Daily painting #86: Rehoboth Beach

It was a day at the beach! I sat with my family on busy Rehoboth Beach, and I dug out my oils and sketched the scene in front of me. I didn’t want to lug an easel or tripod, so I just had the linen panel and palette on my lap.

Given the challenging circumstance, I wasn’t expecting to paint a masterpiece. My plan had been to put in a few basic strokes, photograph the scene, and finish back at the house later. But I got enough done that I decided just to leave it the way I painted it on location. Neither of the two photos below quite does it justice, but they should give you the basic idea.

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth Beach,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

When I was photographing and editing the picture, I inadvertently applied some sort of filter to it. Here’s what it looks like. Kinda cool!

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth Beach,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

Daily painting #85: Canal

Our rented house in Rehoboth Beach looks out on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal. It was raining all day, but that didn’t stop me from setting up under an awning and painting the scene. I wanted a better view of the canal, so I “pruned” a few bushes with my brushes.

Geoff Watson, “Rehoboth-Lewes Canal,” oil on linen, 6” x 12,” 2019.

Daily painting #82: Nocturne

We arrived safely at Rehoboth Beach, which is suffering through a blistering heat wave. I can’t really paint inside our rented house, so much as I’d have preferred to do a still life in the air conditioning, I had no choice but to look outside. I waited until it was a mere 88 degrees, at 10:30 pm, and then painted this little nocturne. It’s not as dark as this photo suggests, but I hope you get the idea.

Geoff Watson, “Nocturnal window,” oil on linen, 5” x 7,” 2019.

Rehoboth Beach

Here's another painting from Rehoboth, this time of the beach itself.  I did this around the same time I did the picture of Silver Lake in the previous post.

Geoff Watson, "Rehoboth Beach," oil on panel, 11" x 14," 2016.

Gazebo on Silver Lake

It's been too hot to paint outdoors this week, so I've been busy cataloging my work in anticipation of my show at Glen Echo Park this coming November.  (More details on that to come!)  While doing this, I've run across a lot of pictures I painted before I started this blog.

Here's one example.  It's a painting of a gazebo not far from Rehoboth Beach, done in oil from the patio of my rented house over the course of two sweltering afternoons in 2016.  In retrospect, it would have been stronger with the inclusion of a figure or two, but it still has charm.  

Geoff Watson, "Silver Lake Gazebo," oil on panel, 11" x 14," 2016.

Two ocean views

Today my daughter Maddie and I painted the same beach, though from slightly different vantage points, and with two decidedly different moods. Hers is upbeat and sunny; mine is somewhat darker. Hers is especially impressive because it's the first oil painting she's done since she was about 9 years old.

Maddie Watson, "Windy beach", oil on panel, 8" x 10".

Geoff Watson, "Surf at Cape Henlopen," oil on panel, 8" x 10".