Little Bites

In trying to figure out what to paint for the prompt of “miniature,” the only thing that kept popping into my head was bite-sized food. Most likely because I’m starving and need to eat soon. Well, more precisely, what I was thinking about was just how much I miss the different types of petits fours, canapés, and amuse-bouches we have when we go to Paris each year. These tiny little pieces of amazingness are incredible. So, that’s where we landed for this super fast Friday doodlewash. Here, in the States, you might see them at a fancy restaurant, but in France you can grab little desserts and appetizers that look like pieces of art right in the local grocery. As an American kid, the fanciest hors d’oeuvres I might see would be a plateful of mozzarella sticks, and pretty much anything you could fry and turn into the shape of a stick. My finger food never look like culinary art that came from a 5-star restaurant, it just looked like actual fingers.

On a side note, I’ve also switched to a new miniature sketchbook for this doodlewash! The fine folks at Hahnemühle sent me this new little watercolor sketchbook to try. I was super excited because when I was in Paris last, I saw several sketchbooks by them that looked really cool, but there wasn’t a one with watercolor paper in the shop I visited. This is my first test in the new book, and the paper is really lovely. At 200 gsm it’s a lighter weight than the one I was using previously, but it seems to handle water really well. Granted, this particular sketch doesn’t have a lot of wet washes, so I’ll have to test that out in the future. But the cover is gorgeous and the prettiest and most elegant I’ve seen on a sketchbook of any kind. I’ll let you know what I think about the new book as I use it more, but wanted to mention it for those of you who noticed the change in the About The Doodlewash section below.

Going back to this miniature food, well it’s really just the best invention in the world is all I really have to say on a Friday night (did I mention I was hungry?). These little treats provide all the decadence you’d ever want in a single little bit of food so small it’s impossible to feel guilty about it. What’s not to love about that? I’ve always loved food like this. Actually, I’ve always just loved all things miniature and small. I think that’s why I prefer to keep my doodlewashes small. Not only does it mean it takes me less time, but also because I get to blast through something and start each day out with an entirely new painting! I have a rather shot attention span, so it’s just really more fun that way! I’ve always imagined that one day I would have the time to create a larger painting, spending days on getting just the right amount of color and detail, but today, I’m just happy keeping it small each day and serving up these little bites.

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About the Doodlewash Sennelier L’Aquarelle: Indian Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, Red Orange, Opera Rose, Perylene Maroon, Dioxazine Purple, Phthalo. Green Light, Phthalocyanine Blue, and Payne’s Grey. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon black ink in an A6 Hahnemühle Watercolor Book.

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!