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.

Daily painting #100: My studio

To mark my 100th straight day of daily painting, I thought I’d show you where I do a lot of my work — my little studio, in my basement. When I paint a still life, I often use my easel light, a spotlight on the subject — and no other lights. So it’s bit dark, especially in the evening. I tried to convey that here. I was going for a sort of medieval atelier ambiance.

I’m going to take a break from daily painting now, as I have some longer-term art projects (I haven’t forgotten you, Tup!), plus the start of school in a couple weeks. But I’ll still be posting here, as I have plenty of stuff I haven’t gotten around to showing you all yet. Thanks for reading!

Geoff Watson, “My studio,” oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Daily painting #68, and my pochade box

Here’s the little pochade box I used for all my little paintings while visiting New York. It fits 6” x 8” panels, and it’s made by Guerilla Painter. As you can see, it’s pretty small and basic, but the design is clever. The palette slides away to reveal storage space for paint tubes and such.

Geoff Watson, photo of my Guerilla pochade box.

Using that box, I did this quick sketch of Red Caps at Penn Station while waiting for my train. Again, I had only the three primary colors to work with. The painting is not the greatest thing ever, but not bad for a quick thing from life. I did touch it up some on the train and at home, but most of the work was done on location, in about half an hour.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Red Caps at Penn Station,” July daily painting #7, oil on panel, 6” x 8,” 2019.

Daily painting #20: Skylight

I had intended a simple sketch of this interior, but a skylight cast a strangely-shaped light over the scene, and I couldn’t resist trying to depict it. I didn’t entirely succeed, but it’s an interesting effort.

Geoff Watson, “Skylight,” May daily painting #20, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Daily painting #15: interiors

I painted this little scene from my kitchen, looking into my darkened dining room, with warm light in a window beyond.

Geoff Watson, “Interiors,” May daily painting #15, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Watercolor sketches

I’ve been painting in watercolor every day this week for a change of pace. I love working in watercolor, but I do find them more challenging than oils. Here are a few example’s of the week’s work.

First, a pair of interior sketches — the first in watercolor, the second a quick pencil study.

Geoff Watson, “Interior sketch,” watercolor on paper, about 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Quick interior sketch,” graphite on paper, about 5” x 8,” 2019.

Next, my trusty stainless-steel water bottle. I spent all of 60 seconds on this, but I like the orange.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of a water bottle,” watercolor on paper, about 4” x 6,” 2019.

Finally, my piano bench. For the first four decades of my life, music — especially piano — was my main creative outlet. But as I grew older, my fingers and hands started to ache when I played piano. For whatever reason, painting doesn’t bother my hands much at all, so I moved from performing to visual arts. Although I have been drawing my whole life.

Geoff Watson, “Piano bench,” watercolor on paper, about 4” x 4,” 2019.