Winter Landscape

(C) 2026 Dale DiMauro

Cross-country skiing gets you out into the landscape through fields and woods you would not usually get to experience. Also, it makes you see the landscape in a different light.

The snow reveals the shapes of the shadows and makes the colors in the landscape glow.

I did this watercolor study based on a photograph I took when skiing earlier this week. The gradation and intensity of color was just mind-boggling.

Getting outside in the sun or on cloudy days, even for just fifteen minutes, is so worth it.

 

New Landscape

 (C) 2026 Dale DiMauro

 

This was a summer scene I came upon, late one day along the West River, here in Brattleboro, VT. The light was dramatic with the setting sun nestling into the darkness. The air was heavy and still, except for the squawking of some distant, stray birds.

This memory stayed with me until I put this down on paper. It's classic landscape - sky, water and vegetation wrapped up in regional identity.

I haven't painted on this thick Arches paper(300 lb cold press) in a while. However, I like that it doesn't buckle as much. Also, it gives me more time to work the pigments before the paint dries. This paper and weight is recommended for plein air painting. I have preferred using the 140lb Arches block but am considering trying the 300 lb paper for outside painting.

On the Common

(C) 2026 Dale DiMauro

The Brattleboro Common in Brattleboro, VT is a great location for gathering with other people to picnic or protest. In the Summer season it has great layers of canopy which make it a desirable spot to be to keep out of the sun on a hot day.

For me it is walking distance from home and has picnic tables which I can use to paint on. The other thing is the natural light is always changing which makes every experience at the Common unique in of itself.

I feel like I have a good start to this watercolor. The setting sunlight is captured on this woman sitting on a park bench in the lower right. It felt like such a strong and stunning composition I can't resist painting this subject matter. The shadows strengthen the overall scene.

 

(C) Dale DiMauro

 

Sometimes there isn't much time to paint but you squeeze in what you can. Actually, I am trying to view as much of the current Winter Olympics as I can. They go by so fast - I have made a commitment in the evenings to watch what I can. At the same time, I am trying to get whatever cross-country skiing I can before the snow disappears.

Nonetheless, I usually record any new color combinations I learn of, on a daily basis.  I tried out some of them here. The warm gray in the foreground I had not used before - it the combination of aureolin and winsor violet. Under the tree I used a lighter green - sap green and new gamboge which is a lively green when wet.

Lately, I have been re-discovering the value of a few paint brushes in my collection. Flat brushes are great for painting skies and horizontal bands(ie. fog etc.) above the horizon. For some reason which I am not sure why, I haven't been using them. 

The other brush I returned to using is the rigger brush, which I used to depict the edge of the foliage on the tree. It can make rather expressive marks on the paper and make your foliage come to life.

By the Water

(C) 2026 Dale DiMauro

 

It's good practice to paint everyday when possible. I always carry a little book around with me to record something that catches my eye or just to pause and create something. This practice keeps the mind focused and the drawing practice fluid.

I painted this yesterday amongst other watercolors I have been working on. The landscape itself is imaginary. The figure is an interpretation of me from a few summers ago while visiting the Clark Art Museum in Williamstown, MA., with my wife. I had been looking across the reflection pool they have. However, I like the more organic landscape which you see here. This is not a criticism of the Clark campus which is lovely and memorable.

In addition, I believe the touch of red in the sky, makes this image special if for no other reason. This reinforces the importance of experimentation when painting. This gives me something mentally to chew on in anticipation for when I next pick up a brush.

On the Sunny Side

(C) 2026 Dale DiMauro

 

Months ago this watercolor was started on my watercolor block. However, the landscape was not conceived or even developed at all. So it sat on my paper - until a few nights ago. 

After all the disturbing news this country develops, on a daily basis, -  I aimed to give this house a sunny disposition even if it looks of Caribbean influence. The vivid colors and lush foliage gives this landscape an exotic feel - in strong contrast with the cold snow-covered surroundings of southern Vermont.

I think preserving the white of the paper is critical is defining the various edges of paint from running into each other. I feel warmer and calmer just looking at this image.

Emily Sargent(1857 - 1936)

On a recent trip to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, I was fortunate to be able to view: Winslow Homer: in Watercolor, amongst the crowded galleries. Homer's watercolors, on exhibit, had not been seen for over half a century, thus, marking the importance of this occasion.

However, before heading out for the day, it was revealed that Emily Sargent(1857 - 1936) had watercolors on exhibit in a gallery upstairs. Emily is the sister to John Singer Sargent, the well-known American portraitist. Neither John nor Emily married. However, they both painted extensively in watercolors, often on excursions with others, depending on where they were in the world.

In Emily's watercolor above, one can sense the shared subject matter between brother and sister and likely similar palette.

In 1998, 440 of her watercolors were discovered in a trunk in a family residence. Many of these watercolors were soon after donated to some of the greatest museums in the world(ie. Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Tate, The National Gallery of Art & The Metropolitan Museum of Arts amongst others). Credit: Wikipedia.

During her lifetime, her watercolors were only once known to have been exhibited.