Showing posts with label
4.5" x 6" 140lb CP Arches watercolor paper.
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Showing posts with label
4.5" x 6" 140lb CP Arches watercolor paper.
Show all posts
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
At this of the year, late in the day, if the sun is out, the light can be magical. This glow can be striking. However, it does not last long. It can transform the landscape, though.
I am not trying to imply that I captured this light, but it certainly is inspiring. Even though there does not seem to be a lot of color in the landscape, at this time of year, the colors often become intensified.
On my palette I occasionally use this electric blue called manganese blue. I have only observed this blue in the landscape around this time year, after a fresh snowfall. The extended length of day combined with the fluctuation of temperatures seem to make me aware of this atmospheric quality. Manganese in a watercolor painting energizes the landscape. It becomes a focal point even though it is often on the edge of shadows.
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(C) 2018 Dale DiMauro
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This little landscape is one of those quick little paintings that I love to work on. These are experimental with different pigments dropped in without much fuzzing around. On these paintings I do not even lay out the framework in pencil, it is all done with the brush. There are times when an incomplete wash is more effective with dry brush effects.
These watercolors I approach with plein air techniques while done in the studio. The paper is pre-wet with a water bottle, while tilting the paper, I manipulate the pigment to run as I see fit.
This scene is a short walk from our house, on Brattleboro Retreat property. The sky and shadow patterns are usually quite captivating, yet dramatic in scale.
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| (C) 2017 Dale DiMauro |
Is this an english landscape painting? No, but to me it has some qualities found in the british watercolor tradition. British artists often paint without the high contrast in color or light. In fact, they may not paint with much color at all. The ground plane they depict is often gray or a muted green, which when you consider their climate, is quite fitting.
This painting was inspired by the lush foliage and greens at the foot of the Harris Hill Ski Jump in Brattleboro, VT. I noticed cool blues in the shadows of the maple trees, which I had not noticed before, on a hike through their trails.
Recently, I have been dropping the pigment, burnt sienna, into my washes of green for the landscape. I like these pockets of warmth and variety, which seem to reveal more substance from the land.
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| (C) 2017 Dale DiMauro |
In watercolor painting it is common not to use black as a pigment. Most artists often mix a combination of pigments which may include ultramarine, payne's gray and cadmium red among others, to arrive at a dark whether it on the warm or cool side. In the past I have used ivory black in the rarest of times primarily because the color is often flat and unexciting. In addition, neutral tint is a pleasing dark, but not a true black, right out of the tube.
Recently, I have been experimenting with lunar black. I find this black does not stain the paper, making it possible to lift color, is transparent and combines well with other pigments. As in this quick watercolor sketch, up by the figures, I combined cadmium red with lunar black arriving upon a rich, vibrant color.
After completing this sketch, I was struck by the quality of the light backlighting the figures. With the shadows projecting on the ground you can nearly feel the time of day and sun across their bodies.
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| (C) 2017 Dale DiMauro |
This little watercolor is one of those warm up studies I do to get me going on larger paintings. There truly is little color in this picture. I used a limited palette of aureolin yellow, cobalt blue, payne's gray, ultramarine and burnt sienna.
This is a scene from a day trip this summer near the Berkshire Mountains in western MA. The absence of color in the sky provides a calm and serene quality to the landscape. I tried emphasizing darks in the foreground to give a sense of depth to the rural scene.
All summer and fall, I have been using these Kolinsky watercolor brushes, made by Rhapsody, for both studio and plein air painting. They hold a lot of water and spring back to a fine point when splayed out. I also drag them across the paper so they are nearly dead flat, creating interesting effects.
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| (C) 2017 Dale DiMauro |
The Clark Art Museum is located in Williamstown, MA., a small college town along the western side of the state, amidst the Berkshire Mountains. As you may know, the Clark as it is often referred, is a gem of an institution on its own, but the fact that it is nestled in this bucolic setting is equally impressive. The recent renovation and expansion reflects the importance the landscape has in its layout and development. While in the museum you are made aware of the distant hills through the clever placement of corridors and windows, the courtyard brings you to the base of this verdant landscape. However, it is not until one climbs the trails above the Clark, when one can sees how it fits into the larger landscape.
After my wife and I made our annual Summer tour of the museum I took a stroll on these trails with their long views up and down the valley. It seems to be quite the locale for a plein air painting or two. I took many photographs of these views as time was limited.
This was painted last week in my kitchen. The rich green in the center was made from a combination of aureolin(yellow) and phthalo blue which is a new experimental pairing.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
Recently, I signed out a book through our local library's inter-library loan program. This book, Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor: The Critical Ingredients That Turn Paintings into Art, by Joseph Zbukvic, is a gem. It really is for intermediate or advanced watercolorists, as the author is a master of his approach. The book is in such high demand that it is virtually unavailable. It was first printed in 2002, however it sells for around $ 250.00 on Amazon. Yikes! Who says artists don't make any money!
When reading any of these art books that are authored by a master, I jot down any juicy nugget whether it is a color combination they prefer or how they stretch their paper, etc. In this little study I tried Joseph Zbukvic's color combination of ultramarine with a touch of permanent magenta for distant mountains. This paint is the purplish color you see behind the tree, which I do like for it's richness. I will continue to experiment and adjust the color ratio's to my liking. It is always fun to try new colors or combinations of colors as they really impact what you paint and how it is perceived.
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| (C) 2016 Dale DiMauro |
Sometimes the results of working on a test sheet are better than a finished watercolor. In a previous post, back awhile, I discussed the benefits of working on a scrap sheet of watercolor paper. You can experiment with your color mixes until you find what you are looking for. In watercolor it is important to understand that the pigments dry lighter than the mixed color you have created. Also, you can play with different techniques to convey texture and there are so many ways of marking the paper other than with a paint brush.
In this image I was really excited to come upon several color mixes that were new to me. The rock-like area under the figure was created by mixing three primary colors providing this rich gray/purple/blue color. The transparent pigments used, I believe, were aureolin, ultramarine blue and winsor red. Finally, the blue right of the figure was created with winsor blue and cadmium red conveying this rich sky color.
The white, wavy patterns towards the bottom of the sheet were created by using masking fluid to preserve the white of the paper. There are infinite marks that you can make using masking fluid which I have only begun to experiment with. It is generally used to preserve white subject matter or areas where light may be projecting off a surface such as the top of a car in the sun.
This week I have been working on a watercolor with a bit of rocks in the foreground. I have been stippling with darker colors to give the rocks greater texture which I sampled at the bottom of the above image.
I have found when you mix your own colors instead of use what comes out of the tube you can arrive at a much richer and dynamic palette.
