Studio update; keeping busy

We’ve had my studio’s carpet removed and the floor and wall cleaned some, and we’ve hired a contractor to jackhammer the floor and install a flood-control system for the future. But that work won’t be done for another month. Plein air isn’t a great option either; I’m not comfortable painting in public with the virus.

So I’ve contented myself with drawing in sketchbooks and painting on my iPad. I’ve also resumed an old hobby — making computer games! I’ve made a clone of Tetris, a chess engine, and now I’m working on a card game. Here are some screenshots from all these endeavors.

First, my Tetris clone. I call it “Falling Logs.” It’s fun, and I suck at it.

Geoff Watson, “Falling Crates,” 2020.

Geoff Watson, “Falling Crates,” 2020.

Here’s a look at my chess engine. It plays as well as me into the endgame, at which point it falls apart, because I haven’t taught it any endgame patterns yet. I could spend years improving this thing; it is an addictive thing. But it’s also a bit depressing to see your own AI start to beat you. I think I might prefer to leave it in its current, beatable state.

Geoff Watson, “Chess,” 2020.

Geoff Watson, “Chess,” 2020.

And finally, two examples of art for a spy-themed card game I’m working on. The game itself isn’t that fun yet, and I may abandon it, but making the art for it has been a hoot. FIrst, an illustration made on the iPad. I might or might not add color and shadow. It’s been great to experiment with line art like this:

Geoff Watson, “Media credentials,” made with Adobe Fresco on the iPad Pro, 2020.

Geoff Watson, “Media credentials,” made with Adobe Fresco on the iPad Pro, 2020.

Finally, I pulled out my oil paints to do a quick sketch for a game card. I did this quickly, on the back of a piece of cardboard!

Geoff Watson, “Small gift,” oil on cardboard, about 11” x 14,” 2020.

Geoff Watson, “Small gift,” oil on cardboard, about 11” x 14,” 2020.

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!

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.

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

Daily painting #26: Studio sink

I had ambitions of painting my entire studio, but I didn’t start until 10:30 pm, so I had to scale back and settle for the studio sink. Even this narrower subject proved too much given the late hour; I had to cut out lots of interesting studio clutter. I’ll try it again when I have more time! In the meantime, I did learn something about painting sinks.

Geoff Watson, “Studio sink (study),” May daily painting #26, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Studio sink (study),” May daily painting #26, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.