I had only an hour or so to paint today, in late afternoon, and as I was wrapping up a parade of cute trick-or-treaters came ambling by. Fun! I also had fun painting this little scene. I removed trash cans and cars, and I sneaked in a few extra fall colors, so the picture is more idyllic than the reality. So be it!
Geoff Watson, “Halloween on Exeter Street,” oil on panel, 9” x 12,” 2018.
It was our first nice fall day of the year, or so it seemed, so I finally got a chance to search for some fall colors to paint. I found some muted ones on Norfolk Street, in Bethesda. My ink sketch was promising, but I dithered too long with the oil painting, and by the time I had settled on a composition, everything was basically in shadow. It’s a lot easier to convey form when things have both a light side and a shadow side! So this is one case in which I prefer my 5-minute sketch to my 3-hour painting.
Geoff Watson, “Norfolk Street,” ink on paper, 5” x 8,” 2018.
Geoff Watson, “Norfolk Street,” oil on panel, 16” x 20,” 2018.
In life class we almost always have a nude model, but I almost always paint the portrait, not the full figure. I do draw the full figure in our warm-ups, but for a painting, I am generally most interested in the subject’s face. This time, though, the reclining pose really called for a figure study. I did this in about an hour and forty-five minutes.
Geoff Watson, “Study of Emily reclining,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2018.
I’ve been itching to paint this house for months, and today I finally got to it. It took about two hours. I got cold and declared victory!
Geoff Watson, “Orange Roof,” oil on panel, 9” x 12,” 2018.
Before I did the painting, I did this little sketch. The idea of the sketch was “light house against dark background.”
Geoff Watson, “House on Brookside,” ink and wash on paper, about 4” x 6,” 2018.
My family and I went to see the New York Rangers tangle with the Washington Capitals this evening, and I did a few gesture sketches. Disclaimer: it’s hard to draw moving hockey players! Fun and good practice, though.
Geoff Watson, “Arm’s up (sketch),” ink on paper, 5” x 8,” 2018.
Geoff Watson, “Henrik Lundqvist (sketch),” ink on paper, about 3” x 3,” 2018.
Geoff Watson, “Unfinished sketch of Lundqvist,” ink on paper, about 3” x 3,” 2018.
Geoff Watson, “Unfinished and crooked sketch of the Capital One Center,” ink on paper, about 2” x 5,” 2018.
I did this portrait in about two hours in life class today. As always, more time would have been nice, but I did get a likeness.
Geoff Watson, “Emily looking left,” oil on panel, 11” x 14,” 2018.
I did a number of fast sketches while I was at Yale for Family Weekend. Here’s a quick depiction of the Old Campus, looking west toward Connecticut Hall. It took about 5-10 minutes.
Geoff Watson, “Connecticut Hall (quick sketch),” ink on paper, 5” x 8,” 2018.
I saw a football game at the Yale Bowl, something I last did 36 years ago. Fun! We hosted Dartmouth. We shall not speak of the outcome. Here’s a quick sketch.
Geoff Watson, “Sketch of the Yale Bowl,” ink on paper, 5” x 8,” 2018.