Back from Plein Air Easton!

I’m back from the Plein Air Easton competition! I had a wonderful time, and I learned a ton. I was really impressed with the bravura artwork produced by my fellow artists. Some of them produced work that looked like it had been in the studio for weeks. I was also impressed by the organizers of the event, who ran it professionally and cordially. And I was happy that one of my paintings sold for a nice price, and I met a few patrons who seem interested in supporting my work.

Alas, I fell and injured my knee halfway through the competition, at which point I had really only finished a couple paintings. I found it hard to paint at all after that. (The knee is better but still bothering me enough that today I went in for an ultrasound exam.) I also made a thousand other less frightening mistakes: I forgot my wet-panel carriers; I didn’t bring enough frames or framing supplies; I overloaded my car with unnecessary extra supplies; I wasted too much time scouting for painting sites; I tried to paint too big at an event with a time deadline because I didn’t have a smaller frame.

The good news is that I’m now feeling comfortable plein-air painting again, at least in uncrowded locations. (I am fully vaccinated.) So I should be posting in this blog a bit more often now.

Here’s one painting I did at Easton that I considered mostly finished. Even this one could have used more touch-up, but with my aching knee, I just framed it and declared victory.

Geoff Watson, “Oxford Mooring,” oil on linen panel, 6” x 8,” at Plein Air Easton, 2021.

Dozing in a parka

I haven’t posted in this blog for a while, but I’ve been drawing or painting every day. During the pandemic, my most common subjects have been family members. This quick watercolor sketch is one example. It depicts my lovely wife, exhausted from a long day of work, dozing off at the kitchen table while still wearing her parka.

Geoff Watson, “Dozing in a Parka,” watercolor on paper, about 4” x 6,” March 2021.

Tobruk

December, 1940. Italy threatens to capture the Suez Canal, but Britain readies a counteroffensive, code-named Operation Compass. Can you outfox the Italians, who have greater numbers, with the elite tanks in your 7th Armoured Division? Can you capture Tobruk before the inevitable Axis counter-attack?

This is my first published computer game! You can download it from itch.io here: Tobruk . The site asks whether you want to donate a couple bucks to the developer (me), but please feel free to ignore the donation and just proceed to the download. The game requires Windows. It comes in a .zip package; just unzip and run the executable to play.

I did a terrible job of giving instructions. To play: (1) left click a brown (British) unit. (2) left click again to give it a destination.(It won’t move until the execution phase.) (3) Repeat for some/all of your other units. (4) Hit enter and wait. (5) Hit spacebar to walk through each of your moves, hex by hex.

The game is my entry for the “Tropical Game Jam” at the Gamemaker Studio forums in this thread . The rules of the jam required that the game be made in just 3 days! It was all very rushed, and I didn’t finish until 4:30 a.m. last night. So don’t expect a magnum opus. Also, I finished on time, but I supplied a broken link because I didn’t realize itch.io sets links to private by default. Fortunately, the jam organizers are still accepting my entry.

I don’t expect to win, but I’m proud of my little game! Here’s a cropped screenshot.

Studio update; keeping busy

We’ve had my studio’s carpet removed and the floor and wall cleaned some, and we’ve hired a contractor to jackhammer the floor and install a flood-control system for the future. But that work won’t be done for another month. Plein air isn’t a great option either; I’m not comfortable painting in public with the virus.

So I’ve contented myself with drawing in sketchbooks and painting on my iPad. I’ve also resumed an old hobby — making computer games! I’ve made a clone of Tetris, a chess engine, and now I’m working on a card game. Here are some screenshots from all these endeavors.

First, my Tetris clone. I call it “Falling Logs.” It’s fun, and I suck at it.

Geoff Watson, “Falling Crates,” 2020.

Here’s a look at my chess engine. It plays as well as me into the endgame, at which point it falls apart, because I haven’t taught it any endgame patterns yet. I could spend years improving this thing; it is an addictive thing. But it’s also a bit depressing to see your own AI start to beat you. I think I might prefer to leave it in its current, beatable state.

Geoff Watson, “Chess,” 2020.

And finally, two examples of art for a spy-themed card game I’m working on. The game itself isn’t that fun yet, and I may abandon it, but making the art for it has been a hoot. FIrst, an illustration made on the iPad. I might or might not add color and shadow. It’s been great to experiment with line art like this:

Geoff Watson, “Media credentials,” made with Adobe Fresco on the iPad Pro, 2020.

Finally, I pulled out my oil paints to do a quick sketch for a game card. I did this quickly, on the back of a piece of cardboard!

Geoff Watson, “Small gift,” oil on cardboard, about 11” x 14,” 2020.

Studio flooding

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. My basement studio flooded a few weeks ago, bringing most of my art production to a screeching halt. We’ve gotten estimates for repair work and hope to get it going in earnest this week. In theory, I can still get outside to paint plein air, but it’s been mostly too hot to do so, and (more importantly) with Covid-19 I don’t feel comfortable going to my usual scenic haunts to paint. I’ve also had a death in the family, and I’ve been preoccupied with dealing with the estate.

The good news is that I’m still drawing almost every day, and I’ve done some watercolor and gouache painting too. I’ve also been reading and writing more, which is fun. Plus the virus has brought more frequent Zoom conversations with family and friends, a big silver lining. And I actually love being home and cocooning; I’m a homebody at heart. So things are good. I’ll keep you posted on studio repairs. Stay safe!

May Azaleas

These azaleas are fading already, so I rushed outside to paint them while I still can. I’d like to try working them into a larger composition if they’re still blooming after tomorrow’s rain.

Geoff Watson, “May Azaleas,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The color purple

After a week of rain, the sun finally came out today, and I wasted no time getting outside. I painted these azaleas and dogwoods while standing on my front lawn.

Geoff Watson, “The color purple,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The side gate (Day 4)

It was a lovely afternoon, so I hauled my gear out to the side of my house to continue work on my side gate. It’s getting close to completion, but I’d still like to spruce up the foreground bush and maybe tweak the background a bit. I’m glad I put in the flowers last week, because they’re fading now.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16,” 2020.

Sketch of 7th Avenue

Today I studied a plein air painting I did in New York last summer and thought about ways to improve it. I did about a dozen Notan ink sketches (black and white values only, in a sketchbook), and finally settled on a backlit variation.

Then I spent about an hour quickly sketching my idea with oil paint. I used a limited palette of four colors plus white, following a suggestion of Terry Miura: (1) yellow ochre; (2) transparent red oxide; (3) a little black; (4) asphaltum; and (5) titanium white.

It's obviously just a sketch, but I'm liking the composition! I may try to develop this into a larger studio piece. I'd add more cars, people, details, and clarify the drawing -- but, I hope, maintain the lighting and feel.

Geoff Watson, study, “Sketch of 7th Avenue at 57th Street,” oil on linen panel, 8” x 10.”

The side gate (day 3)

It was sunny and downright hot today, with temperatures in the 70s, so I was back outside, painting my gate. This time I focused on the right side of the picture, including the ivy and the tall rose bush, and I made some first efforts at a background.

I'm not happy with the background yet. I tried adding more trees, but they interfered with the U-shaped junction between the gate and the ivy, which I really like. I also need to work on the foreground, especially the foreground bush. Still, I like the direction this is going.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress, day3),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The side gate (cont'd)

Two beautiful days in a row! So I was in my side-yard again this afternoon, soaking up the sun and having a wonderful time painting this gate. I’m excited about it! Today I focused on the steps, railings and walkway. I didn’t touch the background or the right half of the picture. I’ll get to those later this week. Unfortunately, it looks like clouds and rain for the next couple days, but no worries; the gate isn’t going anywhere.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress, day 2),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The side gate (in progress)

I had a fun afternoon painting under beautiful sunny skies. I chose to paint the gate by the side of my house. I think it’s a good start. The gate itself is quaint, and the flowers on the right add color and interest. I plan to spend at least another day on it, and probably more. I need to add railings to the stairs and lots of other detail. We’ll see how it goes.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Cherry Blossoms in March

I painted these cherry blossoms while standing in my own driveway, far away from any onlookers, to preserve social distancing in these coronavirus times. Even so, people asked to come look, so I’d back up 30 feet and ask them to get no closer to the easel than 10 feet or so. I had several people offer to buy it, and it has now found a home.

I’m not used to photographing larger paintings, so I took a lot of bad photos of it; this is the least bad photo. It reveals a couple of imperfections that may or may not be in the original. In my defense, it was windy outdoors while I was trying to photograph it, and blossoms were blowing onto the picture, so I had to rush. Still, I need to upgrade my art photography skills!

Geoff Watson, “Cherry Blossoms in March,” oil on linen, 18” x 24.” Private collection.

Hiding behind the trees

The pandemic is upon us, and plein air painting has to bend to the needs of the day. In my case, this means painting a lot of things while standing on my driveway or front lawn, where no onlookers come peek over my shoulder. Fortunately, our cherry blossoms are about to bloom, so I should have some good subject matter. In fact, my little cherry tree is already blooming. I may paint it tomorrow.

For the last couple days, though I focused on our neighbor’s house, which is shrouded in trees. Our neighbors are wonderful social people, but the building itself seems to be hiding behind the foliage, as if distancing itself from the virus.

Geoff Watson, “Hiding behind the trees,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Dude in a big hat

I’ve been painting every day, but I’ve been a bit remiss about updating this blog. I’ll try to catch up over the next week or so. I did this sketch in life class. I was going for a Rembrandt feel, which is great except (1) I didn’t use a dark background, and (2) I’m no Rembrandt, lol. Still, I love it when I get to paint with a lot of red!

Geoff Watson, “Study of a dude in a big hat,” oil on linen panel, 9” x 12.”

Shuttered pharmacy

It was unseasonably warm today, so I got outdoors for my first plein air of the year. This picture features my local pharmacy, the Westbard Rite-Aid, which recently closed. The painting is one in my series of “doomed buildings of Bethesda.” I chose to use just one color, transparent red oxide, plus titanium white.

Geoff Watson, “Westbard Rite-Aid, shuttered,” oil on linen panel, 6” x 12.” Available.

Accepted into Plein Air Easton!

I've been accepted into Plein Air Easton, one of the most prestigious plein air painting competitions in the country! The week-long competition will be judged by the President of the Met Museum in New York. There will be receptions, public painting events, all sorts of fun — it’s a festival that attracts thousands of people. Plus, last year the artists sold over $400,000 in paintings.

I'm very excited! Plein air is my favorite way to paint, and Easton is a fabulous opportunity. Details here: https://pleinaireaston.com/home

Quick study of Chris

I did this quick study in about 90 minutes in life class yesterday. The instructor asked us to experiment with a loose start, massing in shapes without any explicit drawing. I was surprised how well this method worked; I got a pretty good likeness pretty fast. It’s not as finished as I would like, but it was a good foundation.

Geoff Watson, ‘Quick study of Chris,” oil on linen panel, 11” x 14,” 2020.

Recent sketches

Here are a few more of my recent sketches. I did this first one a couple days ago, in about half an hour, using a pen. I like using a pen because you can’t erase your mistakes, which makes me concentrate harder. As the saying goes, measure twice, draw once.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of a living room,” pen on paper, 11” x 14,” 2020.

This next one I did a couple weeks ago, from life, at the Art Students League in New York. It was the last open-sketching session of the year, I think.

Geoff Watson, “Study of a nude,” ink on paper, about 6” x 8,” 2019.

And here’s a sketch from a couple weeks ago. About 10 or 15 minutes, from life. Nothing spectacular, but I like the diagonal construction lines that I inexplicably included.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch with construction lines,” ink on paper, about 6” x 8,” 2020.

And lastly, a sketch in oil paint, from today’s life class. Our instructor urged us to mass in shapes and worry less about contour lines and other niceties of precise drawing. My results were somewhat mixed, especially as I never got around to putting in the ear, but it was a good experiment. About 90 minutes.

Geoff Watson, “Unfinished sketch of Moe,” oil on linen panel, 11” x 14,” 2020.

Underpainting in progress

My New Year’s resolution was to spend more time on each painting — to make some really finished pieces. This is one of the few New Year’s resolutions I’ve ever kept, at least so far. I’ve spent several days on this “brunaille” — an underpainting made in just two colors, brown and white.

I imagine it will take even longer to glaze it (i.e., paint on top of it) with color. I’m not sure, because I normally don’t do underpaintings; this is an experiment. I think it’s a good start!

Geoff Watson, “Brunaille for a portrait,” oil on linen panel, 16” x 20,” 2020.