Dog Under Umbrella Rain Beagle Puppy Watercolor Illustration
By Charlie

Little Drops Of Rain

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Rain” today, I made a quick little sketch of a puppy taking shelter under an umbrella. It’s actually been raining here off and on for several days now, but as soon as I finished this sketch, the sun finally appeared for just a moment. Then the clouds returned and the sky was several shades of gray once more. The rainy season came a bit later this year than it normally does where I live, and the temperatures took quite a long time to warm up. My own dog Phineas is not a fan of the rain or chillier weather and usually just hides indoors while being a bit of a grump about his inability to bask in the sun. But I rather enjoy a rainy day. Especially when it’s a nice gentle rain that lasts for several hours. It’s quite relaxing. Though sometimes, I find myself getting so relaxed that I’m not very productive. I guess Phineas and I both are rather solar-powered after all.

Philippe and I got to see a couple of our friends this weekend whom we haven’t seen in more than a year. It was wonderful! I know I’ve missed seeing friends, but actually seeing them again made me realize just how much I needed that time. While I’ve managed to keep my spirits up during this pandemic and even remain productive, there were some days that I just felt rather exhausted and unmotivated. Sometimes, I wasn’t even sure why, but now I know that I was missing something crucial. As much as I’m an introvert and can spend hours and hours alone in my own crazy thoughts, I still need that physical connection with friends. Just being in the same room, and yes, sharing a nice long hug. Being able to spend time as we did before with our vaccinated friends has been one of the greatest gifts that I could ever hope to receive.

Of course, Phineas wasn’t quite as pleased to have company return. He rather liked having his two dads to himself much of this past year. Philippe and I joke that he thinks of any gathering that includes any other people as a “crazy party” and Phineas does end up quite exhausted the next day. In reality, it was just all of the incessant pawing and demands for attention. I can’t imagine what he’d think were we to ever have an actual party. But we never do. Philippe and I both like to spend time with less than a handful of our closest friends. It makes the evening more special to have dedicated time to focus and chat about life. As for my own life, it’s pretty much the same as it’s always been. I’m trying new things each and every day and wondering if I’ll ever figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Then I realize, I’d have to actually grow up for that to happen and the whole proposition sounds perfectly unpleasant. Instead, I’ll just enjoy my childlike hope for the future as it takes me where I’m meant to go next. And, I’ll continue to see each tiny reflection as a dream that might come true, in those little drops of rain.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.:  Benzimida Orange, Vermilion, Terra Cotta, Opus (Vivid Pink), Phthalo Blue, Cobalt Turquoise and Indigo. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with black 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!
 Dog Under Umbrella Rain Beagle Puppy 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 “Little Drops Of Rain”

  2. It was so nice to have some friends over this weekend. We stayed outside because it was beautiful, but no masks were required! This has been a wonderful spring. My flowers are beautiful and long lasting because it has been cool. I finished planting my veg garden today. Twenty two tomato plants!

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  3. Your site was recommended by Bernadette Dolan. I plan to do your June challenge. Are people only posting their work on Facebook? I don’t “do” Facebook. If , yes, I will do the challenge but will not post. Thanks, Lunda.

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    1. Lunda, you can post your work here, or on your blog if you have one, or Instagram, Twitter, or almost any social media. Use the hashtag #doodlewashJune2021 on your work and then when people search on that tag, yours will be included. Or it is perfectly acceptable to just do the challenge for yourself to get yourself in the habit of painting on a regular basis.

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  4. Charlie, three things – I finally got One Little Mouse .. I love love love it. I am going to get several for Christmas presents and considering how long it took for me to get mine, I think I better order them soon … lolol. I absolutely love how you can always draw expressions on your cute little critters and I love hearing about whats been going on for you. You are such an incredible writer. I too am an introvert but have also discovered that I miss having that connection with our friends. It is still really bad where I live. In time I imagine it will return to some sort of normality ;). Meanwhile thank you and thanks to EVERYONE here in this awesome community 🙂

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    1. Aww thanks so much, Zoie! 😃💕 I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the book! And finally received it! I think with the pandemic there were some delays in printing things. The softcover is always available, and now it seems the hardcover is coming back in limited quantities at a time! If you get a chance to leave a review that would be wonderful and appreciated! (Also, my next book in the series – One Little Dog – will be available in June!). And so true! Even as an introvert, I do miss time with close friends so much. I’m going to be a nuisance this summer requesting lots and lots of lunches, gatherings, and hugs!! 😊

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  5. Yay, for seeing friends. It has been nice being able to travel again and see family. The pandemic has weighed on all of us, even when we thought it wasn’t. I’m hoping that the painting group that used to meet once a month will start up again soon. It’s hard to say – so often once a group stops meeting for a while, they never get back in the rhythm again.

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  7. Such a cute dog. He looks like a Beagle. 😀 Your reunion sounds so nice, Charlie. It does feel good to be able to relax and not run away from people. haha haha You made me laugh when you said that you and Phineas are solar powered. 😂😂😂 So am I. We have been very rainy and have had a lot of storms, which I LOVE, but, after a few days, I felt sad. Living in the Sun Belt, we’re used to a lot of sun. And tanning! haha haha Of course, once the Summer scorching begins, we will wish that we had rain and storms. We’re never happy. 💜

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    1. Thanks so much, Marisela! 😃💕 Yay for relaxing and not always running away from people indeed! hehe Yeah, the sun really makes a difference. I like to see it peeking through those storm clouds. Ugh… so true on summer… I don’t like the heat. Thankfully it doesn’t get as hot here, except for August. I could skip that month! lol 😉

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  8. Nice doodle Charlie. I love sitting under an umbrella. We went to have a look around the gardens of a big house on a showery day. We got a coffee and sat under a big umbrella, looking across the hills, drinking our coffee. We have our two daughters and their families here for lunch on Saturday. The first time we’ve all been together since last autumn.

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  10. Hey Charlie what’s this grow up thing? Put a mask on that concept!

    Ah yes much as I love the heat of summer I do have a lot of fun in a steady wash of rain (as long as there is no lightning) and love to stomp around in it with a goofy grin on my face. Looking at it from the indoors brings a cozy feeling as well as heightened creativity. Phineas is right though, we need the sunshine.

    That makes sense what you said about feeling unmotivated as even we who appreciate solitude need to have our people fix.

    Take care.

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