The Brattleboro Common

                                                                            C) 2023 Dale DiMauro

The Brattleboro Common is a great setting for plein air painting. It has many focal points, a sense of history and various seating options. I come back again and again to paint with a different perspective each time. You really don't need many paint supplies to get going at this location.

This plein air watercolor was done several years ago. Every time I see it, it stops me in my tracks. For me it has a magical quality - abstract with a frozen stillness. In addition, I like the washes in this particular picture. Also, the composition seems timeless with the curving path into the horizon at the junction of a tree trunk.

At times you can say so much with so little. I am referring to a limited palette.

Watercolor Study

                                                                               (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Landscape painting is such a joy for me. Whether it is realism or an imaginary landscape the process is fulfilling.

I have learned to love mixing watercolor pigments. Even if I have a small window to paint in - it is a great opportunity to put something down on paper. That way you can keep evolving as an artist.

In this little sketch I love the paint combinations. Also, I love the negative space where there is no paint. Through practice I have learned to appreciate the importance of leaving the white of the paper unpainted where possible.

Watercolor Study

                                                                             (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Painting skies can be a challenge particularly when it comes to various cloud formations. However, I am willing to tackle any sky that I experience. This was experienced in Brattleboro, VT during late summer.

This watercolor study was done in one sitting. The sky dominates the landscape and thus draws attention to the dramatic clouds. Many other skies do not dominate the landscape requiring less attention.

Another factor in painting a sky is which pigments to use. In this picture I used raw sienna and raw umber at the base of the clouds and cerulean blue elsewhere. I still am experimenting with which colors to employ and when.

Warm-up Sketch

                                                                           (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

It is a good practice to do a warm-up sketch in watercolor. This way you can practice some brush strokes before getting serious about your painting. Also, I find my relationship with the paper is constantly changing. I see things I didn't notice before or a different approach may emerge which makes a lot of sense.

This practice gets me inspired to paint while calming me down at the same time. Basically, it is a form of meditation which has my utmost attention.

This watercolor is an imaginary landscape. However, it has all the elements of landscape painting. It has a sky, land and water. It even has a tree so I am loosened up and ready to paint in earnest.

Cadillac Mountain(Bar Harbor, Maine)

                                                                         (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine certainly is a beautiful place to visit. However, I have lost interest in the quantity of people swarming the island in the summer. In addition, there are parking meters everywhere now, which makes it difficult to find a place to park.

On the other hand I love the landscape with all it's variety and textures. The rock formations weathered by years of exposure to water has endlessly fascinating patterns and markings which draw my attention.

These are some of the characteristics which inspire me to paint the landscape. I started this watercolor without any preliminary drawing - just started painting from the start. 

Several years ago with family we had  driven up Cadillac Mountain and I took some photographs as people do. I have looked at these photos from time to time and considered painting some landscapes.

I see these as studies for a larger landscape, one that can draw you into the picture. 

Watercolor Sketch

                                                                                       (C)2023 Dale DiMauro
 

With what seems like a sudden change of season which of course it is - I have had my painting routine interrupted preparing for the colder weather. So it was rewarding to paint a little landscape in my Arches Travel Journal.

I am excited that Arches has returned to market their Arches Travel Journal. Years ago I had purchased several and then they no longer were available for purchase. It is hard to find good quality watercolor paper in a book form.

In the Winter months these journals are great to take when traveling or even to a local cafe to capture people or for little landscapes.

Land & Sky

                                                                  (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

The beautiful fall weather has been a relief from the humid, wet summer. However, the vibrant fall colors are yet to be found here in southern Vermont.

All the landscape elements in this watercolor are well defined. I like the clear colors in the watercolor. They provide a clean and clear quality to the overall character of this scene.

Capturing the qualities of the above canopy is always a challenge. How much of the foliage should you include and how dark to make them? Lately, I have been experimenting with sepia and sap green for my canopy colors. What do you think?

Color Saturation

                                                                           (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Color is a powerful thing. It can make a painting look hyper-realistic, artificial or gaudy. On the other hand it can make a painting come alive.

Recently, I was doing work outside in southern Vermont when I experienced this late day sun which made this field come to life. I grabbed my camera and took a picture as this light was going to change rapidly.

I put many washes down on my painting as the color saturation was so rich to emulate.

The photograph does not do justice to the richness of color in the watercolor.

Fall Falls on the Local Landscape

                                                                              (C)2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Time seems precious at this time of year as the leaves fall off the tree before you know it. Also, the length of day fades fast. Yet we have had some beautiful days lately and I feel obligated to get outside and paint.

Local fields are as favorite source of inspiration for me to paint. Much of it can be attributed to the light and shadows of this time of year.

In this watercolor I like curve of the woodland edge on the upper right. A few days ago it seemed incomplete and artificial so I tweaked the contour of the field, added darks and increased the height of the trees.

This was painted on 140lb coldpress Arches watercolor paper. I have always enjoyed painting on their watercolor blocks as they are portable and tight as a drum.

Watercolor in sketchbook

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

Landscape painting is rewarding no matter the season or subject matter. Along the way my brushwork continues to improve. I am less hesitant over time and can achieve more with less brushstrokes. 

This picture is more a result of practicing my brushstrokes as a way of limbering up before I start painting in earnest. It is exciting when the paint runs a bit as the colors blend with each other unifying areas of the painting.

I am forever finding new pigment combinations and then experimenting with them. While painting this watercolor rapidly I kept thinking about this other combination: quinacridone gold and Winsor violet. I learned this paint combination makes a lovely neutral and am eager to put it to use.

The Brattleboro Common(Plein air)

                                                                             (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

In southern Vermont we certainly have had lovely weather lately. It's refreshing after a summer of high humidity, rain and poor air quality. This has fueled me to get outside and paint when possible.

I don't usually paint outside in the early morning but on Monday I did. Often my plein air painting happens in the late afternoon. At this time of year, with the morning light and fog, the landscape is quite captivating. I don't know if this photograph captured the colors but they are quite rich and varied.

The view here is looking toward the Retreat Meadows from the Brattleboro Common with a little spit of water in the distance. This was done in one sitting from the seat of a picnic table. As I painted this watercolor I began to notice the color change of the deciduous trees before my eyes.

My Favorite Local Field

                                                                       (2023) Photograph Dale DiMauro
 

In all my travels this year I come back again and again to this local field. There is such drama in the vast open space of this field. The color change in fall, verdant green growth in spring and snow in winter all play out to such great effect in this field.

Today, a farmer was cutting down the corn stalks with his tractor. He looked very small in relation to the space. However, I like to observe whatever changes occur when I pass by whether it is birds flittering in the distance or changing shadows across the landscape.

These ephereal effects are the very thing watercolor is great at capturing. The ever-changing atmospheric qualities such as mist rising off the cornfield really capture one's attention when we are observant and tuned into the seasons.

Bratttleboro Common

                                                                            (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

The Brattleboro Common is a lovely spot to plant yourself for a few hours or an afternoon when you can - when the weather is good. I have come to appreciate this small park throughout the seasons - if nothing other than the lovely trees we have.

It felt great to get outside the other day and paint in plein air with good air quality unlike during the humid summer. The afternoon sun is special at this time of year. The shadows are longer but it is the warmest time of the day.

It is good to include some structure in my picture so I had to include the monument. I didn't get to finish this painting outside but I feel good about what I did in an hours time.

Autumnal Colors Starting to Emerge

                                                                          (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

This time of year is one of my favorite to paint plein air watercolors. Between the seasonal color changes, the temperature fluctuations and the fog lifting off the rivers there is a lot of atmospheric effects which are suitable to capture in watercolor.

However, this watercolor was painted in my studio due to a lack of time. But I feel the urge to get outside as the season changes so fast.

Quinacridone gold is one of my favorite pigments. I use it to mix a variety of greens and browns. 
I don't know if I could get along without it. In this watercolor I used it for the green in the field, the tree foliage, the vegetation along the shore and for the shadow on the water.

As I have stated in previous posts I really like this Master's Choice watercolor paper. The rough version of this paper has a nice feel to it. Various pigmentations leave a lovely pattern on the paper.

The End of Summer

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

With chillier mornings and shorter days people are talking about the changing of the seasons. It seems to come so fast because it is. The quality of the light I see out in the land is so different then it was a month ago.

At the same time I keep thinking about this painting that NC Wyeth did which was found in New Hampshire. A woman purchased it for four dollars yet it was understood to have sold for around one-hundred fifty thousand dollars at auction.

This little watercolor I painted a while back for me sums up both thoughts. For me it has a Chadds Ford feel with its tawny colors and sparse life to it. The summer season has clearly passed on.

Atmosphere and Atomizer

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro
 

It is important for me to squeeze in some watercolor painting every day when possible. This continuity keeps things moving forward while keeping the mind engaged. A variety of ideas emerge while painting or reading the newspaper which is some cases, I can incorporate in one of my next paintings.

For example, many years ago I purchased an atomizer which when used properly you blow with your lips through a tube which can gently spray a film of pigment across the texture of the paper to great effect. I have not really embraced this painting device as I have not had much success with this technique.

However, on youtube I saw this being utilized to great effect. Now I am inspired to see what I can do with this tool.

The above photograph is a quick little watercolor I did recently while pressed for time. However, I like the warm neutral colors that convey the atmospheric qualities in this image. I put down a wash of brown before painting in the water along the shoreline which dictated how I would proceed.

A View From Cadallac Mountain(Bar Harbor, Maine)

                                                                             (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro

Bar Harbor, Maine is certainly a beautiful place to be - particularly in the summer. Obviously, with Acadia National Park residing on the island, it draws a lot of tourists.

Since my wife and I didn't make it up to Bar Harbor this summer, unlike most years, this watercolor is sort of a postcard or momento of years past. 

When in Maine this summer, I purchased this Rembrandt watercolor block in Portland. I really like how this paper holds the pigment and responds when the paper is wet. Previously, I was unaware Rembrandt even existed as far as manufacturing watercolor paper.

PHOTOGRAPH: Tropical Vermont

                                                                                   (C) 2023 Photograph Dale DiMauro
 

Early in the morning on Tuesday I went for a walk down into Brattleboro, VT. I saw the Connecticut River and the adjacent land shrouded in a mist reminiscent of the tropics. This experience blew my mind. It was such a dramatic event that I am still thinking about it today.

I keep thinking how I would go about capturing these elements in watercolor. After all, watercolor, to me, is the best medium for capturing atmospheric effects on paper.

Just looking at this watercolor I can feel all the moisture in the air. The cool green foliage looks so lush, too. Later on it became one of those heat advisory days with a heat index approaching one hundred degrees.

Scott Farm

                                                                                       (C) 2023 Dale DiMauro

Scott Farm, in Dummerston, VT is such a historic place. Not only was Cider House Rules filmed there but the buildings and landscape remain from a previous era. It is significant that some of the buildings and landscape have been repurposed for the time we live in.

They process from their orchards apple cider which they sell to the public. One of their buildings is rented out for wedding receptions and The Stone Trust teaches wall and patio construction on the grounds.

Also, it is a lovely spot to paint plein air landscapes. I painted this scene last year with the Saxton's River Art Group which organizes their own plein air outings. I don't know that I finished this painting but was off to a good start.

Worcester Art Museum

 

This past week my mom and I visited the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, MA. One of the current exhibitions is titled Watercolors Unboxed, which runs through September 10, 2023. These paintings are from their permanent collections.

It is rare to see watercolors on exhibit, it seems, in a museum not far from home, in Vermont. In particular, I enjoyed studying the Winslow Homer(1836-1910) and John Singer Sargent(1856-1925) watercolors. My mom and I were lucky, timing wise, to join a group with a guide discussing aspects of many of the watercolors on exhibit.

This John Singer Sargent, above titled, Boats at Anchor, 1917, was one of my favorite watercolors from the show. It is rare to see a Sargent watercolor in person. His use of color drew me in to his watercolors. For example, I love the browns and neutrals in the foreground of this picture.

What I admired most about Winslow Homer's watercolors on exhibit, were the free-flowing brushstrokes and emotional portray of the atmospheric effects.