Peaches Canning Season Jar Watercolor Painting
By Charlie

A Real Peach

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Peaches” today, I opted to portray a bit of peach canning. It’s still called canning even though it’s usually in a jar. I guess because jarring doesn’t sound quite as nice and means something else entirely. Though I’m not sure if peaches were ever involved, canning always reminds of my grandmother and that makes me happy. Philippe now does all of the food preparation in our house, but only recently tried some pickling of various vegetables. Tonight as I was painting he was looking for something to watch and I heard him say, “Finding the perfect walnut? You have my attention.” Proof that he is interested in all things culinary, or simply easily amused like myself. I tease him, but I’m equally enamored with all sorts of documentaries about the more ordinary things in life. Our world often seems rife with strife and impending problems that taking a moment to focus on the everyday world is rather therapeutic. And taking a moment to pause and sketch peaches was a truly wonderful thing indeed. Now, of course, I’m craving peaches, or more specifically peach cobbler.

Philippe told me that this is out of season, since spring hasn’t actually arrived yet. I told him it can be any season I choose in my sketchbook, and that’s exactly what makes it so much fun! Then I asked if we could have a peach tree when we get that house with chickens he’s been going on about. He told me that yes we could, but it might be blown over by tornadoes. I asked why that wasn’t an issue for the chickens and he just ignored me and starting cooing about how chickens are just so cute. And this is real life. Far from the headlines and things written specifically to terrify us in order to gain our clicks and attention. In the middle of all of that, there’s a real world that keeps happening each and every day. There are wonderful memories of a life we thought was better, but memories always become a bit better with time. What I know to be true is that creating a happy and wonderful life is something that does take a tiny bit of effort. I have to constantly keep my focus on things that bring joy to remind myself that no matter what’s happening in the world, the things that truly matter never change.

So, yes, I’m a ridiculous optimistic who always choses to find the happy in my life. That doesn’t mean I think the world is perfect. It’s far from that. But, it does mean that I’m always on the hunt for perfectly wonderful things. These are the things that make me feel joy. The things that I’ve enjoyed most from my youth and tell a story of my life that somehow feels truer than anything bad that comes my way. While bad things can affect me in my life, it’s only the happy things that define me as a person. These are the things that represent who I truly am. They’re me at my personal best. So for me, at least, this must mean they are the very definition of who I am. And, that makes me feel fantastic. I’m not a blind optimistic, as I perfectly recognize all of the bad things that exist in our world. And, I don’t choose to ignore them. Instead, I always choose to split my focus in a healthy way so that I’m continually looking for the positive things as well. Maybe, I’m just a chronic dreamer who refuses to give in to anything less. Or, perhaps I’m just what my grandmother described when she used to say, “he’s a real peach!”

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Red, Leaf Green, Cobalt Turquoise, and Indigo. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen (Broad Nib) 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!
 Peaches Canning Season Jar 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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43 thoughts on “A Real Peach”

  2. Canning peaches is always nostalgic for me. It was a family affair, from picking , blanching to the canning. And then joy of joy a cobbler! Although the best pie ever was one mixed with slices of mango and peaches! Thanks once again for the memories with your art.

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  4. You are a peach! So I woke this morning to an inch of snow. I fell back asleep and when I woke a couple of hours later, the snow was gone! How’s that for happy making.

    I have this recipe for a peach dessert that calls for canned peaches. I should send it to Philippe as a not so subtle hint that peaches are especially good in dessert in March!

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  12. Lovely canned peaches and you are so right. There’s so much negative and sensationalism trying to grab out attention that it’s easy to forget real life and the joys that are right in front of us.

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    1. Thanks so much, Donna! 😃💕 Yeah, we seem to live in a world that’s grabbing for attention more than trying to help people. I always think it’s better to DO good in the world than focus on the bad.

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  14. There’s nothing better than eating a warm juicey ripe peach off a tree! You’ll need to tell Phillippe you want 2 trees, a normal variety and a white peach. He no doubt he will have more than one variety chicken. 😉 Your lovely sketch brings me to a memory of my favorite aunt’s kitchen in the middle of peach season…..sticky floor and all! Day one of five is done with the plumbing. Doing any detail work is out of the question for me with all the hammering and sawing.

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  17. O-M-G Charlie, this looks so tasty! Oh, when you get that dream house you should absolutely get some chickens. We got our first rescue hens in 2009 – they are such characters, and of course the eggs are delicious! But as a group they aren’t to be messed with, as our cats soon found out, being chased down the garden path. 😛

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    1. Thanks so much, Jacob!! 😃💕Though I’m sure it helps this isn’t my beloved cobbler and therefore no ice cream is present. 😉 And your chickens sound like real badasses… so cool!! Though, yeah, I bet your cats don’t appreciate it at all! lol

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      1. Haha! Well, to be honest even peach ice cream sounds like it might be nice, or at least acceptable. 😉

        Oh, they are! There was once a fox in the garden – I know because they were shouting so loud and I went and scared it off. Their run door had been forced open and they were all sitting there… completely unharmed and unfazed. It was a miracle, but I’m convinced they ganged up on it and fought it off! Total badasses! They’re in a much more secure house now so, fortunately for the fox, there won’t be a round two.

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  19. Brilliant drawing & painting! Reminds me of my grandmother too. She canned jams and jelly’s. Specifically plum and peach. She canned everything from their 5 acre garden back in the day. Now you’ve got me craving peach cobbler too. 😊

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      1. Their garden was their livelihood when I was a kid. I can’t wait until the peaches come in. I often add fresh plump blueberries to the peaches with some lemon juice for my cobbler. So tasty! 🥰

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