Swains Lockhouse

During the 19th century, the Swains family ran Lock 21 of the C&O Canal from this house, in Potomac, Maryland. Now the house is being restored so that travelers can spend the night there, as they can at Pennyfield Lockhouse, the subject of one of my earlier blog posts.

I was interested in the morning light on the rightmost wall, so I rushed to "lock" it in (ha!) before the sun turned its focus on the other wall. As usual, I didn't have enough time to detail everything, but I hope I captured the essentials.

Geoff Watson, "Swains Lockhouse," oil on panel, 8" x 10," 2017.

Towpath

This is the towpath, the dirt road along the C&O Canal in Maryland. In its heyday, the canal operated boats pulled by mules, which towed the boats. (I've depicted one of the boats in an earlier blog post, "Waiting for the Mules.") But here I was most interested in the curious question-mark-shaped foliage at the end of the path, so I tried to focus attention there. I also liked the canopy of branches above the path, not to mention the hints of fall colors.

Geoff Watson, Towpath," oil on panel, 8" x 10," 2017.

Angler's Footbridge

This fall I'm studying with a well-regarded local artist, and today our group painted at the bridge spanning the C&O canal near the Old Angler's Inn. I liked the hint of fall colors in the trees. I especially liked how the white sycamore complemented the horizontal of the bridge. 

Geoff Watson, "Angler's Footbridge," oil on panel, 2017.

Pennyfield Lock

Pennyfield Lock is Lock 22 on the C&O Canal in Maryland. Pennyfield's Inn stands guard over the lock, and the inn still operates today. You can rent it for a night or two from the National Park Service, as long as you don't mind having no electricity or running water. As it happens, two nice travelers named Steve and Jennel were staying there while I was painting the house, and I added them to the picture; they're hanging out at the fence. They liked the painting and bought it from me off the easel.

Geoff Watson, "Pennyfield Lock," oil on panel, 9" x 12," 2017.