Back from Plein Air Easton!

I’m back from the Plein Air Easton competition! I had a wonderful time, and I learned a ton. I was really impressed with the bravura artwork produced by my fellow artists. Some of them produced work that looked like it had been in the studio for weeks. I was also impressed by the organizers of the event, who ran it professionally and cordially. And I was happy that one of my paintings sold for a nice price, and I met a few patrons who seem interested in supporting my work.

Alas, I fell and injured my knee halfway through the competition, at which point I had really only finished a couple paintings. I found it hard to paint at all after that. (The knee is better but still bothering me enough that today I went in for an ultrasound exam.) I also made a thousand other less frightening mistakes: I forgot my wet-panel carriers; I didn’t bring enough frames or framing supplies; I overloaded my car with unnecessary extra supplies; I wasted too much time scouting for painting sites; I tried to paint too big at an event with a time deadline because I didn’t have a smaller frame.

The good news is that I’m now feeling comfortable plein-air painting again, at least in uncrowded locations. (I am fully vaccinated.) So I should be posting in this blog a bit more often now.

Here’s one painting I did at Easton that I considered mostly finished. Even this one could have used more touch-up, but with my aching knee, I just framed it and declared victory.

Geoff Watson, “Oxford Mooring,” oil on linen panel, 6” x 8,” at Plein Air Easton, 2021.

Geoff Watson, “Oxford Mooring,” oil on linen panel, 6” x 8,” at Plein Air Easton, 2021.

Studio flooding

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. My basement studio flooded a few weeks ago, bringing most of my art production to a screeching halt. We’ve gotten estimates for repair work and hope to get it going in earnest this week. In theory, I can still get outside to paint plein air, but it’s been mostly too hot to do so, and (more importantly) with Covid-19 I don’t feel comfortable going to my usual scenic haunts to paint. I’ve also had a death in the family, and I’ve been preoccupied with dealing with the estate.

The good news is that I’m still drawing almost every day, and I’ve done some watercolor and gouache painting too. I’ve also been reading and writing more, which is fun. Plus the virus has brought more frequent Zoom conversations with family and friends, a big silver lining. And I actually love being home and cocooning; I’m a homebody at heart. So things are good. I’ll keep you posted on studio repairs. Stay safe!

May Azaleas

These azaleas are fading already, so I rushed outside to paint them while I still can. I’d like to try working them into a larger composition if they’re still blooming after tomorrow’s rain.

Geoff Watson, “May Azaleas,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Geoff Watson, “May Azaleas,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The side gate (Day 4)

It was a lovely afternoon, so I hauled my gear out to the side of my house to continue work on my side gate. It’s getting close to completion, but I’d still like to spruce up the foreground bush and maybe tweak the background a bit. I’m glad I put in the flowers last week, because they’re fading now.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16,” 2020.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16,” 2020.

The side gate (day 3)

It was sunny and downright hot today, with temperatures in the 70s, so I was back outside, painting my gate. This time I focused on the right side of the picture, including the ivy and the tall rose bush, and I made some first efforts at a background.

I'm not happy with the background yet. I tried adding more trees, but they interfered with the U-shaped junction between the gate and the ivy, which I really like. I also need to work on the foreground, especially the foreground bush. Still, I like the direction this is going.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress, day3),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress, day3),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The side gate (cont'd)

Two beautiful days in a row! So I was in my side-yard again this afternoon, soaking up the sun and having a wonderful time painting this gate. I’m excited about it! Today I focused on the steps, railings and walkway. I didn’t touch the background or the right half of the picture. I’ll get to those later this week. Unfortunately, it looks like clouds and rain for the next couple days, but no worries; the gate isn’t going anywhere.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress, day 2),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress, day 2),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

The side gate (in progress)

I had a fun afternoon painting under beautiful sunny skies. I chose to paint the gate by the side of my house. I think it’s a good start. The gate itself is quaint, and the flowers on the right add color and interest. I plan to spend at least another day on it, and probably more. I need to add railings to the stairs and lots of other detail. We’ll see how it goes.

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Geoff Watson, “The side gate (in progress),” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Hiding behind the trees

The pandemic is upon us, and plein air painting has to bend to the needs of the day. In my case, this means painting a lot of things while standing on my driveway or front lawn, where no onlookers come peek over my shoulder. Fortunately, our cherry blossoms are about to bloom, so I should have some good subject matter. In fact, my little cherry tree is already blooming. I may paint it tomorrow.

For the last couple days, though I focused on our neighbor’s house, which is shrouded in trees. Our neighbors are wonderful social people, but the building itself seems to be hiding behind the foliage, as if distancing itself from the virus.

Geoff Watson, “Hiding behind the trees,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Geoff Watson, “Hiding behind the trees,” oil on linen panel, 12” x 16.”

Shuttered pharmacy

It was unseasonably warm today, so I got outdoors for my first plein air of the year. This picture features my local pharmacy, the Westbard Rite-Aid, which recently closed. The painting is one in my series of “doomed buildings of Bethesda.” I chose to use just one color, transparent red oxide, plus titanium white.

Geoff Watson, “Westbard Rite-Aid, shuttered,” oil on linen panel, 6” x 12.” Available.

Geoff Watson, “Westbard Rite-Aid, shuttered,” oil on linen panel, 6” x 12.” Available.

Accepted to juried show at Maryland House of Delegates!

I just had three paintings accepted into a juried show at the Maryland House of Delegates!  The show will run during the entire legislative session, from January 9 to April 13.  The show is at the Lowe House Gallery in the Lowe House of Delegates Building (6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD 21401). My three paintings will be for sale.  Plus there will be a reception on February 3 from 6-8 pm.

The show is sponsored by the Maryland Federation of Art, of which I am a member. I guess it’s a chance for state legislators and the public to see art made by Marylanders. It was a competitive process; only 39 artists got in, out of 250 or so who applied, and mine are 3 of 69 paintings in the show. 

You can see the preview gallery for the show here: http://mdfedart.com/mfaentry/artistgallery.php?event=176 . The gallery is arranged alphabetically, so I’m at almost the very end. Here are my three pieces that will be on sale:

Geoff Watson, “Cherry blossoms,” oil on panel, 16” x 20,” 2018. $750 at upcoming Lowe House Gallery Exhibition.

Geoff Watson, “Cherry blossoms,” oil on panel, 16” x 20,” 2018. $750 at upcoming Lowe House Gallery Exhibition.

Geoff Watson, “Golf Shoes,” oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019. $250 at upcoming Lowe House Gallery Exhibition.

Geoff Watson, “Golf Shoes,” oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019. $250 at upcoming Lowe House Gallery Exhibition.

Geoff Watson, “Pete,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2019. $250 at upcoming Lowe House Gallery Exhibition.

Geoff Watson, “Pete,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2019. $250 at upcoming Lowe House Gallery Exhibition.

Neighbor's house

I stood on my back porch and painted my neighbor’s house, painting for a couple hours on both Saturday and Sunday. I was going after the glowing afternoon light that sporadically lit the house in warm colors.

Geoff Watson, “Neighbor’s house,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Neighbor’s house,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2019.

Daily painting #89: The canal from Rehoboth to Lewes

I painted this exact scene two years ago, but I did not look at that painting again before stepping up to the easel and trying again. I didn’t want to be influenced by the earlier picture. One thing that changed was my canvas: I chose a wide surface this time. Another difference is that this time I painted it all in one go, in about two hours; last time I worked on the painting for three full afternoons! So the “old” one is somewhat more detailed and refined, but the “new” one has its merits too. Here’s today’s effort:

Geoff Watson, “The Canal from Rehoboth to Lewes,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “The Canal from Rehoboth to Lewes,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

And here’s the painting from two years ago. I blogged about it, briefly, here: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/blog/2017/8/2/boat-on-the-rehoboth-lewes-canal?rq=Lewes

Geoff Watson, “Boat on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2017.

Geoff Watson, “Boat on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2017.

Daily painting #87: Rehoboth sketches

Vacationing is trumping painting, but I still managed time to sketch a couple things, and I started a little oil study. First there was this scene, on the main street in Rehoboth. I drew this in about 10 minutes, while sitting in an outdoor table at a Mexican restaurant.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Rehoboth skyline,” ink on paper, about 2” x 3,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Rehoboth skyline,” ink on paper, about 2” x 3,” 2019.

I also started this little oil sketch of flowers at a swimming pool. Uh, I didn’t get to the flowers! So yeah, it needs work. We have one more day here, so maybe I’ll return to it tomorrow.

Geoff Watson, “Study in progress: Flowers at the swimming pool (with no flowers yet!),” oil on linen, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Study in progress: Flowers at the swimming pool (with no flowers yet!),” oil on linen, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Just for grins, I wanted to see if I could recreate the mysterious filter I inadvertently added to my beach scene yesterday. Maybe?

Geoff Watson, “Study in progress: flowers at the pool, with no flowers yet,” oil on linen, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Study in progress: flowers at the pool, with no flowers yet,” oil on linen, 8” x 10,” 2019.

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.

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.

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

Daily painting #85: Canal

Our rented house in Rehoboth Beach looks out on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal. It was raining all day, but that didn’t stop me from setting up under an awning and painting the scene. I wanted a better view of the canal, so I “pruned” a few bushes with my brushes.

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth-Lewes Canal,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth-Lewes Canal,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

Daily painting #84: Nocturne 2.0

Again it was too hot to paint outside during the day, so I waited until evening and then took another run at the house across the street. I had more time this evening than I did when I first tried this subject, so the drawing is a bit more careful. I’m getting closer to the look I want, but not there yet.

A big challenge is seeing the canvas and the palette. Sometimes I just couldn’t see what I was doing, and I lathered the paint on too thick. I do have a nocturne easel light, but I cleverly left it at home, so I had to make do. Great fun, in any case.

Geoff Watson, “Nocturne,” oil on linen, 5” x 7,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Nocturne,” oil on linen, 5” x 7,” 2019.

Daily painting #75: Potomac River

I painted this view of the Potomac from Swains Lock campground. A couple of nearby campers took an interest in what I was doing, and they seemed to like it, even though I was hogging a good campsite for a couple hours! I was especially interested in the strange little tree that seemed to be growing in the middle of the river.

Also, I found some relatively inexpensive linen panels, so I’ll be using those a lot over the next few weeks. I think I paint better on linen, but it’s ordinarily prohibitively expensive, so I’m excited about the switch.

Geoff Watson, “Potomac Tree,” oil on linen, 9” x 12,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Potomac Tree,” oil on linen, 9” x 12,” 2019.