Butterflies And Hummingbirds

For our optional World Watercolor Month prompt today of “Free,” a million things came to mind. Indeed, this one could be just about anything at all which is sometimes a bit challenging. Though it’s been super fun to see how everyone who’s using them has been interpreting these. For some reason that I can’t possibly understand, the first thing that came to mind was an old Goldie Hawn movie called Butterflies Are Free. So I decided to sketch a butterfly and then thought adding a little hummingbird might be fun. Either they’re going to happily share that flower or things are going to get a bit crazy. In truth, I just felt like using lots of bold color so this made for an easy way to do so. Well, mixing them, at least, since I only used 5 colors. It’s equally worth noting that Butterfly and Hummingbird Day is on October 3rd, so you can mark your calendars now for that. And I think it’s quite lovely that this lovely little pollinators get their own special day to celebrate.

As many of you know, when I first started out I would often use these celebration days as my prompt. After sketching through weeks of days like this, I got the idea that watercolor should have it’s own official celebration as well, and it actually happened. July is now and forever officially World Watercolor Month and I couldn’t be more pleased about that. I’m not sure any other type of official celebration produces this much incredible art in a rather short time period. Though I did see a lot of paintings paying homage when it came to Ice Cream Day. Yet, I couldn’t be sure if that wasn’t somehow linked since that celebration day takes place on July 19th. So, it makes my heart smile with glee to know that after five years, this month just keeps growing and growing with artists and watercolors. It’s fun to look back and remember that I never had a clue this is where things might end up. That’s wonderful thing about simply pursuing a passion rather than a goal. Whatever comes next is anyone’s guess, but it’s always guaranteed to be full of surprises!

Tonight, when I went  upstairs to scan my little sketch for the day, Philippe was watching a video on YouTube. There was a young woman in full hair, makeup, and dress looking like she just stepped out of the 1950’s. What made me giggle was that he was watching her defrost a refrigerator. Yep, that was actually happening. Apparently, her passion was what’s now considered “vintage” appliances and products. I figured that this word also applies to fine wine so it should always be taken as a compliment for those old enough to remember such things. Even as I was giggling at such an odd subject matter for a video, I found myself watching it along with him. The thing is, when someone who’s truly authentic shares their true passion, it’s rather compelling, no matter what that passion might be. So, I hope that if there’s anyone out there a bit shy about sharing what you’re making this month that you’ll go ahead and DO it! It’s a month to be happy, confident and free, like butterflies and hummingbirds.

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Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash®, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group™, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing daily watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world! If you’d like to be a guest artist on Doodlewash.com, contact me!

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