Bunny Rabbit In Grass Flowers Watercolor Painting
By Charlie

A Little Rest

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our final February prompt of “Rabbit,” I ended up with this quick little doodle of one. This has been a fabulous month and I’ve loved seeing all of the amazing things that all of you have drawn and painted along the way. Thanks so much for your continued inspiration! And, I DO hope you’ll keep right on drawing and painting with me in March as we begin a new challenge! It was a lovely day today, mostly because it was slow and full of relaxing. I almost ended up taking a nap, something I never do, as I lulled myself into full on laziness. Then I jumped out of it and took a bit of time to make a sketch. It was a lovely segue since sketching is equally relaxing for me. But, it still takes a bit of thinking and so the required alertness woke me up again. And since I sketch daily, one would think a new month is just another day for me. But, therein lies the trick! I take things one awesome month at a time and treat each month like it’s a brand new start. So, I’m excited for March to begin!

Philippe and I went to our favorite French restaurant for lunch today and it was wonderful as always. It was only a tad bit decadent, but enough to send up both into a bit of a stupor afterwards. We ended up having monkfish sandwiches, which were quite delicious. I’ve always liked monkfish, though it’s often referred to as the “poor man’s lobster,” and the actual fish looks a bit like a sea monster. Thankfully, we didn’t have a show to attend, so we could just hang out after lunch and play video games like big kids. I’ve just finished playing Lego Harry Potter on my Nintendo Switch and it was so much fun! Getting to spend part of the afternoon as a boy wizard was really kind of awesome. Definitely a wonderful way to reconnect with my inner child so I can keep trying to see the world more clearly. And when I was a kid, you couldn’t play a game like this in the palm of your hand, so it all still feels a bit magical to me. I love games like this one because they’re all about storytelling and problem-solving. So, even if it seems like being a bit lazy, my mind is still working hard to solve the next step in the mystery.

It strikes me that even my version of relaxing is still a bit mentally stimulating. I think relaxing my brain is something that I often struggle to DO! When I’m awake my brain is always on and when I sleep, even my dreams are attempting to sort out problems. I’m cool with that, since many fun things that I’ve made happen first happened in one of my dreams. I don’t always remember my dreams, but when they manage to come up with a cool concept, then I awake remembering that bit at least. Once, however, I did awake with only a partial idea and couldn’t remember the full one that had me astounded in my dream. Perhaps, one day, when I’m doing nothing much at all, I’ll happen to dream of it again, because whatever actually happened, was a super cool idea. Or, maybe, I just need to love those moments where I managed to relax my mind a bit, enough to enjoy a little rest.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Terra Cotta, and Ultramarine (Green Shade). Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen (Broad Nib) with sepia 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!
 Bunny Rabbit In Grass Flowers Watercolor Painting 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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30 thoughts on “A Little Rest”

  2. I tend to think a lot in my dreams, though too often I get stuck on one thing and keep going over it again and again in a loop. That isn’t always fun. The other problem is when I think through a painting I want to do, and actually do it in my dream. Then I wake feeling that it is already done and I don’t want to do it again. So generally, I prefer not to remember my dreams, lol.

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  3. Beautiful bunny. Yes shutting down the mind is very difficult to do. It gets a bit easier in retirement but old habits are hard to break. I will say that it is more fun in retirement! 😉 hope that helps.

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  7. I read recently that some people don’t have an ongoing dialog in their head narrating everything they are doing, saying, and writing. I think they are more picture thinkers rather than word thinkers. But it still seems so different to me. I can’t even imagine not having the voice in my head. So much so that I have to think about it to notice it. There is a thing coined the fictive dream that readers fall into when they are absorbed in a book. I think reading may be a way to rest the brain from all of the talk talk talk that goes on in there.

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  9. He is so cute! He reminds me of my rabbit Bob that I befriended one week. I don’t know how much sketching I will get done this week. I’ve done something to my dominant shoulder. I’m hoping it works it way better. 🙁 I can always use my left hand for fun and muscle memory.

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  11. Loving this beautiful rabbit! Running wayyyy behind this weekend but will catch up with all of the wonderful posts from yesterday and today. No rest for the wicked my mother used to say. Hmmm, me wicked? hehehe 🤨🤔😏😍

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