Broccoli Florets Watercolor Illustration
By Charlie

Just Add Cheese

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Broccoli” today, I doodled a couple pieces in their all-natural healthy form. In my mind, of course, I was imagining them with a bit of cheese added. Philippe makes the most amazing broccoli and cheese and while we’ve been in lockdown, I’ve attempted to get him to make it whenever possible. It’s just a very happy food that reminds me of my childhood and makes the day a bit brighter. I asked him to make this awesome dish tonight and he reminded me that I had also requested french fries earlier in the day. I simply nodded in agreement. He stared at me and then turned his head sideways, willing me to see his point, but I just shrugged. Finally he said, “You can’t have both!” This is when my inner child gets super perplexed as that statement seems to lack any logic at all. But, thankfully, my adult understands his point and so the broccoli and cheese will have to wait until later in the week.

What I’ve found during this exceptional time is that being home all of the time gets a touch dull. So, having some fun bit of food to look forward to each day, has become a key source of entertainment. And, beyond the amazingly beautiful weather, this is another reason why I’ve spent a lot of the weekend walking around outside, just to balance things out. Indeed, I still didn’t walk enough to justify both french fries and my favorite dish. I’m not entirely sure I’ve worked off enough calories to justify the fries, but I’m not going to mention that to Philippe. I noticed our neighbors outside grilling something that smelled delicious, but I’m not entirely sure what was on their menu. It’s nice to see people outside and doing what they normally do this time of year. Though, of course, there are still no guests invited to their party.

Later this week, we’re going to have dinner with one of our dear friends via video. Interestingly, we’ve actually done this well before the current times, since she has kids and sometimes can’t get a babysitter. I miss getting together with friends in person and will be happy to return to that one day. In the meantime, Philippe and I are just enjoying our evenings at home and finding new things to do to keep things interesting. And yes, some little treats here and there as well. We actually have more cobbler in the refrigerator, because Philippe made a second one. I apparently bought a giant-sized bag of peaches when I was ordering groceries online. It was impossible to defend myself as it seemed very intentional, but this was indeed just a happy accident. Little bits of comfort food will get me through these times. And my wise inner child always knows that whenever a day begins to feel ordinary, just add cheese.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Vermilion, Leaf Green, and Ultramarine (Green Shade). Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen (Broad Nib) with sepia ink  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!
 Broccoli Florets Watercolor 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 “Just Add Cheese”

  1. Love broccoli, with or without cheese and your broccoli look delicious. Funny you mention peach cobbler; I was just looking at a recipe for “Tennessee Peach Pudding” which looks a little like cobbler on steroids. It’s either going to be that this week or “Blueberry Cream Cheese Loaf” . My last baking adventure was a peanut butter, oatmeal, raisin, pecan bar that ended up being a cross between fudge and a brownie and tasted great (tough it was a bit sticky) and made enough for the proverbial small army. Also, my husband thinks it definitely needs dark chocolate morsels next time….sigh. What’s a few more calories? Have a wonderful week, Charlie!!

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  2. Well done on the broccoli heads Charlie. Glad you got to get outside. We are hungered down as the rain has rolled in, the temperature is dropping and snow will fall in parts of our state. We shall see in the morning if it missed us. It won’t last but blossoms are starting to open.

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  3. At first glance, this broccoli looked like you sketched all the little round thingies. Thanks to the computer I was able to diagnose that it was the scribbling technique. Well done!! I spent the majority of the day out in the yard. It actually was pleasant and I got a lot done!

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  4. OK, yummy trees! Broccoli is delicious especially with the melted cheese. And I like how you used little dots of pure colors in the broc head, a pointillist/impressionist technique that works so well in watercolor! It makes the little florets sparkle in the light! And what a fortuitous error, buying too many peaches…. Nice touch!

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  6. Tomorrow I am making a broccoli and cauliflower salad with bacon and raisins in a mayo dressing. It’s really good and my neighbor who has cancer really likes it, so I hope it tastes good to him. Damn chemo is really messed with his tastebuds.

    I dragged Joe out for a walk today and we saw a hermit thrush, so that was cool. Rain again tomorrow, but at least we got a nice day in between.

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  10. We had also a great weekend with Sunny and warm weather i went out biking.I had a dish with cheese burgers and salad .the broccoli painting is awesome i rather like broccoli with pasta instead of fries.

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