Elm Street

About a month ago, I did a plein air study at this spot, at the intersection of Elm Street and Arlington Boulevard in Bethesda, Maryland. I was interested in the stripes of light and shadow on the street, as well as the perpetual negotiation between car and pedestrian. Plus I liked the phtalo-green traffic light!

So now I’m doing a larger studio version. I intend to add crosswalk markings and a yellow centerline for the street. I may also add more pedestrians and cars, but I don’t want to take too much attention from the foreground car, patiently waiting for the jaywalkers.

Geoff Watson, “Green light,” oil on linen, 24” x 36,” 2017 (in progress).

Herring Point revisited

Over the summer I painted an 8" x 10" plein air study of Herring Point at Cape Henlopen Park in Delaware. This week I've been trying to develop that study into a larger studio work. I always find this translation process challenging: how does one preserve the charm of the study while incorporating enough new information to enlarge the work?

One approach is to supplement the study with photo references, but I often find it more helpful to work off the study and to fill in gaps with my memory. In this case, I remember thinking I didn't have enough time to record all the human activity on the beach. I've added more beachgoers in this version. 

Geoff Watson, "Herring Point," oil on canvas, work in progress, 16" x 20," 2017.

House and Pole - Day 3

I had only an hour or so to work on this today, but I made progress on the foreground greenery. I was trying to increase the amount of depth in the picture with overlapping bushes. I also was glad to add more objects with a light side and shadow side. Now I need to straighten the pole and start adding detail.

I may not get back to this for a couple days. I'll be painting a model tomorrow, and it's supposed to rain Sunday. Plus I have to attend our group show this weekend at the Yellow Barn Studio in Glen Echo Park!

Geoff Watson, "House and Pole," work in progress, oil on panel, 16" x 20," 2017.

House and pole - day 1

I'm inexplicably fascinated with the utility pole sketched here. I posted a watercolor study of it a few days ago. Now I'd like to incorporate it into a larger work. And I do mean larger: this one is 16" x 20," much bigger than normal for me. So it will take me several days.

Here's how it looks after a couple hours of work. I'm still working out the drawing and light-shadow pattern of the house, and I plan much more detail in the fall foliage. And yes, I want utility wires and such. Should be fun.

Geoff Watson, "House and Pole," work in progress, oil on panel, 16" x 20," 2017.

Sheba (in progress)

This watercolor portrait of Sheba is still in progress, as this was the first of two sittings. The likeness is already pretty good, but her features all need adjustment, and I inadvertently chopped off a bit of her chin. (I drew it correctly with my pencil but then blithely ignored my pencil marks when doing my first washes of watercolor.) This first image is after about an hour:

Geoff Watson, "Sheba," work in progress, watercolor on paper, 12" x 16," 2017.

And here is the painting after two hours. I added some skin tone, which looks okay so far, and also added some cool greens for transitional colors -- but I overdid it with the green, heh. I'll dial it back next week. I still need to adjust her eyes, nose, lips and ear. But I'm already very pleased with the likeness and the overall feel of the picture.

Geoff Watson, "Sheba," work in progress, watercolor on paper, 12" x 16," 2017.