My back has been too sore for me to drive safely, so I’ve been walking to nearby spots to paint. In this case, I was trying to highlight the bend in the road in the top-left, but I also wanted to include the car because it’s just plain fun to paint cars. The trouble with cars, though, is that they always drive away. True to form, this one poofed before I’d finished it. I did my best completing it from memory.
Geoff Watson, “The Road Ahead,” May daily painting #17, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.
I did a pencil sketch of this snowy road a couple of weeks ago, after a light dusting of snow, and finally got around to developing the sketch into a little studio watercolor. I’m afraid I haven’t photographed it very well; the original is somewhat cooler and whiter.
Geoff Watson, “Snowy road,” watercolor and gouache on paper, 5” x 8,” 2019.
Here’s an earlier version, photographed in cooler light. The colors are closer to the original. There’s not much color in the painting, to be honest, as the scene was mostly grey and white. Still, I need to add more color to my watercolor. :)
Geoff Watson, “Snowy road (in progress),” watercolor and gouache on paper, 5” x 8,” 2019.
Our cherry trees reached peak bloom yesterday, I'd say. Today we see more green in the trees, and fallen blossoms at our feet. They're still pretty glorious, though.
In this picture, I was interested in the "arch" formed by the trees dueling each other from across the street. But I also sought to convey the subtle gradations of color on the street and in the sky, and I experimented more with the palette knife. I think I'm just starting to get the hang of these cherry blossoms -- just in time for them to disappear for a year!
Geoff Watson, "Cherry trees just after peak," oil on canvas panel, 16" x 20," 2018.