Interesting failures

Not every painting is a success, but I try to learn from mistakes. In today’s life session, my back was hurting, but I tried to stand so I could view the model from the same vantage point I had last week. Not smart! I had trouble concentrating, and the figure did not improve. After a while I gave up, sat down, and just started messing around with the background instead. Not a huge success, but still interesting.

Geoff Watson, “Not my best,”oil study on panel, 12” x 16,” 2018.

Yesterday I had a different kind of failure. I drew a pretty good likeness of the model, and my first wash of watercolor enhanced it. I should have stopped there! Instead I overworked it. Then I compounded the error by adding eye detail after the model was gone, and of course I got them wrong, lol. You can get away with that in oil, as it’s easy to wipe out mistakes. Not so with watercolors! (A comedy of errors: my computer isn’t letting me upload it. Maybe for the best!)

More watercolor sketches

Yesterday I did a few more quick watercolor sketches at the Art Students League. This timy portrait took 25 minutes. Not a bad likeness!

Geoff Watson, “Portrait sketch of Monica,” watercolor and graphite on paper, 3” x 5,” 2017.

These were 5-minute poses. Not a lot of time!

Geoff Watson, “Monica sitting,” watercolor and graphite sketch on paper, 3” x 5,” 2017.

Geoff Watson, “Monica extended,” watercolor and graphite sketch on paper, 3” x 5,” 2017.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Monica standing,“ watercolor and graphite on paper, 3” x 5,” 2017.

Figure sketches in watercolor

Today I brought a miniature watercolor set to the Art Students League in New York. Short poses are always a challenge, but especially in watercolor! Here is a 15-minute aketch. 

Geoff Watson, “Monica,” watercolor sketch on paper, about 5” x 7,” 2017.

And here are a couple 5-minute poses.

Geoff Watson, “Monica reclining,” watercolor sketch on paper, 5” x 7,” 2017.

Geoff Watson, “Monica sketch,” watercolor on paper, about 4” x 6,” 2017.

Tylenol

I’ve had a stomach flu for the past couple days. Today I felt well enough to sketch something and do a quick watercolor. I chose an object that has been getting a lot of my attention!

Geoff Watson, “Tylenol,” watercolor sketch on paper, 6” x 6,” 2017.

Our Christmas tree

Today we put up our Christmas tree — a handsome Douglas Fir. There’s snow on the ground outside, so it was a good day to trim the tree and sit by the fire. I played a few carols on the piano, and then I painted this little watercolor sketch.

Geoff Watson, “Christmas Tree,” watercolor sketch on paper, about 4” x 6,” 2017.

Utility pole

This utility pole stands guard near my house. I liked the afternoon sun on the "bark" of the pole. This is just a 10-minute sketch in watercolor. Eventually I'll do a more detailed painting of it, as a way of thanking it for its ongoing support!

Geoff Watson, "Utility pole," watercolor on paper, 4" x 6," 2017.

Hockey sketches

Do cold watercolors freeze? To test this important question, I brought my watercolors to the Rockville Ice Arena, where my daughter was playing hockey. I did a few sketches of the players, and my paints remained liquid. Plus my kid's team won. All in all, it was a successful outing! 

Geoff Watson, "Hockey sketches," watercolor on paper, 4" x 12," 2017.

Monument thumbnails

These are tiny 2" x 3" thumbnail sketches, done from memory and a photo reference. These are compositional tools: I'm making sketches like these to figure out how I want to paint this scene when I return to this spot next week. Normally I make thumbnails with pencil, but artist Christine Lashley (with whom I'm studying this autumn) suggests doing thumbnails with watercolor. What a nice idea! I think I like #1 the best.

Geoff Watson, "Monument thumnail 1," watercolor on paper, 2" x 3," 2017.

Geoff Watson, "Monument thumbnail 2," watercolor on paper, 2" x 3," 2017.

Geoff Watson, "Monument thumbnail 3," watercolor on paper, 2" x 3," 2017.

Sheba (in progress)

This watercolor portrait of Sheba is still in progress, as this was the first of two sittings. The likeness is already pretty good, but her features all need adjustment, and I inadvertently chopped off a bit of her chin. (I drew it correctly with my pencil but then blithely ignored my pencil marks when doing my first washes of watercolor.) This first image is after about an hour:

Geoff Watson, "Sheba," work in progress, watercolor on paper, 12" x 16," 2017.

And here is the painting after two hours. I added some skin tone, which looks okay so far, and also added some cool greens for transitional colors -- but I overdid it with the green, heh. I'll dial it back next week. I still need to adjust her eyes, nose, lips and ear. But I'm already very pleased with the likeness and the overall feel of the picture.

Geoff Watson, "Sheba," work in progress, watercolor on paper, 12" x 16," 2017.

River Bend Watercolors

Today I painted five quick watercolor studies at River Bend Park in northern Virginia, on the Potomac. In each study I was experimenting with color and composition; I didn't bother with an underdrawing. Here are three examples.

Geoff Watson, "River Bend Study," watercolor on paper, 12" x 16," 2017.

Geoff Watson, "Seeing purple," watercolor on paper, about 6"x 8," 2017.

Geoff Watson, "Maryland, from Virginia," watercolor on paper, about 6" x 8," 2017.