Finishing Touches

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

This painting I posted recently in a less advanced stage. I had not painted to date a great mature tree in silhouette. I feel like I made a good attempt at capturing the presence of this specimen with it's twisting limbs and gnarly bark.

Above all I love the landscape. The feel of fresh snow and mystery of what's over the rise in land adds more to the picture.

Gerard Doucette, my critic and art advisor, helped to articulate the snow line so that it was not such a hard edge and give dimension. Also, he suggested an approach to correcting the upper left limb which had become flat and out of proportion. We basically lifted paint from the meaty part of the limb extending it towards the sky to counterbalance with the other major branching.

It is always rewarding to receive constructive criticism and gain insight from other people. Such comments give a final direction to the painting. This way when I am at a similar fork in the road on a future painting I may draw upon a greater well of experience.

The Patriarch

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

John Pike(1911-1979) was a well known watercolor painter and instructor from Woodstock, New York. He often painted Winter scenes with a warm glow to them. He was credited with writing John Pike Paints Watercolors, first published in 1978. Recently, I read where he had fifty-four one-man shows.

This watercolor I started a few evenings ago reminds me of his work. In no way was this picture inspired or referenced from his work. Regardless, he painted some great watercolors and received many prestigious rewards.

In the late Winter I developed a desire to paint a great specimen tree in silhouette. There is something about a tree with all it's character and commanding presence dominating the edge of a field or high point.

In some ways this simply is a study of the growth pattern of a tree. Capturing the hierarchy of the branching with fluidity is no easy task. It certainly is worth pushing the skill level to greater heights.

The Connecticut River Valley

(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro

For this watercolor I am broadening my horizons. This birds eye view fills the watercolor sheet with characteristics of the regional landscape. We have the Connecticut River, fields, agricultural land and the distant hills of New Hampshire.

Viewing the landscape from a distance enables an artist to interpret basic shapes and then clarify them with values. I have been aiming to have clean washes of color where the open spaces occur. At the base of the wooded areas I have emphasized darker washes to give depth and height to the woodland edge.

There are foreground features I have yet to add which include two trees with their darker foliage and other foliage appearing above the river. I feel this painting has a good start and am excited where this takes me. 

Landscape painting

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

Now that this long winter is finally passing I am eager to paint some landscapes. Since last fall I have upgraded my plein air supplies and am equipped to get back outside in the warmer weather.

I now have in my arsenal a new easel for outdoor painting which sets up quickly. In addition, I have various shoulder bags to transport supplies depending on how involved I want to get. At times I find an available picnic table to paint at, which does not require me to bring as much stuff. For my birthday I just ordered a sun umbrella which will attach to any easel leg. This will provide shade and cut down on glare when working outside. 

I did a plein air version of this watercolor last summer. However, this is a studio painting I recently started. Lately, I have been yearning to paint a building in the landscape. For me there is something about seeing the ground and plants re-emerge and give life to the buildings in the landscape.

Across the field

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

This is the early phases of a watercolor inspired from the natural patterns and colors of a local field in the fall. There are lovely folds of earth, turned under by the ruts a vehicle had created, jutting diagonally, across the field. As much as the warm light is inviting, the shadows convey great drama.

A year or two ago I posted about a painting from a similar viewpoint. It was on a much smaller scale. However, this painting at least so far, has cleaner washes, less detail and better brush work. 

Landscape painting, I believe, has the ability to draw the viewer into a scene like no other art form. The landscapes we grow up in, shapes and molds our perceptions of the world and ultimately forms our identity as we go through life. 

After I stepped away from this watercolor, I felt all this movement across the page. Some of it was the changing light and shadows. It was also the changing of the seasons. However, since I had crossed the field, by foot, previously, I felt transformed by the grand scheme of things.

Across the Field

(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro

If watercolor is the medium for capturing atmospheric affects, I feel like this one has a good start. In this image I love the feel of fresh snow, strong shadows and the sense of crisp air.

This local field I like to walk through all times of the year. However, I added this figure to give the picture a sense of scale and a focal point. The snow in the foreground had all these marks in it including cross country ski marks

Applying cobalt and manganese blue for the snow in the shadows was fun.

Done

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

Well, I finally finished this watercolor. There is a little study of the subject's head which I included when I posted this. That little glint of sun across the paddlers neck makes the profile convincing.

This composition with the paddler off center I find endlessly captivating. He seems to glide cross the surface of the river from light into dark as the ripples lap towards the viewer. The depiction of water as inspired by nature can lead an artist in so many different directions. Water can be conveyed in so many ways from the calm surface of a pool, to swirls, cascades or waterfalls. Not to mention all its frozen qualities.

The inspiration for this painting came from a paddle I went on with members of the Brattleboro Outing Club. The water level was higher than usual enabling us to paddle farther into inlets and past floating logs and see nesting birds which one can't usually approach.

The Great Outdoors

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor started back in the Spring which I have been eager to get back to. It speaks to why people come to Vermont in the first place. To spend time outside away from the commercialism and electronic culture that we have become. It speaks to paying attention to the natural rhythms of life around us at a pace we can comprehend.

There is a modern Winslow Homer quality which inspired me to this subject. The relatively-still water is gently disrupted with the lapping of the water from the paddling. The brilliant blues in the water and the vivid greens on the shore are striking.

Most of all, I am captivated by the composition. Even though the photograph does not show it, the paddler is in the lower right quadrant which conveys a calming affect. You can imagine the paddler gliding through the picture with little actual physical effort.

Something's Biting at South Pond

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

Last Sunday my mother and I took our kayaks up to South Pond. After paddling, I thought it would be a great location to try a plein air painting. It was a hot day, approaching ninety degrees, which is unusual for this time of year in Vermont.

I have discovered that plein air painting can draw inquisitive onlookers who are eager to see what I am doing yet do not want to interrupt my progress. Perhaps it is only fair that we artists, who are always observing, are also observed.

Shortly after I set up my easel, a middle-aged man came along, took his canoe off the roof of his car and promptly capsized not once but twice, barely off the shore. Later, when he stopped to see what I was painting, I realized that I knew the unlucky fellow.

Although I did not have a large human crowd on Sunday, I had other visitors. I did not get far on this watercolor before the no-see-ums started to devour me. All over my body I found small bloody areas, yet I did not recall seeing any insects bite. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a photograph so I could finish this one at home.

Harris Hill Ski Jump

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

After spending a good chunk of the day volunteering at the Harris Hill Ski Jump earlier today, I could not help but think of this watercolor, that was inspired from the very same site. The weather was quite beautiful, perhaps the best I have ever experienced at the hill, and the ski jumpers' performance left me impressed. All the ski jumpers, I thought, jumped well. In past years you might see a rare hard landing, an injury or a fall, but not this year or at least this day.

When the ski jump grounds are not in use, which is all but one weekend, the property is well used as a recreational spot. I know because I walk these grounds often as it is a few blocks from our house. 

This watercolor is of a frequent sight, that of individuals parking on the edge of the corn field and hiking with their dogs through the fields or woods. Since the ski jump faces east, the light on the hill continually changes throughout the course of the day, affecting the temperatures. I feel the snow above captures some of those qualities, which I was reminded of today.

Self-Portrait

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

This is a self-portrait I started in December. Except for my signature, I consider it finished. I have been told it looks like me, which is the ultimate compliment as it is hard to look at myself subjectively.

This was painted on an Arches watercolor block. With the heat on in the house, I find the corners of the blocks begin to separate from the rest of the block, particularly the larger sizes. Thus, the corner in the lower left is curled, making the perspective appear distorted in the photograph.

There is much that I like in this picture. I am pleased with how the hands came out. Many artists would not even include hands in a picture, particularly when they are front and center as in this composition. Also, I like that you can see the glasses on my face, but they don't dominate the face as there are lines that suggest the outlines of the frames.

In addition, you can feel the warmth of the sun on the bench and my hands without seeing its source. Lastly, I appreciate the way the lush green growth was brushed on so that it fades into the distance.  

November landscape

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

Usually I find the everyday or common landscape to be the most inspiring. Great landmarks draw a lot of people and require travel time. Plus if you have an eye for it, you can capture a local scene from unusual angles which can make the subject fresh.

This is a watercolor I worked on two falls ago. I like that there is essentially an absence of color. The starkness of the landscape, for me, depicts the time of year when the structure of the land reveals itself. With watercolor you can capture the mood and atmosphere like no other medium. There is a stillness or serene quality conveyed by the muted colors.

However, this is one of those pictures and there are not many which I question whether I am finished or not. I do believe a little more work is necessary in the foreground to strengthen the presence of the tangled growth in the lowland area which marks the edge of the field.

Merry Christmas to all

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Earlier in the week I was able to spend time working on my self-portrait, which I recently started. One area I focused on was my left arm and hand as seen in the photograph. 

I am quite inspired at this point in the development of the picture. I like how the hand is depicted. There is warmth in the colors, yet the form is well developed. The simple green growth in the background provides a sense of optimism while making the figure push forward. The color of the fence has evolved to an off-white, as a way to not compete with the rest of the composition, yet provide a framework for what is seen. 

At this time of year with the daylight limited, it is often difficult to take a good quality photograph, consistently. I prefer to take my photographs during the daylight but other commitments make it a challenge. Taking interior photographs with artificial light and the shadows they project, requires more consideration, unpredictability and greater cropping.

Self-portrait

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I started this self-portrait. Last month, I had considered taking a local workshop in watercolor specializing in portraiture. Initially, there was a small group registered so I was anticipating which subject to focus on. Then I realized, my wife and I were scheduled to usher a live music venue the evening before which would get us home late. In the end I did not attend the workshop as the timing just was not going to work out.

However, I became intrigued by this picture my wife took of me when on vacation in Maine. There is personal significance for me as the bench is named after a relative of mine who lived to be over one hundred years old. I like the composition as much for the face as for my dangling hands in the foreground. Over the last year I have been trying to improve on the portrayal of hands in my paintings as many say that hands are the most difficult body part to capture.

The more I studied this composition, the more I realized it was an opportunity for me to practice the use of masking fluid. The wood, which the bench is made of, has peeling paint on some edge areas with textural qualities that I am looking to emphasize. The masking fluid preserves areas from paint, which can removed later on in the painting process. Defined edges or strong color contrasts can be preserved this way to great affect.

Still waters

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I had started after the summer. It had developed well but I needed to paint some rigging and finish some details before I would consider it done. Ah - but to paint the rigging - easier said than done. 

I consider the rigging, the ropes which help hold the sail up, an integral part of the picture due to the reflections on the water. In addition, the rigging is important because they add a crispness to the image in contrast to the misty feel of the atmosphere.

The rigging was painted with white gouache which is an opaque paint that is essential to capture the white crisp lines. I used a lizards lick brush which is oddly shaped, enabling an artist to maintain a fine point.

In retrospect, I had no problem painting the rigging. It could have been painstaking but I practiced on a scrap of paper and then just painted the white in. I like how the white line is not solid which suggests some speckles of light reflecting off of it.

On solid ground

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Last week I started this watercolor of my wife at the beach along the Maine coast. I like the composition with the figure off center and the great rocks in the foreground. I have been adding a touch of red into my blues for the sky, which seems to add an element of drama, setting the stage for the painting. I have begun to appreciate an unsettled sky over the shoreline, second only to the setting sun, particularly since the viewer cannot see the water.

At this point I have not put much time into this painting but the most laborious aspect of the painting has been the rocks. I have been building up the quality of the rocks through various color washes, which has included spattering. By spattering I am attempting to suggest the texture of the rocks and create some variation of their form as they are in the foreground. In order to spatter, I tap a brush loaded with dark pigment against my forefinger, and the paint is thrown randomly in small areas.

My wife's left arm is darker than the rest of her body, which will have to be corrected further along in the painting's development. I will most likely be required to lift paint by wetting the area and wiping it with a paper towel.

With my art mentor, Gerard Doucette's input, I added a sliver of land to the right of the figure providing more depth to the picture and further uniting the landscape. In reality the scene is a very small island connected at low tide by a sand bar to Pompham Beach State Park.

Summer Greens

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

We have a local pond which is great for paddling. In fact, motorized boats are prohibited. This place is called South Pond in nearby Marlboro, Vt. To get away from the heat and humidity I like to glide on the clear, clean water where it is usually ten degrees cooler than in town. 

Often there are loons out on the water when I have been there. I have even seen cormorants airing out their wings on one of the docks in the fall when the pond is much quieter.  The most dramatic wildlife sighting I have ever seen on South Pond was a deer with full antlers swim across the water with a very dramatic thrashing of water which made quite a racket. This also happened in the late fall.

Recently, I started this watercolor as I have been inspired for some time both by the overwhelming amount of green foliage one encounters up on South Pond and the presence of small watercraft such as kayaks which are so popular these days. 

Up to this point the painting basically consists of the color green. This alone makes me feel the weight and presence of the humidity in the air, which to me has dominated the summer season. I have used shadow green with various amounts of paynes' gray for both the foliage and the water.

Modern day Thoreau

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

On the dog days of summer there is no better place to be, but in the water, on it or at least near it. We had a picnic lunch on a small island with nearly a three-hundred and sixty degree view of the lake, vegetation and distant Vermont hills. Naturally, there was a ton of bird activity, vocally, but it was difficult to see many birds in the brush or on the open water.

There are such strong color combinations in this watercolor which are appealing. In the foreground are orange and blues while on the distant shore there are yellows and greens. I like the quality of light seen throughout the picture without seeing the source. The light projected on the man's shoulder through the various canopies is quite lovely, even though the photograph does not give it justice.

In a prior post, I mentioned how I used a lifting technique to remove paint to create those subtle horizontal disturbances on the water. I could have carried that approach farther but regardless I feel like it added a lot to the picture.