Sun on the hill

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I started two years ago. I like the angles of the building, along with the sun and shadows. The downward view appeals to me too. I attempt to be true to the colors I see. Of course in watercolor the pigments dry much lighter than when they are wet.

As I often do, I move trees around to hide unsightly objects, enhance open space or to match the scale of a structure. In this case, by moving the evergreen behind the house, it makes the building come forward, particularly since it is such a light color. It also clarifies the form of the house. Basically, I try to enhance or simplify the composition when I can.

I like to include power lines, street signs and guardrails amongst other road amenities because they are cultural and historical references. Some of these utilitarian elements, such as a guardrail, can become quite dated in appearance. We take them for granted in our environments, but they become noticeable again when placed in a painting. 

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.

Newly Framed

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I framed this watercolor which was done over one year ago. It was intended to be a study for a larger painting with some compositional changes. The larger painting I envision has a drive entering the picture from the right foreground, sweeping along the contour as it settles before the barn. In the above picture, the existing road juts by the barn in a harsh manner. However, this painting sat on my desk with other watercolors yet to be completed. Since I had a pre-cut mat sized for it, I figured it was a good time to frame it.

Since I often paint in standard sizes, (this particular one is 12" x 16") it is relatively easy to find pre-cut mats and existing frames discounted in this size. Indian King Framery in Keene, N.H. a regional framing shop, has on the last Saturday of the month, a discount day, which I have been taking advantage of, recently.

I had purchased some pre-cut mats from Cheap Joe's, a mail order art supplier, at the end of summer. I then found a frame and purchased picture glass from the Indian King Framery at thirty percent off enabling me to simply assemble the frame and have it ready to be exhibited.

It was brought to my attention that I must have completed or nearly completed over fifty watercolors in the last two years or so. Over this period of time I have begun to paint larger and more compositionally sound paintings than before. My drawing ability has improved along the way too. I seem to attain a closer proximity of the values(the degree of darkness) I see from life or drawn from a reference photograph. In addition, my use of color and the pigments I mix have continued to evolve. I seldom use any colors straight out of the tube. Also, I have noted how the darks and the quality of darks in a picture bring out the light and warm tones.

Flat Files

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Several years ago I started to make a bunch of flat files, twelve drawers in actuality. I made the drawers, added two coats of polyurethane to them and installed pull handles. They are faced in oak. However, I have had a hard time finishing the cabinets that hold the drawers. Part of this delay is because I do not have a formal workshop--I use my unheated garage. Once spring arrives there are other demands on my time, and the garage gets really hot in the summer. In addition, there are complications due to the precise dimensions of the sides, drawers and back (dust cover). Also, they require the use of nearly every tool I have: table saw, compound mitre saw, router etc.

Well, I am pushing to get them done before the snow flies and it becomes too cold to work in the garage. I really need to use them to store unframed paintings, sheets of watercolor paper and even mats. There is another flat file in my studio/office space which is well used. Even the top surface is a great place to look at paintings in process and to store large watercolor blocks.

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.

Paddling in the Great Outdoors

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Most of September we have had beautiful, clear, sunny days here in Vermont. I paddled with a group from the Brattleboro Outing Club on September 16, at Tully Lake and Long Pond in Royalston, MA. This trip was about an hour from Brattleboro, Vt. We even portaged along the way and hiked to several impressive waterfalls.

I recently started two watercolors inspired from kayaking in this great setting. There was a paddler with us, depicted above in a small sketch, with a new canoe which only weighs eighteen pounds and is the size of a kayak. It even has foot pegs.

After this outing, I started a full sheet watercolor (22" x 30") on Arches 300 lb. watercolor paper and a smaller painting on a 140 lb. 14'" x 20" Saunders block. For me the two surfaces are very different. The Saunders watercolor block is like painting on silk. It is very smooth paper, which the paint brush glides over. In contrast, the Arches sheet has much texture, which allows for a wide range of effects that I am yet to master, but I do like the greater scale.

The above sketchbooks, manufactured by Strathmore, with a fine tooth surface, I have taken a liking to, at least for pencil.

Pen & Ink

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

There is something so basic that a pen provides. Pen and paper can go a long way. I do not need a pencil sharpener, and I seldom carry an eraser. Pen does not smear either. In fact, I have been at church services when the sermon gets really boring; as others nod off, I simply pull out my pen and start doodling. Before you know it ideas and images start pouring out. I can't keep up with the rapidly emerging thoughts that are evolving from my mind to my pen.

This is a drawing from one of my sketchbooks, back in 1993. Through the years I have done many drawings in pen and ink. For some doodles I have used such a basic writing instrument as a Bic pen. For other more elaborate drawings such as the one above, I have used technical and even fountain pens. Here, I used colored inks from a bottle where the pigment is really concentrated, with a brush to depict individual plants. This is a detail of an imaginary landscape. With a background in landscape architecture and hands-on experience, I have learned much about all kinds of plants and their growing habits.

Through the years I have evolved to using watercolor with black ink, which conveys an illustrative appearance. The pen provides the structure or perspective while the watercolor gives it atmosphere and temperature. In a future post or posts I will provide more examples, but for today I just wanted to talk about using a pen. So get busy -- because we all basically carry a pen with us most days. You will forever look at the world differently.

Off at Sea

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

When we were in Bar Harbor, Maine this past summer, we saw this sail boat pass while we were walking along the shore path. Earlier on our vacation, down in Portland, we visited some of the tall ships which had moored along the docks. There is much history in these tall ships with their strong tradition of training young sailors in all aspects of sailing. There is also, a strong sense of drama to be in their presence. The distinct forms of the sails, extensive rigging and discipline of the crew is evident as you walk among the ship's decking. This romance of the sea, inspired me to attempt some ocean scenes as marine artists have done for generations.

This is a study, I recently did, for eventually, a much larger watercolor. During the humidity and heat of the summer I decided this fall I was going to paint some full sheet watercolors. A full sheet is 22" x 30" which is much larger and requires more time to finish. However, the larger scale, as seen on a wall or an easel, really makes an impact.

Pen, ink & watercolor

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I like to draw with a pencil, pretty much any kind of pencil. These days there are charcoal, conte, colored and even watercolor pencils. Within graphite alone there is quite a range from hard to soft pencils. For the last year I have preferred using a brand called cretacolor. I have been primarily using their HB and B pencils which make a mark that is scratchy but does not smear so much as to be bothersome.

However, I like to draw with a pen too. I have drawn with fountain, technical and micron pens which come in a wide range of colors. I actually sign my watercolor paintings with a micron pen. I try to find a color which is harmonious with the colors in the painting so the signature does not stand out. 

I have drawn as long as I can remember. The above image is from a watercolor sketchbook going back nearly ten years. The combination of pen with watercolor can be quite pleasing. With the addition of color you can introduce atmospheric effects and temperature into a picture, even a simple sketch.

The above watercolor drawings are of imaginary landscapes full of life with lots of activity. There are fountains with spraying water, lots of bird life and an abundance of vegetation with long-blooming fragrant flowers. Water is what unites all the spaces and determines what plants are used and where. 

Curbside pickup

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I started this watercolor recently because I really wanted to capture the layers of green foliage that we see in summer. I have mentioned in past posts that the color green is the hardest for me to paint. In the last year I have been attempting to improve upon my greens. At this point I do not use any right out of the tube. I do not prefer the golf course or graphic design greens, which you see in many publications or in advertising. 

Thus, for now, I have settled on three mixtures that provide varying degrees of green. For a rich, earthy green reminiscent to me of Albrecht Durer's large piece of turf, I use Prussian blue with aureolin. For a shadowy green offering a more muted effect, I prefer mixing Payne's gray with new gamboge. For large evergreens such as a spruce I use phthalo green with Payne's gray and alizarin crimson. This provides a strong sense of presence, which counterbalances the lighter areas in a picture, such as in snow. I have learned that if you add burnt sienna it will darken the color.

There is a shadow green that I purchased on our vacation to Maine this summer, which I like to mix for dark ocean effect. There are so many other greens available that I periodically use, such as viridian, olive, Hooker's, and sap but I have learned to appreciate the richness and variation from mixing my own.

Of note in the above watercolor, is that the greens seem to be the darks in the picture. I traditionally use green as a complimentary color or in a lesser role such as an accent of a feature. The brick path is complementary to the greens around it, thus creating an overall harmonizing effect. Anyway at least that is what I have noticed.

Hiking at Acadia National Park

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a little figure study I painted of my wife, taken from a photograph, the summer before last. This watercolor sketch was done very quickly, so I could not fuss around with much detail. I think it does capture the dappled light, which was prevalent on this beautiful day.

We were in the process of hiking around Jordan Pond, at Acadia National Park, in Bar Harbor, Maine. We were not far from the Jordan Pond House, where we later had popovers, out on the patio. However, the trails were quite crowded, and we had to step aside frequently to let other hikers pass amongst the intersections of trails and along the narrow boardwalks.

'Rigger' brushes

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Most painters use some combination of round and flat brushes to paint in oil or watercolor. There is quite a range of options in terms of size and shape. These are great for painting large areas and even some small sections in a painting. For details, I rely heavily on rigger brushes. 

The rigger brush got its name in the days of sailing ships, when artists painted the ships rigging. A rigger or liner brush is a thin brush with long bristles, often made of sable. These brushes come to a sharp point but can have a flat or square tip. These rigger brushes have a longer tuft than rounds and do not belly out, enabling artists to paint with consistent stroke width. In addition to defining a ship's rigging, these brushes are great for painting fine tree branches at the end of a limb, grasses, or grass-like effects at the edge of a field. 

Recently, I did an ocean scene with an anchored lobster boat (See "Cool Cove" from Wednesday, July 29th and "At Rest" from Wednesday, August 19th). I used rigger brushes to detail the wave patterns and create perspective, as well as to depict the quality of the surface of the water. As seen in the above photograph, I make use of riggers in sizes 4, 6 and 10. All of the doodling and watercolor sketches in the above image I made by using a rigger brush or brushes.

Art in the Park

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is my booth set-up for Art in the Park in Keene, NH, on Saturday, September 5th & Sunday, September 6th. We had fabulous weather, even though it got hot late in the day, on both days. We were able to keep the tent, with our new display panels and tent weights, in place on Saturday night, which saved us time and labor. The tent weights, long white cylinders, one of which is visible in the photograph above, worked out well. I had spent the better part of two days mixing cement and constructing these weights so the tent and art within them would not blow away.

I had about thirty framed watercolors on exhibit. My wife and I spent time trying to keep these watercolors out of the direct sun by installing and pinning up the sidewalls at various times. I received lots of positive feedback on the work and the professional appearance of my display space. We had a good steady, stream of viewers through the day, on both weekend days. We met and talked to many fellow exhibitors as well as other artists and art lovers who passed through. We learned a lot during the event to draw upon for the future, but we are certainly glad to be done for now after two very long days.

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Framing watercolors for Art-in-the-Park

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

It has been a very busy week, actually two weeks, preparing for this weekend's art show. The Monadnock Area Artists Association is sponsoring the 58th annual Art in the Park on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, 2015.  It takes place in Keene, NH from 10:00AM - 4:00PM on both weekend days, across from the Colony Mill Marketplace, on West Street, at the Ashuelot River Park.

Last week, I made tent weights in my back yard because we are not allowed to stake our vendor tents to the ground due to an irrigation system under the park's lawn. I scrambled to figure out what I would need to prevent my paintings from blowing away in a heavy wind. Long story short, I ended up purchasing PVC piping and cement from Home Depot and making my own twenty-five pound weights, which will hang from each corner of the tent. There are numerous YouTube videos on how to do this. 

Next, I purchased mesh display panels, which go up on three sides of the tent. They are pricey but handsome and you can hang pieces on both sides of the walls. When I ordered these, I was told it was best to use a tent with a steel frame, so I had to order a new tent, too. The one we have is aluminum and apparently is susceptible to wind damage. Fortunately, these display panels and the new tent have arrived in time. Last week, needless to say, was quite a week.

This week the learning curve has been steep too, but I have come a long way in a short period of time. Last Saturday, I became aware that Indian King Framery in Keene, NH, on the last Saturday of the month has discounted frames. I purchased six picture frames to go with pre-cut mats I had ordered from Cheap Joe's. Gerard Doucette cut the glass and shared some wire.  I bought brown craft paper from Staples for the backings.  I want to present my work well. The challenge was that I had never framed a watercolor on my own.

The above watercolor was framed yesterday. It was an exciting and rewarding process for the most part. I have discovered how critical it is to keep the glass clean and not get hair or specks of dirt between the glass and the picture. This requires not getting any fingerprints on the glass, so I used two small, clean rags to handle the glass.

This photograph is of the back of the frame from the picture above. I have installed the dust cover which is brown craft paper, stretched and glued into place. It is then trimmed after the glue dries. Then I installed eye screws and wire so the watercolor can be hung. Last, I attached a business card, which is the colored image in the lower right.

I hope I did not bore you with this rather wordy post. However, a lot has been happening so I put it out there for you to understand my process in preparing for this particular art show.

John Singer Sargent & Art-in-the-Park

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro Photograph of John Singer Sargent painting

When we were at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in the middle of August, there was and still is a major exhibit on John Singer Sargent. The above watercolor by Sargent, titled Young Woman with a Black Skirt, he painted in the early 1880's. This was displayed in a back room away from his more prominent portraits, which were oils on a grand scale and charcoal drawings, handled with authority.

I figured it would be wise to include a Sargent watercolor sketch, which most have not ever seen, yet fresh in my mind, as inspiration for this upcoming art show. In a prior post, I mentioned I would be exhibiting at the Art in the Park, in Keene, NH on September 5 & 6, from 10 AM - 4 PM. Thus, I have not been able to paint as much as my efforts have shifted to matting and framing works for exhibit. In addition, new mesh display panels arrived the other day, to showcase my work under my vendor tent. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and make for a pleasant Labor Day weekend.

Tanglewood

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I started this week. It is a bit different. I have always loved to draw plants, but not necessarily all the splashy flowers. I don't mean to suggest that I do not appreciate the aroma and beauty of a magnolia blossom or a rose in high bloom, but I am drawn to plants that have a pleasing habit; that is, they have patterns of growth or twisting which is very structural. These plants exhibit a spatial quality or feel that is recognizable in relation to their neighboring plants. 

In my youth, I remember riding my bike along the Bronx River Parkway, where there was a bike path, and observing how greenbrier, a vining plant, would grow in a circulating habit from and between the mature hardwood trees. It had a simple presence, which was very recognizable and specific to the region. It had a strong character of growth, which I documented in pencil in one of my sketchbooks. 

The above painting reminds me to some degree of that youthful experience except the scene is much busier. I like the cool greens of the leaves and various canopies against the milky grays of the trunks during this recent heavy humidity period.

I like the wildness of the scene and am trying to balance some loose washes in contrast to tighter painting around some of the leaves. I will let you know what becomes of it. It has a sense of freedom, which I am hoping hard not lose.

I was forced to take this picture after it became dark and could not seem to prevent shadows from showing. I am still adjusting to our vanishing daylight, as I am in the habit of taking my photographs late in the day when the sun is not direct.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

(C) 2015 Sketch of Ingres drawing Dale DiMauro

Last week, my wife and I visited the Frick Museum in New York City. It is a handsome museum fitted into an elegant mansion across the street from Central Park. Of the many lovely paintings on exhibit, which include Rembrandt, Vermeer and Whistler, I admire Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres work. I am fond of Ingres work, not only for his paintings but superb drawing abilities. When you look at many of Ingres portrait drawings it appears as if he did not lift his pencil from the paper until he was done. 

Ingres has been considered one of the great masters of all time. He has been credited with depicting the transformation of fashionable women for over half a century in France and witnessing the development of a consumer society. There is even drawing paper available today attributed to Ingres. This is a wove paper with a very smooth surface, which Ingres preferred.

At the Frick, I was reminded that I had picked up a book in the spring on Ingres, called Ingres: 162 Master Drawings by Blagoy Kiroff. Since I was pressed for time, I did a sketch from Kiroff's book on one of Ingres portrait drawings, titled Armand Bertin, dated 1842. It was an opportunity to study Ingres' technique while utilizing these smearless charcoal pencils, which I purchased at the end of last winter. 

At rest

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

When I started this watercolor we were on vacation in Maine, in the middle of July. Well this is the finished version. It may not seem a lot different than the original post, but it definitely is. I have not painted many water scenes with choppy water, so this was a stretch for me. Actually I had never painted any white water before.

First, the vegetation in the background was made a darker blue-green, hopefully with some variation in the tree profiles and branching. The darker background and some minor modifications to the profile of the boat made the white of the vessel come forward, with a sharper profile. This is important because the boat is the focal point. Finer details such as the antenna on the roof of the boat, reflections in the windows and subtle shadows projecting from the watercraft became more apparent. 

I particularly like the way the buoy is floating in front of the viewer. To offer a little more realism, I added some letters on the side so it would sit in the water with a greater sense of authority. The ropes just disappear into the water suggesting some mystery and an element of depth to the ocean.

To develop the ocean, the waves, and the shadows on the water I used two different rigger brushes to mimic the patterns of the waves, larger for the foreground and smaller for the background to create perspective. In Portland, Maine I had purchased a new pigment called shadow green, manufactured by Holbein. I mixed this with various blues and Payne's gray to develop dark values for the ocean, which I think was effective. Last but not least, the white speckles of light on the surface of the ocean in the foreground were created by using a razor blade to remove a thin layer of the paper. I think it adds a nice touch. Gerard Doucette, my art mentor, suggested this. I wasn't sure how far to go with it, but I am pleased with the result. I have used a razor blade in the past to get light effects but really haven't been confident in its application. This small success has given me more confidence in the use of this technique.

John Singer Sargent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

(C) 2015 Photograph Dale DiMauro

On Friday, my wife and I spent a very full day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. We did not leave the museum until it closed at nine in the evening. We particularly liked the special exhibit on John Singer Sargent titled Portraits of Artists and Friends, which runs through October 4, 2015.

Sargent painted this scene of his sister Emily, a skilled watercolorist herself, accompanied by her friend Eliza Wedgewood in Majorca, Spain, in 1908. Emily is focused on her work with a paintbrush in her mouth, while Eliza looks toward the viewer.

Sargent would paint his watercolors as if working in oil with a very direct approach, wasting little time. His painterly approach often can be seen when he paints the folds of fabric for example, where he dabs a dark brushstroke to strengthen the form but does not fuss with it again.

This and other watercolors on exhibit were a sharp contrast from the demands of his formal oil portrait work, which required much of his time. Some of his oil portraits, however, were done in as little as an hour because of time constraints from the sitter. These quick portraits were not the high priced commissions, though.

The above Sargent watercolor includes gouache, an opaque pigment on paper. In person you can see thick white pigment not unlike a glob of oil paint by Eliza's lap. I typically just use the white of the paper, but there are many impressive artists, such as Sargent, who have used white gouache successfully.

This painting was bequeathed by William Newell in 1922 to the Tate Museum in the United Kingdom. It is currently on loan to the Met for this exhibit.

Keene, NH: Art-in-the-Park

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

On September 5 & 6,  I will be tending a booth from 10:00 - 4:00 at the Keene, NH 58th Annual Art in the Park, sponsored by the Monadnock Area Artists Association. This event takes place at Ashuelot River Park, which is across from the Colony Mill marketplace.

In the next week or so I will be preparing for this show with new works along with some previously framed watercolors. In this exhibition I will have landscapes, winter scenes, buildings, and figure studies in watercolor. It is tricky preparing for the outdoors, as the weather can really influence the show. It can be hot, rainy and windy or all of those conditions in one day. However, this event is lovely with a faithful following, and it is a great opportunity to meet other artists.

The above carrying case I acquired a few years ago. It is handy for transporting and protecting watercolors and new paper from the wind, rain, and sun before they are framed. Recently, I ordered precut mats for framing from Cheap Joe's, a major art retailer.  These are especially handy when time is short.

As I write this, my wife and I are busy packing for a quick trip to New York City to see the Sargent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.