AERIAL PERSPECTIVE

                                                                                  (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Aerial perspective reveals a lot when painting a landscape. When there is a complex topography and a wide area to cover it is fun and rewarding to paint from a bird's perspective.

This watercolor is an imaginary landscape with all these wetland inlets and massing of growth. The white of the paper makes all the horizontal surfaces pop forward.

This was painted free-hand with just two pigments: new gamboge and payne's gray. I like expressive watercolors and the foreground is charged with lucid brushwork.

WINTER LANDSCAPE

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

This evening we finally are getting some actual snow. Hopefully, it won't all wash away by tomorrow. 

I have cross-country skied seven times this year, which is amazing since southern Vermont hasn't had much snow to speak of. All that skiing occurred in roughly two weeks at the Brattleboro Outing Club.

This watercolor is a sort of postcard of that experience. I dropped in the figure to lend a sense of scale to the landscape. Under the snow the contours of the landscape reveal themselves which I find magical.

SUNNY LATE SUMMER LANDSCAPE

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro

Every time I paint a landscape (or draw one for that matter) I learn something. It is very calming and along the way I constantly experiment with techniques, colors or paper.

I was eager to finish this landscape this weekend. However, I didn't get it done. Instead I volunteered at our local ski jump which is walking distance from my house.

It's all good. This experience made me look at the (local)landscape with a fresh perspective.

There are some backlit shrubs and tree massing in the foreground which will add a lot to the painting by framing the distant landscape. 

I included one of my matchboxes in the photograph because I resisted cropping it out. I love to sketch automobiles based on these matchboxes.

(MORE) PEOPLE IN WATERCOLOR

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Well, I keep drawing the human form and painting people. I must add on a daily basis. 

My focus is to keep things simple and not overwork the figure or noodle around with the paint too much. Like I mentioned in my last post - I simply put the brush to the paper without any under drawing because I basically am drawing with the brush.

I have learned to leave the white of the paper at times both as a defining edge to keep the pigments from blending and as human proportional marks. 

I like the fluidness of the figures and I am curious where this takes me going forward. Along this process I am trying to paint these figures at a range of scales. Before long I will begin to include them in my landscapes.

PEOPLE IN WATERCOLOR

                                                                                   (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

These are two of several quick sketch people I have been trying to capture in watercolor. I am trying not to dwell on the figure too much yet fit the size of the individual to the setting or landscape with a strong presence.

Observing an individuals posture and grasping a quality of their movement can be quite satisfying. I have been trying to portray a fluidity to the human figure which I have not painted in the past. 

Getting the drawing right is critical but in these instances I am not sketching out the figure in advance. I simply dip the brush and start painting. However, I do a warm-up on a piece of scrap paper. I am curious how this evolves going forward.

WATERCOLOR SKETCH

                                                                              C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Painting landscapes is always rewarding for me. The sky is more of a challenge particularly if you try to paint the wide range of atmospheric qualities we experience. For example, there are so many different cloud formations and light qualities we see which project a mood over the landscape.

However, when you capture a convincing sky it sets a good start to your painting. I always paint the sky first even though I may add an additional wash later. Then the landscape needs to be a darker value than the sky to be convincing.

Lately, I have been working on putting down quick figures in watercolor. I try not to go back and noodle the figure - just live with the result. I can see some progress in that direction. This is the most recent figure. I painted the landscape in afterwards.

LANDSCAPE PAINTING OVER PRE-STAINED WATERCOLOR PAPER

                                                                                      ( C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

On occasion I pre-stain a sheet of watercolor paper prior to painting. This way I can simply dive into a painting. Usually I use a yellow or quinacridone gold when you want to introduce a warmth into a face or a sunlit field. Then one proceeds with their painting with those targeted areas preserved from too many layers of paint as the warmth projects through.

However, I had pre-stained this sheet, cobalt blue, several years ago. Since this is on a block and I had not furthered this painting I figured I could use it for this landscape. The colors and values will be much darker and vibrant than the cobalt blue.

At this point I have painted one wash on the cobalt blue and you can begin to see the development of a landscape painting. In addition, the painting wanted to separate from the watercolor block so I have used blue tape to secure the sheet to the edges.

Hopefully, this painting will evolve into a nice landscape. Actually, I have no reason to think it will not.

TWO-PIGMENT PAINTING

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

This is a small watercolor I painted a little while back. I was impressed because it was painted with only two pigments, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. It is amazing what you can come up with when using a limited palette. Also, it is easier and quicker to clean-up when using just a few pigments.

This was painted on Arches Watercolor paper which is the surface I use most often. The smaller you paint I find the greater control I have over buckling when the paper is wet.

The landscape has become my favorite subject matter, not that I dislike portraits or still life's. Part of the reason is that I like to be out in nature and the other is that I have a degree in landscape architecture and have thus studied the landscape on a regular basis.