ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST Dale DiMauro

Light from the sinking sun illuminates a house and its surroundings in a glow watercolor artist Dale DiMauro depicts by blends of warm sienna and other colors. The house is underpainted with a warm pale yellow, creating a more striking look, while darker shades of the building's greens show shadows. Cerulean blue above an added blush represents the warmer sky, while manganese and cooler cobalt or ultramarine highlight the snow. DiMauro, who paints from Brattleboro, Vermont, has the experience and swift sureness to capture scenes like this before the light changes. "Watercolor can capture the purity of color you see when you're out there; this is one of its strengths," he says. En plein air, or "in the open air," is a painting method DiMauro often uses when the weather allows. "When you paint outside, you notice things, get a discerning eye; it raises awareness and helps with focusing on things," he explains. He speaks of a "freshness" that using watercolors achieves by putting down a wash that is not muddied or overdone. He says some combined pigments "sort of sparkle on the page" and can appear "much more lively" than others. "As you become more practiced, you learn to work more quickly. You decide what colors to blend and have an idea of how they'll appear," DiMauro notes. He learned that different types and sizes of paper are effective for various scenes with watercolor, and leaving some of the paper's white color unpainted can be a real asset. "Discovering things along the way is really exciting," he says. He often draws small, compositional studies initially, which he says help him develop the strongest possible final composition. And he carries a little notebook with him to record his observations and thoughts, referring back to it to keep him aware of possibilities. DiMauro began practicing art during high school when he and his mother studied with artist Gerard Doucette in Charlestown, New Hampshire. Doucette worked with many mediums, and his small groups allowed for lots of individual attention. "He is probably my greatest influence in the development and my approach to painting in watercolor," says DiMauro, adding that watercolors became his focus in 2008. The portability of watercolor painting appeals to DiMauro, whose compact cases contain limited colors he blends to create additional ones. His art travel bag is well-suited for holding paints, painting blocks, brushes, palettes and sponges. DiMauro earned a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon and is drawn to painting natural landscapes and houses with interesting architectural features. He also works in his own home and garden improvement business. He is a member of the Vermont Watercolor Society, has been a member of the Saxtons River Art Guild for many years, and plans to rejoin the Monadnock Art Association. DiMauro finds painting to be very intuitive rather than analytical. "It's really exciting to be in the moment when painting: focused, locked in, really present," he says. "It seems to sharpen your other senses." See more of Dale DiMauro's work at ddimauro.blogspot.com and in the Farm Directory of this magazine.