have noticed the character of the snow changing rapidly from day to day. In the past we would receive a lovely blanket of snow which would remain for nearly a week or so before getting dirty and or icy. This year you had to race out to cross country ski before it became hard as a rock or something altogether different.
This watercolor was painted a few winters ago. Blue is the pigment I go through the quickest. You can notice the whole painting is nearly blue in some capacity. I do like how in watercolor you convey temperature to great affect.
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| (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro |
Since my last posting I have added some touches to this painting. As I usually work on several watercolors at a time, I have yet to complete this picture. However, I added grasses or the suggestion of them in the foreground in front of the field. In addition, I have strengthened the russet color towards the foreground which usually develops in the late summer fields as fall approaches.
These two touches seemed to have added much depth to this watercolor. I like the character of this picture with it's flowing spaces, naturalistic vegetation and rich color saturation. Even the distant open field which is that wash of yellow has an inviting quality.
This watercolor is the culmination of several techniques that I have been developing over time but, yet to pull all together in one picture. These include applying graded washes to my skies regardless of the weather depicted. Also, I have been dropping in all kinds of pigments to achieve variation in my vegetation. Finally, I have been mixing my own greens to a greater satisfaction than ever before which adds much life to the landscape.
