Friendship Heights Metro

The rain held off today, and I managed to get in 2-3 hours of plein air painting. I'm really out of practice, as I've been doing mostly pen-and-ink and watercolor work for the past month, since I can do those things indoors (away from all the rain!).  So I set my expectations low and resolved to do a loose urban sketch.

The painting depicts the Friendship Heights metro stop on the DC-Maryland border. I was most interested in the area on the left, and I should've zoomed the picture in more on that; I didn't spend much time at all on the right half of the painting.  I still like it.

Geoff Watson, "Friendship Heights Metro," oil on panel, 11" x 14," 2018.

Friendship Boulevard

The Washington area features all sorts of streets with distinctive names: Democracy Boulevard, Constitution Avenue, Independence Avenue, and the avenues named after states -- Wisconsin Avenue, Hawaii Avenue, Michigan Avenue, and so forth. But until today I didn't realize there is also a Friendship Boulevard, located (appropriately enough) in Friendship Heights. There are a number of Slavic places named Druzhba ("friendship"), but I don't know if I've ever encountered a Friendship street in the United States.

Anyway, Friendship Boulevard lived up to its name today! All sorts of friendly people stopped by my easel to chat. Kids always like to talk about painting, but plenty of adults came by too. Back when I started painting plein air, I was nervous about onlookers, but now I welcome them. Partly this is because I've grown more comfortable painting outdoors, and I'm proud of much of my plein air work. But even if the painting isn't going well, I'm happy to explain my plan to improve things. Za druzhbu -- to friendship! 

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

Hubert Humphrey Park

I learn a lot about a place when I paint there. I've visited Friendship Heights -- an area on the D.C./Maryland border -- hundreds of times. But today was the first day I'd ever painted there. I didn't know this little one-block-square park was named Hubert Humphrey Park. I didn't know so many seniors lived here. I didn't know about the immaculate community center adjoining the park -- with a library, people playing chess, clean bathroom (a luxury for a plein air painter!), and friendly staff.

And I didn't know about the neat sculpture depicted here, by J. Seward Johnson. Like the nearby bronze policeman, she get lots of double-takes: she's pretty convincing! Me, I thought it was fun to make a picture of someone making a picture. Plus, this model never moves or takes breaks. On top of all that, the weather was perfect! It was a great day to be outdoors painting.

Geoff Watson, "Bronze Girl in Hubert Humphrey Park," oil on panel, 8" x 10," 2017.