Daily painting #31: On the couch

I don’t know what possessed me to try to paint a figure in an extremely foreshortened pose! The result is not my best work, lol. Normally I wouldn’t post a flawed effort like this, but the idea of daily painting is to share your failures as well as your successes. If nothing else, this principle usually induces me to work harder to avoid failures! But today I was tired and declared victory as the sun was setting. At least the warm light is kind of cool. :)

Geoff Watson, “On the couch (study),” May daily painting #31, oil on panel, 8” x 8,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “On the couch (study),” May daily painting #31, oil on panel, 8” x 8,” 2019.

Daily painting #28: Cordell Avenue

I spent the afternoon painting this pleasant view of Cordell Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland. Cityscapes are, for me, the most challenging form of plein air painting. First, you’ve got to get your perspective right. Second, it’s a drawing challenge: there are lots of machine-tooled, symmetrical objects with sharp edges and perfect corners (buildings, cars, windows), and it takes lots of concentration to draw them correctly. Third, composition is a challenge: how do you pick a focal point when there are so many interesting things to see? Fourth, there’s a ton of detail, and even if you omit 80% of it, there’s still a ton of detail. But the upside is that it’s never boring, and I never lack for company — well-wishers stop by my easel all day long.

Geoff Watson, “Cordell Avenue (study),” May daily painting #28, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Cordell Avenue (study),” May daily painting #28, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 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.

Daily painting #25: Improved self-portrait

I couldn’t stand looking at that bad start, so I resumed my little 6” x 6” self-portrait today. After a couple more hours work, it’s better. It’s getting closer to a likeness, and it’s no longer bad, lol. I will work on it again on the next rainy day.

Geoff Watson, “Improved self-portrait (in progress),” May daily painting #25, study, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Improved self-portrait (in progress),” May daily painting #25, study, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Daily painting #24: Goofy self-portrait

I didn’t have much time for today’s daily painting, so this is a goofy start of a tiny self-portrait. I’ll work on it a bit tomorrow, which will be another busy day for me. Normally I wouldn’t post something this bad, but part of the point of the daily painting movement is to keep a daily journal. So, look and giggle!

Geoff Watson, “Goofy self-portrait (in progress),” study, May daily painting #24, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Goofy self-portrait (in progress),” study, May daily painting #24, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.

Daily painting #23: unfinished cars

I wanted to practice painting cars today, so I parked myself at the local supermarket. I was counting on shoppers taking 45 minutes to get groceries. Instead, most cars stayed for 10 minutes, or so it seemed! The result is an unfinished painting, unfortunately. Plus I took a terrible photo!

Next time I’ll try sketching in the shape of the entire mass of cars, then moving to individual cars, rather than the other way around. I’m still not sure whether to work from back to front or vice-versa.

Geoff Watson, “Cars at the supermarket (unfinished),” May daily painting #23, study, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Cars at the supermarket (unfinished),” May daily painting #23, study, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Daily painting #22: Dad and daughter paint-out

My daughter is home from college, and she and I painted together today — a rare treat! It was a glorious 70-degree day, with bright sunshine and clear skies. I thought I’d share both our paintings. First, here’s mine:

Geoff Watson, “Front walkway,” May daily painting #22, oil on panel, 9” x 12,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Front walkway,” May daily painting #22, oil on panel, 9” x 12,” 2019.

And here’s my daughter’s impression, with a more zoomed-in point of view:

Maddie Watson, “The front door,” oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Maddie Watson, “The front door,” oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 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.

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

Daily painting #18: Up the driveway

I did yet another scene from my neighborhood, as I’m limiting my driving as my back heals. (It felt a lot better today.) It was a gorgeous day, but I had trouble seeing my panel because I was standing in shade looking toward a very bright light source. Perhaps not coincidentally, the painting is less daring than my best pictures. I’ll have to think about better ways to keep light off my canvas.

Also, this is not a wonderful photo. In the actual painting, for example, the background is more green. I might re-photograph and re-post it later.

Geoff Watson, “Up the driveway (study),” May daily painting #18, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Up the driveway (study),” May daily painting #18, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Daily painting #17: The road ahead

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.

Geoff Watson, “The Road Ahead,” May daily painting #17, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Daily painting #14: Waiting for repairs

I started this study in the early evening. My idea here was to focus attention on the cars, and I had some success depicting a couple of them. But they all were moved in the hour or so I was standing there, so I didn’t finish any of them. On top of that, I didn’t make clear that the building on the right is a repair shop, and the sun went down so fast that I didn’t have time to fix it. So the title of the painting is all too apt: it’s waiting for repairs!

Geoff Watson, “Waiting for repairs (in progress),” May daily painting #14, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Waiting for repairs (in progress),” May daily painting #14, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.

Daily painting #12: Laura

Laura is a new model at my life class, and today she sat for the second session of a two-session pose. I didn’t finish polishing and smoothing out the colors in her face, but I like a lot about it. The likeness is pretty good, and the picture has some character.

Geoff Watson, “Laura,” May daily painting #12, oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Laura,” May daily painting #12, oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2019.