Kitten Cat Playing Tennis Ball Watercolor Painting Illustration
By Charlie

Eye On The Ball

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Sport” today, I wasn’t sure what to sketch as I’ve never really played or been interested in sports. Though, I did sometimes bat around tennis balls with my best friend in high school. He was actually good at playing tennis, and I was complete rubbish, but it was still rather fun. Keeping my eye on the ball was the hardest part, because focusing on anything at all has always been tough for me. Even playing family games like croquet as a kid was fun at first, but I would get antsy if it took too long to finish and I wanted to bounce off and do something new. Sketching each day has been a blast since I tend to do it by bouncing around between different subjects and ideas. And when I’m in the zone of making something, I find myself staying in that space longer than anything else I do in life. Even it’s still just for a few minutes each day. But, it’s always a fun time and keeps me coming back to see what might appear the next day.

Though I could try to fix my lack of focus, I instead use it to my advantage and create lots of different things. Yeah, I know this seems perfectly crazy, but it’s surprised what you can create out of the things that appear naturally. I’ve managed to make four books with the sketches I’ve made here, so that’s not too bad. Granted, I would like to create a book from scratch next, but I’ve not yet found any extra time to do it. So, I just keep right on sketching stuff and know that an idea of what to do with all that stuff will present itself one day. I figure as long as I’m practicing my skills and learning new things, then it’s a really productive approach. And like playing a game, I just want to have fun and work off a little stress from the day throughout the week. On the weekends, it’s just pure playtime and I adore it!

Today, Philippe and I watched some silly things on television at lunch and then went our separate ways for the afternoon. He went to work on practicing 3D animation and tending to his virtual zoo. I kept the silly television on in the background while I spent some time sketching and painting. Though I had all afternoon to do so, I got distracted quickly and found myself doing several other things as well. But it was super fun, so I must have been doing all of the right things. Tonight, we’ll get together again for dinner, though I’m not yet sure what’s on the menu. Our dog Phineas has been passed out asleep most of the day, but will magically burst to life shortly when he realizes it’s close to mealtime. It’s a rather startling transition to watch. And the most important thing will be to simply enjoy the last few hours of the weekend together. Family time is the other moment when I’m able to find a bit more focus. Much of living a happy and simple life is just about knowing when it’s truly important to keep one’s eye on the ball.

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Da Vinci Paint Co.: Yellow Ochre, Hansa Yellow Medium, Opus (Vivid Pink), Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Ultramarine (Green Shade), and Terra Cotta. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with black ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Click here!
 Kitten Cat Playing Tennis Ball Watercolor Painting Illustration 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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31 thoughts on “Eye On The Ball”

  4. Pretty cute. I tried tennis when I was young. Not for me. I’m better at badminton. Lol! I’m better at croquet too. And bowling. In fact for my gym credit in college I had bowling, badminton, and running. The one thing I was really good at sportswise was biking. I put on many miles in my 30s. I miss it a lot.

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  6. As I sit, I am with all the family I can be with at one time. We are so grateful for the new normal! I am keeping my eyes wide open to enjoy everything about them!
    I have a question about posting work- how do you photograph green? When I post something painted green, it looks so blah! And not really green! Your colors are appearing vivid and beautiful!

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Nellie! 😃💕 Yeah, each moment with family is a wonderful thing indeed! As for photographing… I’m not sure. I never liked photos of my work so I use a scanner. It struggles with light blue, though… hehe… but much more accurate than a photograph. The one I like has a feature to remove the paper texture, which is what makes my colors pop a bit more as well – https://doodlewash.com/shop/recommended-products/recommended-art-supplies/epson-perfection-v600-scanner/

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  7. Hi Charlie, I am not swift with sports — and I am Canadian where sports is big. As far as I am concerned they should just pick up that stupid football etc and hand it to the guy who wants it so badly and be done with it. Yeesh already.

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  8. Like your kitty cat, winding up with a wicked backhand! Her markings remind me of our last cat, Killer. She was super-mouser and didn’t like chipmunks either…… She never came home one night…. She was a part of the family though and we miss her. It is all about family, isn’t’ it?

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  9. So cute, Charlie! It reminds me of my father’s dog, Pee-Wee. He looked like Lassie and was my dad’s other child. He loved tennis balls. My Monster loved the bouncy balls. My father came home one day with a bag full of tennis balls for Pee-Wee. He had driven by my high school and saw the tennis team practicing. He paid the kids for a few balls for his dog! 🐕 Oh, that’s nothing. He purchased a kiddie pool for him, too.
    I think this pandemic has helped us to focus on what’s really important and what really matters. It’s helped us filter out the fluff and know what is truly valuable. Moments, like watching a passed out asleep little dog, have greater value than materialistic things that can be lost or broken. Hardships or difficulties or viruses help us hold a little closer and a little tighter to what really matters. Like lazy sleepy pups. 🐕 My Gordo (Monster) used to pass out for hours also, but when he heard my mom scraping pots and washing dishes, he was wide awake and licking his lips. 💜

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    1. Thanks so much, Marisela! 😃💕 Oh wow! Pee-Wee sounds like he was perfectly spoiled! hehe I agree… I think this time has given us a chance to focus only on what’s most important in life. And yes, to Phineas… that just means food! lol

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      1. Pee-Wee was definitely spoiled, but he was a special dog. He was very smart. The down side to being my dad’s shadow was that he would wander while out with my dad. He ran across the busy street at the end of our block and was hit by a car. He died. My father cried so much.

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  10. This weekend has been pretty dreary here in Oregon, with air quality the worst in the world. But the fires are being contained, and the air quality is supposed to improve bit by bit this coming week, so things are looking up. I haven’t felt inspired to paint much, but I did get a little done. It will help when the sky isn’t a sickly smoky yellow anymore.

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  13. Haha, the expression on your kitties face is priceless. Panic as to what she’s supposed to do. So cute. The rain isn’t coming today like predicted, maybe tomorrow. Keep praying. 🙁

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  14. Hello Charlie,

    The little tennis cat looks like a complete pro! I was no good at sports either but I had an easy time focussing on stuff like 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles (mainly coz hardly anyone else was interested and that helped me get some me time). Your Sunday sounds like an ideal one indeed, though Phineas’ sounds even better. I always admire puppies for their ability to fall asleep at will – something I’ve been struggling with these days. Hopefully tonight will be a different story. You have a brilliant week ahead!

    Love,
    Mugdha

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