Danny's truck

My sore back has kept me inside during the gorgeous spring weather here, but today I could no longer resist, and I gingerly set up my easel on my front yard and painted this truck, using mostly gouache — transparent watercolor. I haven’t touched my gouache in a while, and my blue and red tubes were caked dry, so I had to improvise to get the colors you see here. Time to buy some new paint!

The underlying drawing is better than the finished painting. I did a very careful and accurate pencil drawing, but I chose brushes that were too large. Artists always say use the largest brush possible, but I think I took that principle too far here. Still, it was great to get outside and paint again.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Danny’s truck,” gouache, watercolor & graphite on paper, 5” x 7,” 2019.

Back study

I’ve been slowed down by back pain the past week or so, but I managed to drag myself to life class today. Wouldn’t you know it, I wound up sitting with a view of the model’s … back. When I got back (heh) home, I watched hockey fans shout “back to back” while cheering on the Washington Capitals, who are trying to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. And I watched men twist their backs violently while playing golf at the Masters. All in all, it was a back of a day.

Geoff Watson, “Back study,” oil on panel, 11” x 14” (2019).

Fenway Park (in progress)

This painting is off to a better start than the Red Sox themselves, who opened the season with a miserable 3-8 road trip out west. I’m going for a sort of empty-but-beautiful vibe with this picture, with lots of attention on the famed Green Monster, the gigantic left-field wall. So no crowd, no ballgame: I plan to add a couple groundskeepers or ballplayers walking on the outfield or infield, but not thousands of screaming fans.

There’s lots more to be done, of course. (Unfortunately, production has slowed because I threw my back out; I’m getting better, but it’ll be a week or so before I’m back to my normal painting and blogging schedule.) The outfield and left-field lines and grandstands need straightening, as do the signs over the Green Monster. The infield may need to be reduced a tad. I haven’t put in stadium lights yet. Of course I have detail to add too: the scoreboard on The Monster, writing on the signs, the foul lines, and above all the iconic Citgo sign in center field!

Geoff Watson, “Fenway Park (in progress),” oil on linen panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.