#WorldWatercolorGroup - Day 4 - Vase of Pink Purple Flowers - Doodlewash
By Charlie

A Touch Of Spring

Written by Charlie O'Shields

Flowers are not one of my preferred painting subjects, but any excuse to paint some glass and I’m in. Actually, a little bundle of temporary flowers like this is all I can usually handle in reality. The potted and meant to be kept alive for long periods of time version wilt in my care. And though we’ve many weeks here before spring comes again, I’m ready for it. After Christmas, I find little point to winter and just want to move right along to greener grass and warmer temperatures. We’ve talked of putting pots of flowers outside on our terrace again this year. It’s been three years since we did it seriously and now only the strongest plants and or weeds come back each year. I can’t quite tell the difference and only remove what doesn’t look visually pleasing. The end result is an accidental native plant look that somehow seems intentioned. But a bit of color and life indoors this time of year is definitely a lovely thing indeed!

I returned to work just yesterday after a long holiday break and I’m still trying to get back into the groove of it all. I used to be a complete workaholic who was incapable of taking any sort of break at all. That was when I was younger and thought it somehow mattered. As I got older, I realized that being necessary to a something is not the same as being required. They’ll get only just fine for a bit until you return, hopefully refreshed and ready to begin anew. I’ve often thought that a plant in my office would be a lovely thing, but I know I would go days forgetting that it needs a drink. My mind just doesn’t work in a very sequential way. Even when I know a series of things should happen in a specific order or timing, I do them in a totally different way each time. I’m not trying to be contrary or unique, it’s just that I’m not interested in order. I just seek a bit of balance. I look for harmony in things that I do and do them when it feels like the right time. As strange as it seems, things have worked out pretty well for me so far.

But it’s not spring at all and we’re still in the cruel icy touch of winter. It was so cold when I went to lunch today, that I didn’t even want to remove my coat when I got indoors. It was a restaurant with all locally sourced food and they had a gallery of paintings on the wall. It changes each time and this time it was human skulls and horse heads. I’m not entirely sure what the message was, but the colors were quite nice and I rather enjoyed the brush work. Perhaps it was meant to be a metaphor of some kind, but came across as a bit odd and strange. Maybe if it was evening and I were drinking wine at a gallery opening I might see something more. Something that showed a strange connection between life and death and everything in between. Or, more likely, I would just see a bunch of skulls and horse heads, hoping the artist was present to explain his vision. I love hearing the ideas and thoughts of fellow artists and what they were thinking at the time they painted something. It’s that burst of wonderful creativity that always feels as vibrant and alive as a touch of spring.

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Da Vinci Paint Co.: Yellow Ochre, Opus (Vivid Pink), Leaf Green, Terra Cotta and Cobalt Blue.  Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with sepia ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Click here!
  #WorldWatercolorGroup - Day 4 - Vase of Pink Purple Flowers - Doodlewash

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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49 thoughts on “A Touch Of Spring”

  4. This is so very pretty, Charlie, I even like the little squiggle of lavender shadow slipping away to find something else to pester.

    So: You can’t cook, you can’t keep your plants alive, your garden looks like it was dragged in by the trash man, and you hover in the corner at parties – are we related? No, wait, you like wine and I hate it. Two of a kind but different. Whew.

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  10. I hear you about wanting spring to show up. It’s that lull after the Christmas buzz. We’ll both perk up once we hear the new buzzzzz from the spring bees. Love that glass, awesome Charlie. Oh, and I’m logged in but still can’t see your profile, even logged out and in (facebook) and it didn’t change that when I click on your pic I get a blank page.

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    1. Yes… it’s another weird bug I haven’t been able to squash. I thought it was just me, but apparently logged in users can’t see the admin’s wall. I’ll file the report! hehe And yay to spring bees!! Yes, please! 😃💕

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  14. I love your spring painting. I can almost smell the hyacinth. I too have become quite tired of the forced hibernation that is winter in Wisconsin. I am ready to plant stuff now!

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  15. Spring will be here before you know it. The cold weather just makes you appreciate it more. In Florida we have 4 seasons: hot, not so hot, hotter and Africa hot. Right now it is not so hot and in the 50’s here and we think it’s freezing cold, but soon it will be HOT. (that’s all I’ve got)

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  16. Beautiful as usual Charlie. I have noticed that you very often incorporate glass in your paintings (and rightly so), and now you mentioned in this post “any excuse to paint some glass and I’m in.” So, here are the questions: how did you learn to paint glass so well, and can you give us some pointers? Can you direct us to any resources for painting glass? I am sure everyone here would love to learn. Thanks. (obviously previous comment did not fully post and had to re-write)

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    1. Thanks so much, Shar! 😃💕 I didn’t really use any tutorials for glass, so I’m not sure. I just sort of discovered things along the way. One is that I sketch in every weird shape that I see, and mentally flag the areas that should be white. Then I keep pushing contrast on the dark shapes until things look more like glass, stopping before they become chrome. If it’s the top of the glass, I don’t quite draw a full circle, leaving bits for the sparks of highlights. But mostly, I just forget it’s glass and paint the shapes I see and the glass eventually appears. This may not be super helpful, but that’s likely why I don’t make tutorials. 😊

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    1. Thanks so much, Jacob!! 😃💕 I hope you’re having a splendid New Year so far! And that’s so sweet of you! Yeah, I don’t usually find the time to do these so I’m horrible at breaking the chain, but I thoroughly appreciate it. I saw the “ice cream” bit and thought… wait… he didn’t? Did he try ice cream?! LOL ❤️

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  21. Love the flowers and your love of painting shiny, glassy things is fun to see! 💕 You have a lot on your plate and I’m always amazed at how you manage to do it all. For me, sometimes juggling too many things is overwhelming and I don’t know what to do first! I’m reading a book right now called, “Success God’s Way” by Dr. Charles Stanley, and it’s helping a lot. Paso-a-paso, step-by-step. 🙂 May I borrow your boots made for walkin’? 🤣

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    1. Thanks, Miste! 😃💕 hehe… yeah, I’m usually a few steps behind, but I’ll always manage to stumble forward and catch up somewhat. I’ve realized not all things need to be part of the juggling, so I only juggle those that move things forward.

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