Peruvian Pelican On Beach Watercolor Painting Illustration
By Charlie

A Pelican Pausing

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Pelican” today, I did a sketch of one enjoying a day at the beach. They are fascinating birds with a rather unique physique. Yet, they have a certain charm to them as well. Indeed, fitting the entire head and body into a sketchbook is a rather unique challenge in itself. And, I like sketching waves as just the act of doing so reminds me of my own moments on the beach. There’s just something about the sound of crashing waves that’s so relaxing. Today, I did nothing but relax, which is best way to spend a Saturday really. I wanted to carve out a bit more time to play and paint, but just felt a bit lazy so I went with that feeling instead. There’s an art to truly relaxing. And indeed, sometimes it’s good to just pause a bit and listen to waves before jumping back into the water.

Philippe and I had our usual weekend lunch of Mexican food carryout. There were actually people dining in the restaurant now, but each time they got up to move around, everyone was back to wearing a mask. The whole scene just seemed a touch bleak and bizarre. For Philippe and I, anyway, it just sort of kills the whole idea of a relaxing lunch, so we just take our food and enjoy it safely back at home. Dodging other people all of the time is totally exhausting, and we rather love being home anyway. That said, if there was a beach nearby where we could just sit alone together and enjoy the sound and the smell of the air, then we’d definitely be doing that. Unfortunately, we’ve nothing that alluring close to us, but it’s fun to dream and imagine in watercolor at least.

Tonight, we’re going to watch a movie of some sort. I’ve been compiling a list of movies that Philippe shockingly hasn’t seen and we might watch one of those. It’s always a real test to see if he can stay engaged the entire time. Indeed, some of the movies I thought were perfect classics turn out to be a bit of bore in spots for me as well. Some things simply don’t get better with age. Yet, if I watch a movie I enjoyed when I was just a little kid, those still make me smile. Even the bad ones. It always brings back to mind all of the things I enjoyed then and whatever my interests were that year that the movie came out. Yet, relaxation in the thing I’m most into currently. I’m realizing more and more lately that I need to take some sort of vacation even if it’s rather virtual. I’ve thought about taking a few days off work to try larger paintings. But, we’ll just have to see what really happens. For now, I’m quite content just relaxing to the sound of my own heart beating and hearing a faint and distant crash of waves, like a pelican pausing.

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 Peruvian Pelican On Beach Watercolor Painting 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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37 thoughts on “A Pelican Pausing”

  5. I never imagined that I would call a pelican beautiful, but he is beautiful! 😁 I was thinking about vacation also, Charlie. I know some people think that because I have been injured for so long and unemployed, it is weird that I want/need a vacation. That makes me angry, honestly. I have been in the fight of my life for a little over 7 years. YEARS, people. I am exhausted, Charlie. I am exhausted, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. I search the web for information about Paris, tropical islands, beautiful beaches and I dream of a day when we will not fear someone walking by us or eat our dinner in fear. I imagine myself, walking on to a beautiful beach, with the worst nightmare chapter of my life nothing more than a past memory. I can see myself walking on the sand towards the water….free! The Lord is faithful, Charlie. I say again, a new day is coming. Soon.
    I hope that new day includes allowing me to meet you in person. To be able to not only greet you and laugh and smile, but to throw my arms around you and give you a hug. 😊

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Marisela! 😃💕 Aww… you know, I think it’s hugs that I miss most of all in this crazy time. This too shall pass, and one day everything will be a bit shinier for this time. But yeah… can’t wait for the hugs!

      Reply

  6. With all the beautiful weather, we’ve been doing lots of driving around. Oregon and Washington have lots undeveloped wilderness that can be reached within the hour, the Columbia Gorge, wine country, even the Coast is just 2-3 hours away. It means I’m not getting much artwork done on the weekends, but I think it enriches and helps my muse when I do sit down to paint. I hope your Mexican food was good!

    Reply

  7. To quote Dixon Merritt,

    A wonderful bird is the pelican,
    His bill will hold more than his belican,
    He can take in his beak
    Enough food for a week
    But I’m damned if I see how the helican!

    We.have pelicans here in Wisconsin. Those impressive big white ones. When I was a kid, we didn’t have any. Now there are lots. It makes me happy.

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  8. Pelican pausing..I love the sound of that your painting is gorgeous..and I too miss the sounds of the waves..I do have a beach close but have been hesitant to go…time for a trip…Enjoy your lazy weekend ..you deserve it…it used to be my favorite time of the week…😊 Retirement has its perks yet sometimes I do miss looking forward to the weekends…and being lazy…

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  12. Great ‘peli’ Charlie! My husband and I had the privilege of rescuing one stuck in fishing line, a long time ago in Mexico. I was way more afraid of that clacking beak than he was of me! They are gorgeous when they ride air currents upwelling from the ocean over our beaches. If you and Phillippe make it out to Cali,stand on the cliffs over any beaches, especially in the south and a squadron of pelies will glide by in formation almost at eye level!

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  14. I can hear the waves crashing. What a lovely picture. We can see pelicans on the beach here in Oregon occasionally. Fun to watch. Unfortunately beachcombing isn’t an option for us right now. Too many people down there.

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  15. Hello Charlie,

    I really loved the title of today’s post. Before I read the post, my mind quickly made a list of things a pelican would pause at a beach and do… one of those things was “watching a little girl making sand castles and wanting to be of help”, another was “watching a man painting a picture and wondering what on earth this human was upto”. I love that you’re in the mood for relaxation. You’d said sometime last month that you’d be taking a break from work in August to think about your book. I hope that happens soon. 🙂

    Love,
    Mugdha

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Mugdha! 😃💕 Aww I love those ideas for the pelican, especially stopping to help make sand castles. Yeah, I can’t seem to find a timing that works to take off work, but I’m well… working on it! 😉

      Reply

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