Two Tree Frogs On Monstera Leaf Watercolor Painting Illustration
By Charlie

Being Green

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our optional World Watercolor Month prompt of “Green,” I decided to sketch and paint a couple of green tree frogs on a green monstera leaf. For fun, I decided I would do it without using any actual green paint and just mixing yellow and blue. I only have one light green color in the 12 colors I keep in my little palette, but I love mixing colors, and I don’t use it very often these days. So, this one was done with just red, yellow, and three different blues. When I think of the color green, I often thing of frogs. This is, of course, due to the most famous one, Kermit The Frog, who sang the song “Bein’ Green” or more commonly “It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green.” Though it was a frog’s song, its popularity meant that it was also later covered by singing greats like Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Ray Charles and so many others. So, as it turned out, the idea of being green proved to be quite popular.

Of course, none of these famous singers were actually green, as that’s not really the point of the song. It’s a song that reminds us to celebrate what makes us different and unique. Certainly, this is something to celebrate when it comes to art. There are so many different approaches and styles and if you’ve been following along with all of the beautiful World Watercolor Month posts, you’ve certainly seen this in action. There’s always that signature that appears, even if the artist doesn’t sign the painting. This hand of the artist is an inescapably wonderful thing that gives each of us our own special style. That’s equally why there’s no need to fervently search for your style, as it’s already found you. It’s just a matter of what you choose to DO with that style and what approach you’ll take. For my own approach, I like to scribble a bit, doodle a little coloring book drawing in ink, and then color it with watercolor.

It’s been a really fun art journey for me, since I basically just ended up being like a kid again. Though I did try all of the traditional techniques, I found that my own style worked best when I had the freedom to just scribble, doodle, color in my sketchbook. What I’ve learned is that the only approach that will keep me making things daily is my favorite one. So, I’ve just stuck with it. I think that’s true with many things in life. It’s nearly impossible to keep doing something that we only sort of enjoy. The things that become a real habit are always the things that touch our hearts in that way that we can’t really explain. It’s the same sort of feeling we find when we become friends with someone else or indeed, more than friends with that special someone. And no matter how much we find that we have in common, it’s still those little differences that will make us smile. Beautifully unique traits that remind us that it’s rather amazing to just be yourself, and embrace the notion of being green.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Ultramarine (Green Shade) and Indigo. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with black ink  in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Send me a note with a link to this post, and I’ll add it to my shop!
 Two Tree Frogs On Monstera Leaf Watercolor Painting Illustration Sketchbook Detail

Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world!

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34 thoughts on “Being Green”

  1. I have to admit it – I find puppets as creepy as clowns, and muppets being overgrown puppets – well, I never watched them. So when I heard the song ‘It’s not easy being green’ and not really paying attention to the lyrics, I assumed it was talking about living green to reduce your carbon footprint. I was kind of disappointed when I actually listened to the words one day, lol!

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  3. Charlie, what a great story in showing the broad range a (talented) artist can achieve with just 5 colors. Now go ahead and ruin my day by adding that you only had 30 minutes to paint this charming scene. BTW, which frog is you, which is Philippe?

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    1. Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 hehe… for this one I almost had an hour! And good question… I’m probably the one on the left that looks like it’s about to get distracted and leap off somewhere. lol

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  5. Love your greens, Charlie. I think the best greens come from mixing the colors and yours are wonderful. Sesame street made its debut when I was in college and I remember my child psych teacher talking about the show in our class. Years later, when I was working from home and had a tv close to where I was working, I got hooked on watching the program. I loved those characters.

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  6. Nice frogs! I spotted one yesterday sitting on a lily pad in my pond. He looked quite content there.the lilies have grown so much this year that it’s almost impossible to see a fish. Every once in a while you might see a flash of orange where there is a gap in the pads, but there aren’t many gaps.

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  8. Okay, I am giving up on watercoloring. haha Geez, Charlie, what a fabulous job on the colors for these frogs. You are amazing, Charlie! You rock star! I think your message is what we are experiencing now in this country. Americans and/or human beings on this planet come in all sorts of colors and shapes. The Lord ‘s palette is vast and diverse and beautiful. I shared with you that I do rubber stamping and make cards. Well, not only do I do card making, but my “uniqueness” is that I LOVE glitter. I can’t make a card without it. My cards seem flat and sad without it. Not too many crafters use glitter like I do, but, like you said, it’s the special qualities that make us green. 😊 Great discussion, Charlie. Fabulous, fabulous watercolor painting. We say in Spanish, “te aventaste!” which means ” you out-did yourself. ” You rock star!

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  9. Hola, Charlie! I just pulled up your paintings of Phineas and I LOVE Basenjis! He is so cute! A dog documentary I watched said that Basenjis are the breed closest to the original domesticated dog. He is adorable. As an ultra-conservative Republican, I am totally okay with being compared to someone so CUTE! (And I ‘m not judgy despite being able to raise my eyebrow. haha) I laughed when you said that he thinks Phillipe is Mexican. Il es de Mexique! 😇

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  15. These are great! Kudos to you for making yourself use other colors! Yep, Kermit was the first thing that came to mind for me too. Oscar was my friends, but I had already sketched Dopey. I agree with your idea that it is easier to sketch everyday when you do what you like. Therefore, I continue to sketch my dolly’s. 😉 I can’t explain why I love to do them, but does that really matter? Nope!

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