Walrus Watercolor Painting
By Charlie

Heading Home

Written by Charlie O'Shields

Today is the last day of visiting with the family and it’s been a wonderful trip indeed. For our prompt of “Walrus” today, I sketched this big little guy here. I’ve no idea if a walrus is the best illustration for traveling home, but that’s what we have today. Also, after all of the food I’ve eaten, I’m quite sure I’m returning with a bit of extra blubber from this trip. My sister and niece came over for lunch before taking us to the airport. We had talked about a place to eat out, but since we’ve been eating all weekend, we opted for a rotisserie chicken and fresh salads instead. Not sure if it’s enough to balance out all of the rum balls I’ve consumed, but it’s a start at least. This trip has been an absolute blast, and it always feels like it’s over before it even begins. We’ve added new family memories filled with enough love meant to last a full year until Philippe and I return again. It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye knowing we’ll all be another year older when we see each other next. But any time spent with family is a wonderful time indeed and always a beautiful reason to celebrate.

Travel days are not the fun part of the trip, of course, as travel is always a bit stressful no matter how smoothly everything goes in the process. And, instead of going back home immediately, I’m now heading to North Carolina for a quick work presentation in the morning first. I’ll actually be home in less than 24 hours, though, so it’s a bit of a whirlwind trip. My flight leaves an hour after Philippe’s so I’m going to be quite jealous seeing him off and knowing he gets to actually go home. But, on the bright side, our dog Phineas doesn’t get back home until tomorrow, so we’ll all be reunited then! Phineas will no doubt be happy to have everything back to normal, but will spend a bit of time notably pissed at us for leaving him in the first place. We have a lovely little routine that I miss when I travel. As much fun as it can be to see new places, there’s truly no place like home for me.

Yet, being with family always feels like being home as well. So, I’m sad to see that our time came to an end. It always feels like we’re leaving something unfinished. Not the least of which is this year’s jigsaw puzzle that’s still sitting on the table incomplete. It was devilishly difficult this year and we got a bit distracted chatting and joking around. Also, Philippe only came over occasionally to add a single piece triumphantly and then tell us, “you’re all really bad this.” That’s also part of our family tradition. And now, as it all comes to an end, I’m equally excited about the coming weeks ahead as Philippe and I enjoy our own little family traditions. There will be more fun, food, and memories made as our tiny little trio enjoys the holidays ahead. So, though I wish sometimes that time would stand still so I could enjoy more time with my family, It will be so nice to be back in our own space and experiencing our happy little rituals, once I’m finally heading home.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Terra Cotta and Ultramarine (Green Shade). Staedtler Pigment Liners in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Send me a note with a link to this post, and I’ll add it to my shop!
 Walrus Watercolor Painting 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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28 thoughts on “Heading Home”

  4. One of these days, the scientists will get around to inventing the transporter beam and we’ll be able to visit family as often as we want no matter how far away. Of course, then we’ll probably put it off, knowing we can do it anytime, and we’ll actually see less of each other!

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  8. He’s a wonderful walrus! Safe travels. We are into planning our Xmas for Joe and me and the cats. Joe ran in the store while I was at an appointment and shrimp was on sale, so that’s what’s for dinner on Xmas eve. I’m glad because it’s easy and since I’ve been not eating much these days, it seems light enough to appeal.

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  12. Charlie says, “Phineas will no doubt be happy to have everything back to normal, but will spend a bit of time notably pissed at us for leaving him in the first place.”

    I love it! I can just see the expressions flickering across his face!.

    Charlie also said, “though I wish sometimes that time would stand still so I could enjoy more time with my family, It will be so nice to be back in our own space and experiencing our happy little rituals, once I’m finally heading home.”

    That sums it up so beautifully…

    As for the walrus, he looks intelligent and inquisitive and just perfect!!

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  13. Leave it to Charlie to paint a walrus, reminding us early how we’re going to look by early January if we don’t watch what we eat over the holidays. Last Friday I headed the latke table for our temple’s annual Chanukah festival. Thank heaven we bought hundreds of Trader Joe’s latkes because I can’t cook (my son and his family make the latkes in our family,) and TJs makes great latkes that heat perfectly in an oven. And lucky for little kids – they can eat a dozen of these potato wonders and not look like your walrus friend here. I’m not including a photo of myself here. Guess why. Ahem!

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    1. hehe! Yeah, I didn’t realize that Walrus came right after a weekend trip of eating everything in sight. Good timing, I guess. 😉 And I adore latkes and almost bought some at Trader Joe’s last week! And yeah… sometimes I feel the holiday season is made for kids. Mostly due to metabolism. 😃💕

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