Day 28: #WorldWatercolorMonth Ball Mason Jar with Lemon water and purple straw
By Charlie

Day 28: #WorldWatercolorMonth

Written by Charlie O'Shields

I got a little ambitious with my glass obsession today and attempted this mason jar with lemon water. Halfway through the doodlewash, I could barely even tell what I was painting anymore there were so many textures and overlapping shapes. Also, I challenged myself to use just 3 colors again and chose Dioxazine Purple, Gamboge, and Cobalt Teal. This sprung to mind as I was drinking a ton of water this week in effort to combat whatever strange invader was attempting to take over my body. Thankfully, it worked and I feel much better, but I’m still a bit tired and needing some rest. Looking at this now simpy reminds me of the ridiculous number of trips to the bathroom I’ve taken over the last few days, which I realize as I type this is a bit of an overshare of information.

Even if when I’m not feeling a bit under the weather, the wonderful thing about lemon water is that it always reminds me of summer. As the heat continues to climb, there’s really nothing more refreshing and I find myself drinking more water this time of year than any other. I’m also particularly fond of these Ball Mason jars as they remind me of the various jams my grandmother would make and send home with me as a kid. These days, you’ll find them used to serve water in hip restaurants, but in those days, they were just used for canning every vegetable and fruit you could imagine. It was cool to have a little taste of grandma’s food even though I lived miles away from her. It just made it so much more special and no matter what was in the jar, it tasted better than anything else in the pantry.

These days, I only use these jars for lemon infused water but each time I take a sip, I remember being a kid again. Of course, the bendy straw is also a requirement. Whenever I was feeling under the weather, one of these straws was always a perfect remedy. As a kid in the suburbs though, this was more often jabbed into a can of 7up than placed gingerly in naturally lemon-infused water. But the effect was still miraculous. Soon, I was better again and happily enjoying whatever crazy thing it was that I was into at the time. It’s funny how something so stupidly simple can bring back a host of amazing memories. But it can. Just a little water, some lemons, a bendy straw, and a mason jar can make you feel like everything in the world, no matter how bad it seems, will eventually find a way to get better.

Join us for World Watercolor Month in July! Click here to learn more!

About the Doodlewash

M. Graham Watercolors: Dioxazine Purple, Gamboge, and Cobalt Teal. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon black ink in a 5″ x 8″ 140 lb. (300 gsm) Pentalic Aqua Journal.

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!

See author's posts

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in By Charlie

52 Comments

0 Shares

52 thoughts on “Day 28: #WorldWatercolorMonth”

  4. Such a beautiful painting! It looks so cool and refreshing, love your use of light, reflections and layers of colors glazing…absolutely stunning painting. For some reason it seems anything served in a mason ball jar is so much more tasty and delicious…especially beverages…and always with a straw! Thanks for sharing such a delightful piece, glad to hear you are feeling better.

    Reply

  5. You are going from strength to strength with these paintings of glass and with the challenge of using just three colours. I’m in awe. Reading about your memories of mason jars sparked in me memories of using Kilner jars to preserve foods with my Grandad. You are right about simple things carrying such significance.

    Reply

  6. Yeah, this mason jar drinks thingy trend has permeated throughout Australia too. There is a place in Degraves St in the CBD which serves nothing but teeny tiny cupcakes (you’ve seen one of them on my blog — the Coffee + Cake gallery in the sidebar) and absolutely delicious Belgian milkshakes, rich and creamy, served in a mason jar with a thick straw. Yum. I like your doodle, Charlie, and all the textures you’ve captured so well…kinda reminds me of something I’ve seen somewhere, now where could that be..?!! 😉
    PS: Enjoy your weekend!

    Reply

    1. Awww thanks! Glad you liked this! I just keep on practicing glass… hehe… hoping to get to a point where I feel more comfortable to play with some other ideas. It’s so trendy though to drink out of these though… guess it echoes back to the past in a way people like! 😃💕 Hope you enjoy your weekend as well!

      Reply

      1. Thanks. Charlie…my weekend has been spent getting to know my new Windows Lumia 950 smartphone…a huge learning curve! I really like your latest glass effort, the glass of tea!

        Reply

          1. …an easy learning curve, as I’ve been finding out. User friendliness and functionality have been stepped up a notch or two! In fact, it’s really a tiny PC.

  7. One of my favorite posts and doodles of yours…..you seem to share more and more of yourself (including the very personal shares) and I find that refreshing! Love your jar and the colors are so beautiful, your memories connected to canning jars, food and your grandmother was so wonderful to read about. Feel better Charlie! it is almost over….what a journey 🙂

    Reply

  10. Summer in a jar! This looks incredibly refreshing and chill. How trendy, too, especially the complimentary colours going on with lemon and straw 😉 I am a sucker for a good straw (now that one wasn’t even intentional!) I used to love the ones so complex that it took about five minutes for the drink to reach your lips. At the moment I have these ‘magic’ straws that have tiny chocolate dragee inside, and thus turn milk into chocolate milk on the way through. They are pretty good for a chill, but nowhere near as summery as this beaut!

    Reply

  12. Well done, Charlie, you are turning into a master glass painter! Next you will institute a GlassPaintingMonth, making the rest of us look pathetic 😰. Glad you’re feeling better 💕

    Reply

  13. It is funny how certain things remind us of our families. 😉 Thanks Charlie for sharing your stories along with your awesome Doodlewashes! ❤️🎨 My day doesn’t seem complete without a Charlie story! 😊 P.S. Grandmas are the best!! 🌟🌟🌟

    Reply

  14. Tricky subject buy you really get a lovely feel to your paintings of glass Charlie, beautiful. I had some lemon water out f just such a glass this weekend when the weather was so hot in Berlin, it really hits the spot 😊

    Reply

  17. They are now selling mason jar drinks at baseball stadiums…for $16! But yours looks much more refreshing. And I do remember those bendy straws. Rest up this weekend, and you’ll be good as new for August. (K)

    Reply

  18. Beautifully done! This almost has a bit of an abstract feel which I am loving. Taking it slightly beyond reality, but in a way that makes it better than the strictly representational painting would have done. I love it! Oh and bendy straws and mason jars really are the best things ever. Glad you’re feeling better. 💜💜💜

    Reply

Leave Me A Comment!

Discover more from Doodlewash®

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading