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.

Lake Needwood

I gave my new Soltek easel a spin! Together the easel and I visited Lake Needwood, in Rockville, Maryland. The easel was great, but my sun umbrella broke and floated into the lake. I waded in after it before it sailed away. Kinda comical!

I had planned to put the focus on a fisherman standing on the spit of land in the front right, because he looked cool and would have helped establish scale. But the flies started biting, so I omitted the fisherman and fled. The resulting study was rushed; I hope to go back and improve it.  In any case, a good start. 

Geoff Watson, "Lake Needwood," oil on canvas panel, 11" x 14," 2017.