I finished this piece, at least for now. I will let it rest for a while and return to it with a fresh eye later. On to new things tomorrow!
Geoff Watson, “Sculpture study,” oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #73: Sculpture (day 2)
Modern ateliers — art schools that focus on practical skills — often require students to draw plaster casts for days or weeks before attempting to draw a live model. I agree that it’s great practice, so I have 3 or 4 casts lying around. The trouble is, the cast I’m using now is tiny; it’s head is about 2 or 3 inches tall. That means my little 6” x 6” painting is larger than life size, which makes things a lot harder.
Also, I forgot to mark where I was painting yesterday; I inadvertently shifted positions and ended up redoing the entire thing! I’ll give it one more day, then on to other things. Sorry about the glare on the photo.
Geoff Watson, “In progress: study of a sculpture,” day 2, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #72: Sculpture (day 1)
I found a little plaster cast in my basement and decided to paint it. I didn’t get all that far, as I haven’t been feeling great today, but it’s a start. One question with a white cast is whether to invent colors. I probably will!
Geoff Watson, “In progress: study of a sculpture,” oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #71: Turret
I hadn’t planned to paint another roof, but this turret beckoned me, so I had to paint it.
Geoff Watson, “Turret,” July daily painting #10, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #70: Rooftop
I hadn’t planned to paint outdoors today, but the clouds suddenly parted in the afternoon, and I rushed outside. I stood on Butler Road in Bethesda and saw this rooftop overlooking nearby River Road. I was most interested in the late-afternoon light on the walls of the buildings.
Geoff Watson, “Rooftop,” July daily painting #9, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #69: sweet potato & friends
We have a few sweet potatoes in our fridge, so why not paint one? We also had this cool container, so why not paint it? And one never needs a reason to paint an apple. But I forgot to finish the apple! I didn’t gradate its color much, and (worse) I forgot its highlight! The shame of it. I’ll fix it tomorrow.
Geoff Watson, “Sweet potato and friends,” July daily painting #8, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #68, and my pochade box
Here’s the little pochade box I used for all my little paintings while visiting New York. It fits 6” x 8” panels, and it’s made by Guerilla Painter. As you can see, it’s pretty small and basic, but the design is clever. The palette slides away to reveal storage space for paint tubes and such.
Geoff Watson, photo of my Guerilla pochade box.
Using that box, I did this quick sketch of Red Caps at Penn Station while waiting for my train. Again, I had only the three primary colors to work with. The painting is not the greatest thing ever, but not bad for a quick thing from life. I did touch it up some on the train and at home, but most of the work was done on location, in about half an hour.
Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Red Caps at Penn Station,” July daily painting #7, oil on panel, 6” x 8,” 2019.
Daily painting #67, and Sasha
When I’m in New York, I like to attend at least one life-drawing session at the Art Students League on West 57th Street. I chose a long pose of Sasha, an excellent model. I started with an indifferent gesture sketch of her full figure, then did this 35-minute portrait sketch.
Geoff Watson, “Sasha,” graphite on paper, 6” x 8,” 2019..
Before life class, I took my little portable paintbox and stood on the corner of 57th and 7th Avenue, looking downtown, toward Times Square. I had trouble concentrating: there was no place to sit, it was hot, and it was crowded. But at least I got a few ideas down on the canvas. I was interested in contrasting the dark mass of green (the backstop for the 57th Street subway stop) with the very bright buildings on the left. And it’s always fun to sketch figures in the city.
Geoff Watson, “Sketch of 7th Avenue at 57th Street,” study, July daily painting #6, oil on canvas panel, 6” x 8,” 2019.
Daily painting #66: Central Park
It was a hot and sunny day in New York, so I bustled my way to Central Park to do some painting. As I mentioned earlier, I brought only four colors on this trip — red, blue, yellow, red oxide — pus white. With that palette, it was hard to get some of the bright greens in this scene, but it sure was fun to try. I can see why some people advocate a limited palette: it makes you think more carefully about mixing paint. Anyway, I did this little sketch in about two hours, with the tiny 6” x 8” panel propped up in my little Guerilla Thumb Box.. I sat on a bench until the sun bore down on me, then stood behind a tree, then sat on the ground. Meanwhile tourists bustled all around me. Challenging circumstances!
Geoff Watson, “A hot day in Central Park,” July daily painting #5, oil on panel, 6” x 8,” 2019.
Daily painting #65: Self-sketch
I’ve taken my daily-painting show on the road! I’m in New York visiting family, and I brought a portable easel and five tubes of paint: red, yellow, blue, white, and transparent red oxide (for sketching). I spent the evening trying to paint family members, but I kept wiping out half-decent efforts — without remembering to photograph them for this blog! Dumb! So I got back to my hotel room with nothing to post. But the daily painting streak must live on! So I did a quick 15-minute self-portrait sketch, in just one color, transparent red oxide. Not great, but I like the old-style sepia feel.
Geoff Watson, “Self-study (sketch),” oil on panel, about 6” x 8,” 2019.
Daily painting #64: Golf shoes
I had an absolute blast painting this pair of golf shoes! I put them on a sandy background because that’s where my shoes often end up when I play golf. :)
Geoff Watson, “Golf shoes,” July daily painting #3, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #63: Miata
I drove around in my Miata looking for a good spot to paint, and after failing to find anything, it occurred to me that the Miata itself might be a good subject. It’s 29 years old but stlil cute. So I parked it and got out the paints! Especially those reds. :)
Geoff Watson, “Miata,” July daily painting #2, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.
Daily painting #62: A crane, a cafe, and a collage.
I did this collage of the thirty paintings I did in June. The final painting actually took 3 days, but on several days I did more than one painting, so I probably did at least 30 paintings all told. Some are better than others, but I like most of these a lot. Some standouts include the Jefferson Memorial, the Great Falls picture, the roses, the yacht, and Voltaire.
The daily painting craze continues in July! Today I started painting a giant red crane, but it kept changing positions, perhaps because it was being blown around in today’s high winds. After an hour I gave up, wiped out the painting, and did a quick sketch of diners across the street at Olazzo, an Italian cafe and restaurant on Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda. I had only about half an hour, as the diners finished their meal and left. If I’d had more energy, I would have found substitute models, but by this point I was tired and called it a day.
Geoff Watson, “Sketch of diners at Olazzo’s,” study, July daily painting #1, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.
Daily painting #61: At the easel (day 3)
I made more progress on this piece, and I’m putting it aside for now. I like it, but I need to mull it over more. Tomorrow on to a new subject!
Geoff Watson, “At the easel (in progress, day 3),” June daily painting #30, oil on panel, 12” x 16,” 2019.
Daily painting #60: At the easel (day 2)
I developed the painting more, and I started exploring different ideas for the background. I probably will add my eyeglasses, and I need to refine the facial features. A tougher issue is whether to put a paintbrush in my left hand! That’s how I see myself as I paint this in a mirror, but I’m right-handed. Back at it tomorrow!
Geoff Watson, “In progress: At the easel, day 2,” June daily painting #29, oil on panel, 12” x 16,” 2019.
Daily painting #59: At the easel (day 1)
I decided to embark on a larger, multi-day painting, but I’ll post each day’s progress as a new “daily painting.” This is me at the easel — facing a giant mirror, heh. I’m actually standing indoors, in a room with blue-green wallpaper, but I may end up situating myself outdoors, which is my most common painting pose. Obviously a lot to do, but I like the torso so far. Also, I like that paint (unlike photography) allows one to trim a few pounds from the subject…
Geoff Watson, “In progress: At the easel, day 1,” June daily painting #28, oil on panel, 12” x 16,” 2019.
Daily painting #58: Phone
This device is called a “telephone.” It is connected to the grid by “wires.” Back in the day, these machines were the near-exclusive means of remote communication!
Geoff Watson, “Telephone,” June daily painting #27, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #57: Hills Plaza
I paid a visit to Hills Plaza, a pleasant street in Friendship Village, just north of the DC-Maryland line. I liked the way the streetlamps lined up, and I also wanted to say something about the competition between trees and buildings in the background. I was still painting away when darkness fell, so I gave up before I felt I was finished; once again I gave short shrift to the flowers in the flower pot! Not to mention the tops of the street lamps. I will touch them up tomorrow.
Geoff Watson, “Hills Plaza,” June daily painting #26, oil on panel, 8” x 10,” 2019.
Daily painting #56: mugs
I was interested in the various shades of gray on these mugs. I painted this is less than two hours, so it isn’t perfect, but it has a certain muggy charm.
Geoff Watson, “Mugs (study),” June daily painting #25, oil on panel, 6” x 6,” 2019.
Daily painting #55: Washington Aqueduct
I returned to Great Falls National Park to paint the old tavern there, but I didn’t like how it was going, so I wiped it out and chose a new subject — the Washington Aqueduct. More specifically, the dam for the aqueduct, just upstream of Great Falls. I like how the water is still and clear on one side of the dam and agitated on the other.
Geoff Watson, “Washington Aqueduct dam,” June daily painting #24, oil on panel, 9” x 12,” 2019.