Christmas Mouse Last Gift Present Watercolor Illustration Painting
By Charlie

One Last Little Gift

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Gift” today, I made a sketch of a little mouse opening the last gift on Christmas. No matter what you celebrate this season, I hope everyone is enjoying a day filled with beauty and cheer! It’s definitely been a tough year, but I’ve learned that my inner child is always there to help remind me of the wonder and joy that’s still glittering all around us. And today, as I opened that last little gift, I was initially a bit sad to know that another season is already coming to an end. Yet, there’s still a few more hours to go, so I plan to enjoy each and every last little minute of the day. Santa brought me lots of fun little toys this year and I’m excited to play with them all, just like when I was a little boy. I think that no matter how much gray hair appears on my head, I’m always going to feel the same. Life is too short to worry over things I can’t change, and too wonderful to ignore those little things I adore most!

Philippe got me some really fun gifts this year that included new games for my Nintendo Switch as well as some books and, of course, art supplies! I did get an animatronic baby Yoda that I really wasn’t expecting, and it was so ridiculously cute and cool. It definitely reminded me of being a kid and always asking for Star Wars things. Philippe is a huge Jurassic Park fan and I’ve bought most everything I could find already, but this year added playing cards, a winter sweater, and a mask, of course, which pretty much describes this crazy year. And while I never want a holiday season to end, I’m excited for the year ahead. I think there are many wonderful things coming that will make next year a far better year than this one. But, even with all of the strife, I still feel very fortunate that my little family has stayed home, and is happy and healthy.

And a huge thanks to all of you who have been reading my daily rambles. I’ve actually hit the most impossible milestone today, and that’s 2,000 consecutive days of writing and sketching stuff. It’s wild and yet somehow perfectly fitting that it would land exactly on Christmas Day. After that, I plan to take a little break from posting for the rest of the year. I’ll still be sketching and writing each day, of course, but I’m working on a new book idea and want to save all of the time I have for that so I can complete it. After that, I’ll still be popping in to share things as I go, but I won’t be returning to daily posts for now. This has been and continues to be the most amazing journey I’ve ever taken. And now, I’m thrilled for the next phase of my adventure and excited for what comes next. My heart is full of love and happiness today, and so I’m sending that feeling to each and every one of you reading this. I want to give you a sincere wish that your life always be filled with creativity, love and hope. Just when you think life has delivered all of the smiles it can, remember that if we just take a moment to look, there’s always one last little gift.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.:  Nickel Azo Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Terra Cotta, 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!
 Christmas Mouse Last Gift Present Watercolor Illustration 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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57 thoughts on “One Last Little Gift”

  4. Your daily posts will be missed, Charlie, but I’m so excited about your book and the other projects you’ll complete with the free time you’ll have. I can’t wait to see what the next up and coming thing will be.

    Reply

    1. Be safe, Sandra. I am going to miss Charlie’s daily posts, too. Thanks for chatting with me. Have a happy and blessed new year! 🎉 And give tacos de lengua another chance. It’ll be worth it! 😀 your friend in San Antonio, Texas, Marisela

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  5. Thank you for taking us along with you on this wonderful journey and sharing your beautiful heart with us. We already had this conversation so you know how I feel about you and I don’t want to cry again. 💜 You are going to rock it, Charlie! I have no doubt that you are going to knock it out of the ball park! Know that I am cheering for you and will be praying for you.
    Thank you for being my friend. And we will be in touch. I hope to have awesome news to share with you this coming season. Hopefully, a season of victory and beauty and restoration. You are loved, Charlie! A very Happy New Year to you and your little family. Feliz Ano Nuevo, mi amigo. 🎉🎉🎉

    Reply

  6. Adorable Charlie! I’m glad that you Charlie was fantastic. We just finished our Christmas meal and had our second FaceTime call with the grandkids. We are hopeful that there gifts from us will arrive tomorrow. Even though it was a much quieter holiday for us we are still tired tonight. Enjoy your weekend!

    Reply

  8. I made a pecan pie! It was low key here today. Very cold. There’s a raccoon on the deck eating cat food. Must be like a Xmas gift to him. And now I’m watching the Grinch!

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  9. Charlie you go ahead and enjoy your more-than-well-deserved rest and recuperation. Nothing like a rest to get the creative hormones perking too, sort of like little kids. As soon as you sit and read for five minutes they show up and bug the blazes out of you. As for rest, I spent a large part of this day in my Reading Chair interspersed with bouts of kitchy stuff and weight lifting and yoga (you want the human machinery to rest, not stop). YOu need time to play with your toys and enjoy one another’s company. Cheers!

    Reply

    1. Hi, Linda! I got your message, but I couldn’t find you in the member directory. Plus, I couldn’t remember your last name. 😂 Maybe I am missing it. haha haha We actually had a very nice Christmas. We stayed home and had a nice baked chicken dinner. Linda, I am very hopeful for the new year. It has been a very long road and I am ready, but God’s will, not mine. I am hopeful it will be a great year for me…finally. 🤓 Maybe I can use past blog posts to message you. Happy New Year, Linda.

      Reply

  10. Thank you Charlie! Your daily posts were looked forward to, everyday. I will miss seeing them. But, congratulating you now, because I know your book will be a success! 👍😘 I will look forward to seeing any updates and cheering you on. Keep smiling and never lose that wonderful outlook on life that you have!

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  12. I’m pleased you and Philippe celebrated such a wonderful Christmas this year and found ways to continue your most meaningful traditions. Your paintings have been a seasonal delight for this past month, and I thank you for the delightful peek into Charlie’s world. Enjoy your blog break – you know we’ll return when you return. Thank you for always posting such happy thoughts and so many charming artworks. I hope you don’t plan to take down this website so we can come back and browse. Be well, both of you.

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 Oh, Doodlewash will always be here! It’s everyone’s site now! And I’ll be back with posts, but not quite daily for the time being. Even I found my limit in what I could accomplish in the cracks of time that I have! lol Hope you have a very Happy New Year!

      Reply

  13. Hello Charlie,

    Need I say anything about how sweet this Doodlewash is? 2,000 consecutive days of sketching and writing! WOWWWW!!! Am gonna celebrate that with a treat today. You are SUCH an inspiration Charlie. And your news about not posting daily brought tears to my eyes. Im so happy that you’re gonna be working on your book but will miss your posts. We’ve never met but I have so few friends and it was so wonderful to see you turning up everyday. Sure, you weren’t writing to me directly but your posts have become one of the few constants in my life. Thank you for that. I will be waiting eagerly for your next post and even more eagerly for your book. 🙂 Loads of Love and Luck to your Charlie!

    Big hug,
    Mugdha

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Mugdha! 😃💕 I truly am so happy we’ve met! And you can definitely count me as one of your friends! I’ll be back, of course, even if it’s not daily for the time being. Have a fabulous New Year!!

      Reply

  14. Charlie, I never told you about how we shamed ourselves on a trip to Mexico City when I was a kid. I was about 13 and we decided to visit Mexico City, which is WILD! So, we go to the Aztec pyramids, which are ginormous! And scary, scary steep. My dad was 20 years older than my mother. He was a WWII Army veteran, who landed on Normandy Beach. That qualified him as a bad ass. So, he tried to convince me to climb the largest pyramid with him, but it was scary high and scary steep. My mother objected and accused him of wanting me to climb with him so if he fell, I would be a soft landing for him. He wasn’t happy. So, he aims for the second biggest pyramid and, again, is angry that my mother said no for me to climb AND she said he would regret climbing. Now, he was really angry. And offended. And determined. How dare she speak to a WWII veteran like that? So, he marches over to climb it, starts off billy bad ass, gets a quarter way up, starts to feel bad (smog, altitude, chubby), and goes into full meltdown, Charlie! Yelling, screaming, waving, panicking, yelling for help (namely me). A crowd starts to gather, my mother is laughing her head off telling him “told you”, all the while taking pictures of him freaking out. He’s yelling my name, angry that I won’t climb up to help him, threatening to stop my allowance and ground me plus yelling that I am a bad daughter. OH MY GOODNESS. My mother is still laughing and taking pictures as he finally figures out to climb down on his booty. He was angry at both of us, but didn’t speak to me the rest of the day only to tell me I was a bad daughter. Yup. We shamed ourselves and our country that day. haha haha 😂 Crazy Mexicans on vacation. haha haha 😂

    Reply

      1. You mean along the lines of National Lampoons Vacation? haha haha 😂 It was a crazy day, but one that makes us laugh. Back at the hotel, he wanted to have a heart-to-heart about how a good daughter should’ve helped her dad down from the pyramid. OH BROTHER. haha haha 😂

        Reply

  15. Hello again Charlie,

    Where are my manners? I wanted to and forgot to say a big Thank You to you, Phillipe and Phineas for sharing such precious moments of your life with us. And Doodlewash has given me a new friend – Marisela – and a teacher of sorts – Sandra Strait (I learn so much from her guest blogs). So, THANK YOU Charlie. 🙂 Wishing you magic and miracles in every moment! 🙂 🙂

    Love,
    Mugdha

    Reply

  16. Wow Charlie! So many comments really nailed how I feel! Exubrence for your milestone-2000 days-TODAY!-holey moley! A new book, (there had better be at least one mousie Charlie-Ive often felt like one of the mice sitting on the side of your pallette listening spellbound to the podcast and watching you make stories come to life when you paint🐭-I know they’re real😉)
    Well, all good things are worth waiting for, 2021 has doddled here and we all have hopes and prayers for new and wonderful things. Id even like to revisit normal. My prayers for you and your family are for joy, and health, abundance and more joy! Thank you for all that you do, you and the Doodlewash community have given me so much this year, blessings to you all!

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much!! 😃💕 I’m so thrilled you’ve enjoyed my stories… and I’ll be back to share more as they come to me even if it’s not daily. And yes, the first book features a mouse! hehe Hope you and yours have a fabulous New Year!

      Reply

  19. Congratulations, Charlie, and thanks for bringing so many smiles – for 2,000 consecutive days!! I’ll miss your daily post, but I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next.

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  21. I didn’t check in on Christmas day! (Too busy playing with my new toys too!) I’m with you on sad to see it end. Enjoy your short break….we will see you soon.

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  22. Well, I was certain that I left a comment for you but maybe it was a dream. Want to wish you the very best on your new adventures and I can’t wait to see what you are up to! Your daily doodles and rambles will be missed; you’ve been an inspiration to all of us and thank you, thank you, thank you for that inspiration!!

    Reply

  23. I’m so happy you are pursuing your dream! I only found your podcast several months ago and have listened to them all. I will definitely miss them! So many inspired me and encouraged me. Best of luck and I look forward to your book!

    Reply

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