A New Brown to Explore

                                                                                      (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Recently, I discovered a new lovely brown. For some time I have been searching for a rich, lively brown and finally I have arrived at one. When yellow ochre is mixed with burnt umber it creates this soft brown.

As you can see in the above photograph(of a watercolor) this brown has the color of beach sand. It certainly can be tweaked by making it cooler with an ultramarine blue or warming it up with a yellow or red, if needed.

When I learn of a new color combination I get real exited because I can begin to experiment with other colors on my palette, with a fresh approach. This begins to change how I view and thus paint the landscape.

Higgins Beach(Maine)

                                                                                       (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Painting the sky can be a real challenge. It is the first area I focus on when starting a watercolor. For me the real challenge is not so much the sky as painting clouds in the sky. With a little more practice I believe I am progressing.

Last summer while in Maine my wife and I experienced stunning sunsets on a daily basis. It was incredible to see the sunset across the ocean but when we turned around the estuary would be just as stunning. And this is the largest estuary in Maine, not far from Winslow Homer's residence in Prout's Neck.

Also, painting the sunset pushes my palette farther than I would normally pursue. That brilliant orange you see along the horizon is a combination of quinacridone gold and cadmium red.

Fall Foliage

                                                                           (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

It really warmed up this afternoon. It was nearly seventy degrees in Brattleboro, VT. It definitely didn't feel like November. However, the sun and natural light was great.

This pleasant weather inspired me to get outside and squeeze in some plein air painting. I noticed a lot of oranges and russet colors today. I painted this at a picnic table at Fort Dummer Park. 

A few touches done in the studio will finish off this picture. There ended up to be too much repetition on the left side of this picture. All the trees and limbs seem to be of a similar size and the coloration is monotonous. I will add in some larger tree trunks and pockets of stronger color. 

I missed much of the peak foliage this season, as I have been recovering from COVID-19.

Northampton Rail Trail

                                                                                       (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

When I can I like to bike or even walk along the Northampton Rail Trail in Hadley, MA. It is a well kept up rail trail with lovely scenic views of agricultural land for the most part. It has quality signage and areas where you can pull over to make adjustments to your bike or drink from your water bottle out of the flow of other cyclists.

This watercolor was inspired from one of my more recent trips on the rail trail. The strong light and warm ground plane really left an impression on me.

This was painted on this Masters' Choice watercolor paper which I have taken a liking to. This is a rough-textured paper which conveys a nice quality to the image.

COVID-19 & Other Thoughts

                                                                             (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

It has been a difficult process to go from painting outside to inside this year. The actual act of painting is not what has been difficult but all the stuff going on in the perimeter.

The days have gotten short so fast I have not been able to paint much of the lovely fall colors or autumnal scenes. At the same time it seems like it rains a lot or is at least damp well into the day.

Along the way I have been thinning out stuff in my studio to get in the right mindset for winter painting. I usually thin out stuff at this time of year, but this year, it seems to involve more areas of the house.

On top of all this I tested positive for COVID-19 last night. Based on the symptoms I have exhibited over the last eight days or so such as fever, chills, and sore throat etc., I have been self-isolating already.

When it was raining yesterday afternoon I was able to paint this figure study. I like the warmth of the colors.

Late Summer

                                                                                      (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

It always feels good to push watercolor and pigments around. Certain colors I associate with places or the time of year. That experience is strong for me just as smell is said to conjure up all kind of associations.

This watercolor screams of late summer with the dark canopy before the leaves change color and fall off. Likewise, the gray New England hills and the dappled light across the lawn speaks to me of the lazy days of Summer.

After a week of being ill and away from the brush I needed to paint a little cheery scene.

Watercolor sketch

                                                                        (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

I don't like to waste paper and since I am under the weather with a nasty cough this watercolor came about. You can always learn something when mixing up different pigments.

I am not sure if this is a finished picture but I like how the viewer is drawn into the picture. Alizarin crimson and permanent sap green made a nice lively brown which I put at the base of the shrubbery.

On thing I have learned is that you need to get the drawing correct. If the drawing is right the colors can make the drawing sing.

Rough Paper

                                                                                       (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Often I will paint on a scrap of watercolor paper I have laying around. More so, if the opposite side has a painting that didn't turn out so well. Sometimes I just didn't carry the picture further for some reason, usually because of a lack of time.

This is one of those cases. In addition, I didn't realize how rough the surface of the paper was. The roughness of the paper I don't find as a hindrance as much as an opportunity. It is important to try not to fill in all the valleys of the paper with paint. Thus, I need to lay down my brush stroke and then move on to the next area to paint. I have learned to appreciate the 'sparkle' characteristic of where the paper is absent of any pigment.

As a side note I have been introducing more browns into the colorations of the structure of my trees. I don't really know if this development I am conscious of or not. Many tree trunks from my observation have a gray or purplish coloring depending on the light or time of year, however, there is a warmth when in the light.

Living Memorial Park

                                                                          (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

When I go to our local park, Living Memorial Park, in Brattleboro, VT, often I experience great vistas of the landscape with dramatic contrasts in light. This was one of those days. Even the road had interesting color patterns.

What I do like about this watercolor is that it was painted in around one and a half hours. I was locked in with few distractions enabling me to move across the page with no real hesitancy.

I find myself learning and experimenting with each watercolor, regardless of the topic. It has been said that painting is about seeing. I concur with that insight. 

The West River

                                                                                       (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Recently, I walked along the West River in Brattleboro, VT. It was a late afternoon and the sun was shielded by the clouds for a period of time. So I took a photograph which appeared as if it were a black and white image.

Days later this made think I should consider painting a monotone watercolor or a sepia-colored painting.

Well this is what I came up with and I kind of like it. It is a stark image but strong in conveying the tree, river and distant landscape. To me it appears timeless as if it could have been painted one hundred years ago.

I only used three pigments to paint this scene: sepia/ultramarine blue and permanent sap green.

The Upper Field

                                                                            (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

It is always satisfying to paint the landscape whether it is outside or in the studio. To observe the colors out in the environment is a noble activity. Or at least I think, so as they are constantly changing.

This is the upper field at the Brattleboro Retreat. I hadn't walked through the trails, forest or fields in quite some time. I acknowledge the colors are going to change soon and a majority of the foliage will fall.

I prefer to combine quinacridone gold with either ultramarine blue or viridian for the yellow-green or green of fields.

Plein Air Painting

                                                                             (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

On Saturday I was fortunate to attend a free, local, watercolor workshop with my mom. It was a little less than three hours in length. However, it was great to paint outside, as the seasons are rapidly changing. When we arrived at the painting location the temperature was still in the forties with a few drops in the air and much cloud cover.

I got off to a rough start with my painting as I was sitting on the edge of an uncomfortable stone wall which had a lovely vantage point. My original location was occupied by two other people so I had to adjust on the fly.

I only got so far with my picture but it seemed like I was heading in the right direction. In the distance are New Hampshire mountains with Mount Monadnock just off the page to the right. Compositionally, I like the idea of framing the picture with the tall tall birch tree on the left and the evergreen towards the right.

Every painting experience is different but I seem to look at the sheet of the paper and the pigments differently all the time. I seem to paint more direct all the time with little hesitancy. However, at least when painting, I often feel pressed for time.

Watercolor Sketch

                                                                                    (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Watercolor is such a versatile medium. You can paint your watercolors on so many different surfaces from paper to boards to even Yupo, a synthetic surface. Gouache can be used with your watercolors if you need to achieve an opaque quality. This versatility makes it useful to record an experience or a setting right on the spot. And of course, you can paint from memory, too.

This watercolor was painted on one of the inside covers of a watercolor block I have been using. This smooth surface has nearly a cardboard thickness too it.

I enjoy experimenting with any surface I can find to see how the pigment responds to the paper. For example with hot press paper the pigment sits on the surface while with cold press or rough paper you can utilize a dry brush technique which can suggests texture such as on rocks or grasses along the shore.

Color Studies

                                                                                       (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

After months painting outside, primarily, it feels good to paint indoors. Naturally, painting inside is an entirely different experience than in the outdoors. When painting indoors it is easier to paint larger and at your own pace.

I am constantly searching for new color combinations. In particular, rich, lively, darks are a gem if I come upon them. I like this new combination of phthalo blue and burnt sienna which creates a cool,  dark green.

The other thing I am interested in is the absence of color in some of those color swatches above. When you paint with interesting edges full of expression where you don't have paint suggests a landscape unto itself.

The Tunbridge Fair(The World's Fair)

Last week I spent a beautiful day at the Tunbridge Fair (Tunbridge, VT)with my brother and mom. The Tunbridge Fair is one hundred and fifty years old which was started during the Ulysses S. Grant Administration.

We saw pigs racing, horse pulls, baby calves, oxen and a myriad of other animals celebrated as part of the rural extended family. Also, there was a roller coaster and ferris wheel along with fried dough and blooming onions.

This photograph may not be of a watercolor but it may lead to a series of watercolors. There were so many community events which drew people together to reflect upon.
 

Sketchbook Painting

                                                                     (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

It is that time of year to start using my sketchbook on a more regular basis. It is not that I have stopped drawing, however, with the days getting shorter there is more time in the evening.

I do like these Holbein multi-drawing books which take watercolor washes well.  In addition, to painting figures and landscapes I like experimenting with color swatches in these books. 

It is rewarding to page through these sketchbooks at a later date to see how you have progressed or where you were at during a certain time period.

Brattleboro Retreat

                                          (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro

 

The Brattleboro Retreat is an iconic institution in Brattleboro, Vermont. It has a long history of serving people and thus shaping their lives while simultaneously being shaped by the land. Also, it is situated within a lovely basin of water, fields, hills and forests.

Every time I drive along Route 30 near town I have an urge to paint in plein air, some aspect of the landscape. 

This watercolor was painted late one afternoon at one of the Brattleboro Retreat's picnic table's under a dense canopy of one of their maple trees.

The body of water, distant hills and reeds which edge the shoreline, make for a pleasant landscape in my mind and memory.

Late Summer Fields

                                                                                       (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Late summer has some lovely, rich colorations before the real fall colors move in. This local scene is full of greens including the canopy of blue-greens at the top of the picture.

In particular, I like the colors of the driveway with the warm shadows cast. That little bit of red makes all the difference in this watercolor.

I painted this on Langton Prestige(Daler Rowney) rough, watercolor paper. This versatile paper is made in the United Kingdom and had become difficult to find in the states. Many years ago it was readily available- even somewhat locally.

Higgins Beach(Maine)

                                                                            (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

My wife and I spent part of our summer vacation this year at Higgins Beach in Maine. We experienced amazing sunsets and even a full moon. This really made us appreciate the time we were there and gave us a break from our regular routine.

This watercolor is not my usual kind of painting with a heavy dose of grays. However, you can see the drama we experienced each evening at the beach. All that is missing is the sound of the waves lapping or in some cases thundering amongst the rocks and beach. The incoming tide really changes everything, not to mention the shoreline.

As a footnote, I was not able to send out my post yesterday as our internet was unexpectedly down. It has not been fully restored but hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Brattleboro Common(plein air)

                                                                              (C) 2022 Dale DiMauro
 

Summer has come to an end at least for most people. Schools are starting or have started and the days have gotten much shorter. 

On Friday I painted this scene on the Brattleboro Common from a picnic table. The greens and natural light were spectacular. However, it felt like the seasons was about to change. The Brattleboro Common at times became quite devoid of people.

I like the burst of color and intensity of greens which oozed across the moist paper. The shadows were full of life and character too. 

Often I find in watercolor you have to let the pigment do it's own thing. It's so easy to overwork the medium and it will show. The more you push pigment around the more diluted the wash becomes. This is one of those times where the freshness of the medium is very satisfying.