Daydreams At Night

For our prompt of “Half Moon,” I wasn’t sure what to make and then saw videos of a friend’s cat online and was suddenly inspired. So, I sketched the little kitty, named Theo, daydreaming under a crescent moon before heading off to sleep. At least that’s what seemed to appear after I just jumped in and started making something. I was going to use masking fluid for the moon, but I couldn’t find it easily in my art supplies and, being terribly impatient, ended up just using a white crayon instead. Which, was super fun, because playing with crayons always makes my inner child smile. I haven’t met little Theo in person yet, but even though I’m a bit allergic to cats, I’m going to risk it and meet him soon. He’s adorable and each video I watched as I studied him was cuter than the last. His eyes always seem to be curious with thought as though half in a daydream of something wonderful.

I think I’m often in this state as well. No matter what I’m doing, my mind is always drifting off to think of other things as well. Often, these thoughts are about things I should be getting done or upcoming deadlines, but more often than that, they’re just imaginative thoughts that flit through my mind. I love going to these mental places as I think that’s where I get my most interesting ideas. I had a creative coworker once who called it the “back brain.” We had worked on many projects together and it never failed that when we were feverishly trying to riddle something out, we’d hit a wall. It was only switching to think of something else that we were able to suddenly figure out the problem. Our back brains did all the heavy lifting and eventually came up with a wonderful solution. I love the surprise of thoughts like that. This happens all of the time when I’m sketching stuff as well. What I first intend to sketch is rarely, if ever, what ends up appearing in my sketchbook.

Tonight, we’re getting together with a couple of close friends for a quiet evening on the porch. And, also for lasagna, which is one of my favorites, but not a dish I have very often. I think Philippe made it once, but it’s been so long now that I can’t quite remember. Our dog Phineas will be staying home as he thinks any event involving more than his two dads is a full on party and it makes him crazy. He’s currently just sitting on the floor in preparation for his mealtime and then he’ll spend the evening doing whatever it is he does when we’re away for awhile. No doubt, he’ll have Michael the squirrel over for a round of poker before just heading off to bed early. Soon enough, we’ll be back home again and joining him as well. And, just as my head hits the pillow, I’ll let my mind do what it always does as I once again enjoy those beautiful daydreams at night.

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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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