Showing posts with label
9" x 12" 300lb Arches CP watercolor block.
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Showing posts with label
9" x 12" 300lb Arches CP watercolor block.
Show all posts
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| (C) 2018 Dale DiMauro |
Since the last post I did some more work on this picture. How to approach the trees in the foreground on the left was the one truly challenging area. I like how the sky can be seen through the trees yet it can make them look hollow. I do lean towards the blue-green coloring in my evergreens which look good against the snow.
The snow had a little more work done to better develop the contours of the land. Recently, I have been adding red to my blue for the sky which offers greater variety and gives one the idea that the clouds have started to clear out.
As a side note, I will not have a post this Wednesday, which is unusual. I will be traveling to Washington D.C. and limited to what I can carry with me.
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| (C) 2015 Dale DiMauro |
One evening my wife and I were watching the evening news when I started drawing this portrait from a photograph in a Vermont Life Magazine we had on the coffee table. The photograph is attributed to Chris Cammock, in the Spring 2014 edition. I liked how the drawing developed and carried it further by starting a watercolor of the portrait. Instead of using the usual 140 lb. Arches watercolor block, I decided to try it on a 300 lb. block, which is a much thicker paper that holds water more easily. Initially, I was going to paint a very different background, perhaps even just a rich dark color.
However, the real issue was how to portray her hair as it got lost in the background if that were a lighter color. Ultimately, I painted it as it was in the photograph with the brick wall lending a sense of depth to the picture. I do like the individual hair strands that project from her head against the red of the brick. Believe it or not, her hair is painted with ultramarine blue.
Another issue is coming up with a name for a painting. At times the subject or atmospheric effects suggest a name. Often I just type in a name in the beginning of a post, and as the writing develops, I am able to come up with a more suitable title. What would you title this picture?
