Daily painting #86: Rehoboth Beach

It was a day at the beach! I sat with my family on busy Rehoboth Beach, and I dug out my oils and sketched the scene in front of me. I didn’t want to lug an easel or tripod, so I just had the linen panel and palette on my lap.

Given the challenging circumstance, I wasn’t expecting to paint a masterpiece. My plan had been to put in a few basic strokes, photograph the scene, and finish back at the house later. But I got enough done that I decided just to leave it the way I painted it on location. Neither of the two photos below quite does it justice, but they should give you the basic idea.

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth Beach,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

When I was photographing and editing the picture, I inadvertently applied some sort of filter to it. Here’s what it looks like. Kinda cool!

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth Beach,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

Herring Point revisited

Over the summer I painted an 8" x 10" plein air study of Herring Point at Cape Henlopen Park in Delaware. This week I've been trying to develop that study into a larger studio work. I always find this translation process challenging: how does one preserve the charm of the study while incorporating enough new information to enlarge the work?

One approach is to supplement the study with photo references, but I often find it more helpful to work off the study and to fill in gaps with my memory. In this case, I remember thinking I didn't have enough time to record all the human activity on the beach. I've added more beachgoers in this version. 

Geoff Watson, "Herring Point," oil on canvas, work in progress, 16" x 20," 2017.