Today I painted five quick watercolor studies at River Bend Park in northern Virginia, on the Potomac. In each study I was experimenting with color and composition; I didn't bother with an underdrawing. Here are three examples.
Geoff Watson, "River Bend Study," watercolor on paper, 12" x 16," 2017.
Geoff Watson, "Seeing purple," watercolor on paper, about 6"x 8," 2017.
Geoff Watson, "Maryland, from Virginia," watercolor on paper, about 6" x 8," 2017.
I set up at Woodacres Park in Bethesda, hoping to paint the baseball backstop and fence, which were framed nicely by trees behind them. But time was short, so I settled for a quick study of the trees and resolved to paint the baseball diamond on another visit.
Geoff Watson, "Woodacres," oil on panel, 8" x 10," 2017.
This fall I'm studying with a well-regarded local artist, and today our group painted at the bridge spanning the C&O canal near the Old Angler's Inn. I liked the hint of fall colors in the trees. I especially liked how the white sycamore complemented the horizontal of the bridge.
Geoff Watson, "Angler's Footbridge," oil on panel, 2017.
I spent the afternoon at Carter Barron soccer fields, near 16th Street in Washington. D.C. I was originally drawn to the 6th Presbyterian Church, on the left, but as I started painting I grew increasingly interested in the temple on the right -- Chua Giac Hoang Buddhist Temple. As the day wore on, people filled the park, but I didn't want to distract attention too much from the religious buildings, so I sketched only a few folks.
Geoff Watson, "Church and Temple," oil on linen, 8" x 10," 2017.
It was a glorious day of 70-degree sunshine, and I spent the afternoon at Swain's campsite, a free campground adjoining Swain's Lock on the C&O Canal in Potomac, Maryland. I found an open campsite, and it had this lovely view, framed by trees, just as I painted it. It was one of those plein air paintings in which I didnt really have to change much to make the composition work. The atmosphere was quite jolly, as campers and day-hikers strolled around the river-side, taking in the view. The lock itself would be fun to paint, as would the canal, so I'll be revisiting this wonderful park.
Geoff Watson, "The Potomac River, viewed from Swain's,Campground," oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10," 2017.
I learn a lot about a place when I paint there. I've visited Friendship Heights -- an area on the D.C./Maryland border -- hundreds of times. But today was the first day I'd ever painted there. I didn't know this little one-block-square park was named Hubert Humphrey Park. I didn't know so many seniors lived here. I didn't know about the immaculate community center adjoining the park -- with a library, people playing chess, clean bathroom (a luxury for a plein air painter!), and friendly staff.
And I didn't know about the neat sculpture depicted here, by J. Seward Johnson. Like the nearby bronze policeman, she get lots of double-takes: she's pretty convincing! Me, I thought it was fun to make a picture of someone making a picture. Plus, this model never moves or takes breaks. On top of all that, the weather was perfect! It was a great day to be outdoors painting.
Geoff Watson, "Bronze Girl in Hubert Humphrey Park," oil on panel, 8" x 10," 2017.
Today I drove around in circles for a couple hours looking for a place to paint. Sometimes the scenery is great but there's no convenient place to set up. Finally I settled on this bridge over busy Massachusetts Avenue, in Maryland near the D.C. border. I wanted a bucolic feel, so I magically removed all the noisy traffic.
Geoff Watson, "Bridge over Massachusetts Avenue," oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10," 2017.
Pennyfield Lock is Lock 22 on the C&O Canal in Maryland. Pennyfield's Inn stands guard over the lock, and the inn still operates today. You can rent it for a night or two from the National Park Service, as long as you don't mind having no electricity or running water. As it happens, two nice travelers named Steve and Jennel were staying there while I was painting the house, and I added them to the picture; they're hanging out at the fence. They liked the painting and bought it from me off the easel.
Geoff Watson, "Pennyfield Lock," oil on panel, 9" x 12," 2017.
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.
Over the past couple weeks, I've been painting the storefront of Anglo-Dutch Pools & Toys, a wonderful toy store in the Westwood shopping center in Bethesda, Maryland. I've been buying toys for my kids from this delightful store since they were little. I decided to paint a zoomed-in, "kid's-eye view" perspective of the storefront. (I'd also like to paint the whole storefront from further away, but this will be tricky because I'll have to set up in a busy parking lot.) Soli and the other proprietors of the store were very welcoming to me. You can learn more about the store here: https://www.anglodutchpoolsandtoys.com/
Geoff Watson, "Kid's-eye view of Anglo-Dutch Toy Store," oil on panel, 11" x 14", 2017.
Today is my birthday, and it was a glorious day of warm sunshine here in the D.C. area. I celebrated by spending the day painting a bend in the Potomac River.
Geoff Watson, "Small Waterfalls on the Potomac," oil on panel, 8" x 10", 2017.
In this painting, I was trying to convey the warmth and steaminess of a laundry room. Hence the warm colors and soft edges.
Geoff Watson, "Laundry day," oil on panel, 11" x 14", 2017.
I paint primarily in oils, but I don't use turpentine or mineral spirits to thin my paint or clean my brushes. Paint thinners give me headaches. I've even tried soy-based substitute-thinner, but these too induce long-lasting migraines. Even Gamblin's solvent-free gel bothers me. One alternative is water-miscible oil paint, and indeed I have many tubes of Holbein Aqua Duo and other brands, but I prefer the consistency and choices in traditional oil paint brands. (My favorites include Winsor & Newton, M. Graham, Rembrandt, Michael Harding, and Maimieri.)
Fortunately, plain old walnut oil does most of what I want. It cleans most the paint off brushes, so it's useful during paint sessions (to clean brushes when changing colors) and afterwards (for clean-up). It also makes a perfectly nice medium for thinning paint. The only downside is that it's not ideal for laying down a ground or a thin wash before starting a painting. But one can use water-miscible oils for that, or just a thin couch of walnut oil. I'm still experimenting. If anyone has thoughts on how to make a solvent-free underpainting, I'd love to hear them.
M. Graham's artist-grade walnut oil.
Clara Barton's house is a national historic site at Glen Echo Park in Bethesda, Maryland. Barton lived in the house for a number of years, and the building served as one of the first headquarters of the American Red Cross. The park used to give tours of the site, but it's closed now; I don't know if there are plans to reopen it. It could use a bit of sprucing up, frankly.
Architecturally, the structure is unusual: it has a facade of stone towers with pink caps, giving it a palatial appearance, but behind this is an ordinary wood-frame house. It proved to be a challenge to paint, all the more so because of the intervening foliage. I'm not very happy with this first effort, but I'll give it a try again later.
Geoff Watson, "Clara Barton's house," oil on panel, 11" x 14", 2017.
I spent a couple more days at Great Falls National Park in Maryland, and this time I painted the "towpath boat," which historically was towed along the C&O Canal by mules walking on the path to the right. The Park Service still operates the boat this way Friday thru Sunday, which meant I had to try to finish today. I didn't finish; many things still need work. But it's a start.
Geoff Watson, "Waiting for the Mules," oil on panel, 9" x !2", 2017.
Plein air painters love The Great Falls National Park, and for good reason: there's no shortage of interesting subjects. I visited the Maryland side of the park today and started this painting. This old tavern stands guard by a lock on the venerable C&O Canal. The picture needs work; the only question is when I'll revisit the park. maybe later this week.
"Tavern at Great Falls," oil on panel, 9" x 12" (2017) (work in progress).
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".
Actually, the full title of this picture should be "Boat on its Rack on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal." I liked the way the sun lit just the boat and not its dock, and I also liked the slightly ramshackle look of the boat and its storage rack. in fact, there was an upended chair on the dock, but I omitted it because it was so distracting. it deserves its own picture!
Geoff Watson, "Boat on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal," oil on panel, 11" x 14", 2017.
We're at the Delaware beaches on holiday, and I painted this scene overlooking Herring Point in Henlopen State Park. I experimented by using the palette knife, mostly. It left some ridges I need to,fix. I also forgot to paint the little squares that were covered by my easel's panel supports. I'll fix that too.
Geoff Watson, "Herring Point," oil on panel, 8" x 10", 2017.
One of my ongoing projects is to record for posterity the many buildings in Bethesda, Maryland that may soon be torn down. I posted a painting of one supposedly "doomed" building, the Westbard Citgo, in my first Plein Air gallery. Here are a couple others. They're both quick, unfinished studies, but in both I was trying to convey a certain ominous mood.
This is the Westbard Giant and other shops. Supposedly this will all be torn down, and perhaps rebuilt as something snazzier; I'm not sure. Thunderstorms were passing to the north as I painted this last month. Oil on panel, 8" x 10".
And this is the stately Woodmont Grill, a nice restaurant in the Bethesda Triangle, downtown. Again, I'm not sure whether it's really doomed, but supposedly it sits on the site of a new hotel headquarters going up soon. I did this today. I had lots of nice passersby comment, and I gave away a few of my spiffy new business cards. Oil on panel, 8" x 10".