Vermont Watercolor Society

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro All Rights Reserved

This week I was accepted into the Vermont Watercolor Society's Spring Show. I am one of thirty-seven or so artists who will have paintings on exhibit at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, VT from April 16 - May 22, 2016. There is an opening reception from 2 -4 PM on April 16, 2016. 

It is an honor to be able to exhibit along with the works of other artists, particularly in watercolor, here in southern Vermont. My painting Heading Up River, will be on exhibit.

The Southern Vermont Art Center is located at: 930 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive, in Manchester VT. For further information, their website is: www.svac.org.

Summer paddle

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

Paddling in the summer season in Vermont is a special experience. We have many small bodies of water, perhaps more than most states, particularly those in the dry western regions. It seems that you can get closer to wildlife in these more intimate waters if you respect your surroundings. I have paddled up close to deer, painted turtles, beavers, bald eagles, cormorants, and blue herons on a pretty regular basis in the summer. The herons do not allow for a close approach, but I can reach out and touch the sunning turtles.

This is a watercolor I have recently started working on. I like the vivid colors in the foreground. Of particular note are the dramatic reflections on the water with the red stripe and the yellow of the boat. I have decided to paint the paddler's shirt off-white because this way it will not compete with the blue in the foreground and the yellow below him. 

However, I am struggling a little bit with how to treat the middle ground behind the boat. Should it convey the branching even though only the foliage is visible in the photograph I snapped of the original scene? Or should I show the details of some leaves and then put a wash over the distant shoreline? I am a little unresolved at this point.

Periodically, I am somewhat stalled on a painting, and that is why I prefer to work on several pictures at various stages of completion and on different scales at the same time.

On the Avenue

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I have been working on over the last couple weeks with some interruptions from our kitchen remodeling. I had not painted a house in a while and was eager to get going on one. What appealed to me about this scene is the backlit landscape, the patterns of snow on the roof and the warmth from the sunlight on the hardwoods in the foreground, to the left.

I do not feel the photograph does justice to the painting. Days like today with heavy cloud cover and low light are challenging to attaining a good photograph. I have learned it is best to take pictures of my work outside in indirect light, when possible. The rainy day made this impossible.

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

If I have learned any great insight in painting it is that the subtle transitions of color from one element to another can have great impact. Color can communicate temperature, distance, and mood in relation to other colors, depending on how you convey it. In the above detail, from this watercolor, the stripe in the road is of significance. Some lines will divide a space into two, but this one just subtly directs the eye into the picture.  The opaque yellow complements the dark gray. The stripe for me adds some warmth to the pavement yet dissipates pleasantly into the shadows. To get the technically challenging
straight line, I used a ruler that was raised above the paper (supported by three pennies I taped underneath). I felt like it was too easy to mess up the painting if it was not convincing in its execution.

Heading Down River

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I started in early October which was finished the other day. I had the good fortune of paddling with a group of outdoor enthusiasts, in September, from the Brattleboro Outing Club, on one of the most beautiful days of the year. The humidity of Summer was gone, the colors were vivid and the water was sparkling. 

I was struck by the quality of the reflections projecting from our colorful kayaks and the mesmerizing patterns of the moving water. I have painted scenes of placid water before with some skill, but had yet to tackle dark, moving currents. The vertical format seems to strengthen the movement and clarify the colors. 

Friends have told me this is my best watercolor to date. They like both the composition and the way I went about painting the watercolor. I personally, like how the trees and vegetation above the paddler were handled. I am considering entering this picture into an American Watercolor Society competition.

On the Water

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I have been working on recently. I had joined a group of Brattleboro Outing Club paddlers on a September outing when the weather was fabulous, with clear blue skies and low humidity. That experience was the inspiration for this picture. I posted on this painting when it was in its early stages (October 4th, "On the Water").

The vertical orientation with the dark water, reflections and surface movement seem to draw the eye towards the paddler. The colors are dynamic and their is something very appealing about the sense of floating on the surface. I also like the woodland edge in the background. It gives the picture some context for the middle ground.

I did not mask any of this painting as some artists do. This involves preserving the white of the paper using masking liquid or tape. I have very little experience masking and am not particularly seeking more, at this point. I prefer the traditional approach of anticipating the negative space.

I do not yet consider this picture done. I feel the ripples on the reflection from the kayak need a little more definition. The paddles need a little more dimension where the fins meet the handles.

The color of the paddles was not an easy decision. Red is a complementary color to green, which is seen in the woodland edge. However, the red would compete with the orange skin tone reflection on the water, so I went with lemon yellow because it is a complementary color to the blue of the water. The lemon yellow is to separate the paddles from the richer yellow of the storage bag in front of the paddler. The lemon yellow in its pure color also looks artificial with a simple wash, which is intended to differentiate the paddles from nature's colors.

On the Water

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This past September when we had such a great stretch of beautiful days with low humidity I got out and paddled my kayak. I paddled both by myself and with a group from the Brattleboro Outing Club. I brought my old digital camera with me and snapped photographs with an eye for composition. Everyone who has a kayak these days, seems to have a vessel with bright and cheery colors, which create stunning reflections on the water when the light is good.

This recent weather and paddling inspired me to start this watercolor. The photograph I took as a reference, cannot be improved upon. Or at least that is what I think.

I particularly like the vertical composition with the fresh colors of late summer and early fall. The reflections conveyed on to the water from the boat and its occupant are dramatic. As a result I prefer to study the patterns on and of the water. I like how the focal point is high on the sheet almost pulling the viewer into the scene. It is also a forward looking perspective which makes the viewer look diagonally into the distance towards the next bend in the river.

I do enjoy the first washes, creating the placid water and developing the woodland edge with yellows, greens, and ochres. You can go on and on with all the variations of color and value on the water. I still have much more to add.