Landscape Painting

                                                                   (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

Heading out on open water is always rewarding. That is a reference to paddling on one of the many ponds, lakes and rivers we have at our disposal. During the summer, the color of the water, abundant growth and greenery make me want to be out in the landscape.

Before Thanksgiving I started this painting on the backside of a watercolor I didn't care for. It has a fresh and light feel as the colors are inviting. 

Most of this painting has been done with a rigger brush which provides this expressive line work and edge treatment. The canopy of growth above the view is unusual in landscape painting. It is usually cropped out or excluded. However, I feel it adds much to the scene.

Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                                    (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Hopefully this strange year will yield a much better 2021 in more ways than one. This is a collage of smaller watercolors done in the past year. With workshops, classes, schools, demonstrations and the like canceled, all I can write about is my own watercolor journey. It is better to include other events and shows on occasion, but this year most of those events have vanished.

For me I can look back at watercolors I have done this year and find new directions not to mention inspiration. Hopefully, you the reader can take on a new perspective as this year concludes. Regardless of the political climate and public health we have a bounty of beauty around us to appreciate and lead us into a new renaissance.

Gone Fishing

                                                                   (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

Painting a figure in your watercolor dominates the landscape. All eyes go to that person. What is he doing and who is that, are questions that come to mind. However, capturing an activity or posture can be quite rewarding. Including a person in your painting can also draw your eye into the picture, adding more depth.

This was painted on Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper. I have experimented with other hot-pressed papers but this was the first painting I would say I have ever done on this surface. The paint behaves markedly differently on this surface. It is smooth paper and the pigment sits on the surface. From my experience, you have to learn when to stop painting on this surface, or you can make your picture worse. However, paint on this surface makes interesting marks once you get a feel for how to move the paint around.

When painting on this surface I find there is an enhanced clarity of forms and more vivid colors. Some artists use this paper to develop compositional studies or quickly record the figure.

Vermont Countryside

                                                                        (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

Watercolor is such a versatile medium. You can go in so many different directions when painting with these pigments. In addition, the marks you make and the colors you combine, on the multitude of papers and textures, seems unlimited.

Originally, I was drawn to these two old apple trees full of character and that dip in the contour in the background. However, I carried this painting to a further state than I initially thought I would. I discovered trees and techniques that lent themselves to inclusion in this painting. 

In my travels locally, raw umber seems to be an important aspect of capturing the late fall landscape. Once the deciduous trees have shed their leaves, the tawny colors are prevalent in the changing light. 

Watercolor Sketch

                                                                    (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

Any scrap of paper can be a good source to capture a watercolor. This watercolor sketch was done on the end sheet of one of my watercolor blocks. This has become a valuable space to work out compositions and test color studies. Sketchbooks are another area I have painted watercolors over pencil and pen.

When visiting museums that display watercolors, I am always curious what the artist painted on. I have seen many Andrew Wyeth paintings in galleries and am convinced some of his images were either drawn or painted on tracing paper amongst other surfaces.

Recently, I have included raw umber in my landscape compositions. Some artists complain it is overused in landscape painting. However, raw umber has a greenish cast which I interpret out in nature. Thus, it has found its way onto these endpapers in combination with ochers and other umbers. I have learned this experimentation or record keeping is important in an artist's development.

Brattleboro Common

                                                                   (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

The weather Tuesday in southern Vermont was simply beautiful. The temperature topped out in the upper sixties if not seventy degrees. This is not what you expect in Vermont during the second week of November. 

I have to say this warm spell is quite disorienting. All this work such as raking the yard as we get our homes ready for winter and then we have Spring-like temperatures.

However, these higher temperatures got me out painting yesterday and I enjoyed every minute of it. The light and shadows on the landscape gave me more than enough inspiration. I really noticed how tawny the landscape looks at this time of year.

Plein Air Painting (watercolor study)

                                                                 (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro

With this glorious spring-like weather, it feels important to paint outside, whenever I can, before the winter sets in. I have to admit it is hard adjusting to this time change as it gets dark earlier and earlier in the late afternoon. However, it is hard to beat seventy degree temperatures in November here in Vermont.

I did not allow enough time to finish this watercolor. It is hard to know how much time I actually need at this time of year. Perhaps I will go back on site to finish it. There is something compelling about the reflections of colors and shapes across water.

For me it is important to mix colors observed out in nature. There is such a range of colors to draw upon on our palettes, but the colors of nature convey a mood specific to a setting. Also, mixing pigments outside expands our horizons in ways we cannot anticipate.

Majestic Maple

                                                                  (C) 2020 Dale DiMauro
 

This fall during peak season in southern Vermont I worked so much I didn't have time to get out and see the fall colors as I usually would. The threat of COVID-19 played a role, too, particularly with so many events canceled this season. Yet, we had lovely weather in September and October, the best I can remember in years.

This watercolor was painted this evening. It was inspired from attending the local Dummerston Pie Festival in years past. One year, on my way to purchase one of their yummy apple pies, I parked across from this glorious maple during its peak color season. 

This seemed as good a time as any to pay tribute to this maple. Hopefully, next season, at least culturally, life can head towards some sort of normalcy.

Late October in Vermont

                                                                 (C)2020 Dale DiMauro
 

This fall in Vermont is ending abruptly as frequent rains and snow have entered the picture. Not to mention low temperatures. October had lovely fall colors and great weather but this weekend the changing of the calendar is sending us to the edge of winter.

Painting the landscape outside has suddenly become rather challenging. The diminished light levels and time change are forcing me to paint inside or at different times of the day.

The other day I got this watercolor in, with a view towards the west of Brattleboro, across a local field. Capturing some of the local colors can be challenging, yet satisfying. I feel like burnt sienna and raw umber are an integral part of the natural landscape at this time of the year.