Written by For our prompt of “Soap,” the first thing that came to mind was soap bubbles, which I adored as a kid. In truth, if I’m handed a bottle of soap bubbles as an adult, it’s entirely impossible to resist trying to blow some bubbles. I’m not particularly good at it and rarely have the patience to achieve a giant and impressive bubble, but it’s still super fun. Every dog I’ve ever had has also loved soap bubbles, chasing after them and biting them, including my first dog, a black and white border collie named Misty. Actually, there is one dog who hasn’t shown any interest whatsoever and that’s our current dog Phineas. When he was very young, he’d chase the occasional ball, but the game never involved him actually bringing it back to you so the game ended as quickly as it began. He used to play with stuffed toys, but appears to have grown out of that phase entirely. These days, he just sits there like Yoda and appears to be judging us for something unknown that we’ve apparently failed to do, but it’s still rather cute. His wise and stoic demeanor makes my own crazy and playful one seem even more childish. And that’s just fine. I may be the oldest in our little family, but it’s still nice to know I’m the youngest at heart.
Today, Philippe and I went to World Market and I saw a bag of Haribo sour gummies that were labeled with the impossibly irresistible phrase of “exotic flavors.” One of the flavors was gooseberry, which I’ve never once seen in a candy before. Gooseberry was my absolute favorite flavor of pie when I was growing up and I used to pick them with my grandmother. So, yeah, I bought a couple bags of the stuff, telling Philippe, as ever, that it’s for my coworkers. I will, of course, share, as I really only want to try those gooseberry gummies to see what they taste like. I was thrilled to find these, but we’d actually gone there to get a French sea salt that Philippe likes. They’d rearranged the store and the salt was nowhere to be found, so he was not pleased. Thankfully, there were plenty of distractions in the form of Halloween decorations to restore his mood. And I was still gleefully clutching my bag of gummies so, for me at least, it was a perfectly productive shopping experience.
My only other bit of shopping today was a trip to the art store to get a single tube of paint. I was so proud of myself when, after looking at everything in the store, I managed to walk to the register with just that single tube of paint. Of course, once I was at the register, there was a Raphaël soft aqua travel brush on sale, that Philippe pointed out to me. It was in a copper-colored metal capsule and so shiny! And since he showed it to me, I’m not at all responsible for the subsequent impulse purchase that happened next. It’s pointy and fun and I used it for today’s sketch. Yeah, this ridiculously simplistic description is precisely why I don’t write the reviews you find here. But, I love my shiny new brush and there’s always something wonderful that comes with those visceral reactions that you can’t quite rationally justify. They come with an equally intangible ideal that can only be described as pure joy. And, as much as I do try to be rational much of the time, I love days like today where I just DO what my heart tells me. And today, my heart wanted a shiny new brush and some gooseberry gummies. It always makes me happy to just be that little boy again and do those little things that simply make me smile, like playing with soap bubbles.
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About the DoodlewashDa Vinci Paint Co.: Aureolin, Vermilion, and Indigo (my “Vintage” Trio!). 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! |
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Great bubble Charlie!! Simpler times! You do better at holding on to that inner child than most of us. Don’t loose that!
Thanks so much, Karen! 😃💕Yeah, I think holding onto one’s inner child is the secret to a long and happy life!
I am a new member. I have something to post but doodle wash does not show up as one of my groups on Facebook.
Hello my friend! Doodlewash is it’s own social network, so you can log into doodlewash.com and join us there! – https://doodlewash.com/community/ – On Facebook there’s also a World Watercolor Group, but this one is only watercolor (not ink and pencil drawings, etc) – https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldwatercolor/
I thought today’s painting looked a little different. As good as always, but a bit different in the way the paint moves. I’ve only ever tried one Raphael brush and it was very soft. Much softer than the Versatil. I look forward to seeing what else you do with yours!
Thanks, Sandra! 😃💕Yeah, this brush is nice, and has a nice point, which is good for detail in my tiny sketchbook. But I think I still prefer the Escoda most!
Oh love love love this!!! Dogs do love bubbles… well most of them lol. So beautiful!!!! Great minds both paint bubbles lol. Sounds like you had a very productive day any day to have new art supplies to play with and gummy bears!!! I do not believe I am familiar with that flavor too. Bet its really good 🙂
Thanks so much, Lisa! 😃💕 Yeah, my mind when straight to soap bubbles as well… hehe… but of course it had to be a dog as I don’t like drawing people! lol And gooseberry is something I realize now, many haven’t heard of, but it was a family favorite growing up!
I could never figure out why soap bubbles don’t taste bad to dogs. Our cat, Kirbie, ate a piece of hot pepper off the kitchen floor once and she started shaking her head and drooling. I was worried. Soap can’t taste good to them.
Yeah, I don’t think they actually get much soap in their mouths… though their faces are rather clean after! hehe 😉
Loved the post and the doodle! With Halloween preps and shops full of theme candies, I’d find it hard to resist from buying Haribo or other sweet stuff. I like the picture you paint of Phineas😀
Thanks, Zertab! 😃💕 This dog isn’t Phineas, but more like my first dog as a child. As for candy… I can’t resist it… from now through Christmas, I’ll really have to pace myself! lol
They make catnip bubbles for cats too. We use them at the shelter to give them something to do.
Oh wow! That’s awesome! 😃💕 I bet they adore that!
I like how you have express the motion on this watercolor,. I feel the dog’s joy in playing with boubles…. Good job.
Thanks so much, Walt! 😃💕 Glad you enjoyed this one!
Absolutely love today’s work! My dogs are also fans of bubbles, in fact the whole household comes out to play when they come out! Also, another gooseberry fan here! Must keep an eye out for these sweets…or just go and bake a pie 🙂
Thanks so much! 😃💕 Yay to bubble fans! That’s awesome! And wow… yay to another gooseberry fan! I say… bake that pie! hehe… sooooo delicious!
I indeed love the color of your painted bubble, Charlie. 😍It’s unique and made me thinking about this sketch. And so fun when seeing you also like playing with soap bubbles 😉.
Thanks so much, Loan! 😃💕 Glad you liked this! And yeah… bubbles are just so much fun to play with!
Great action painting of the dog Charlie.
Thanks so much, Gary! 😃💕
Wow, a dog in motion! Well done! As far as your purchases today, it’s the little things in life that make us happy. I saw an antique head vase in an estate sale ad this week. I really wanted it because her dress was s orange and her hat was black with an orange ribbon. Perfect for Halloween decor. We were about tenth in line. We had been to this house for the part one sale the previous weekend, so I tried to figure out what room it was in. Being of a shorter height and a regular at DL, I can manuever through a crowd like Dash! Happy to say I was successful and it made my weekend! Now to go buy some black flowers with some long black feathers. 😉
Thanks so much, Lori! 😃💕Oh wow! YAY! Congrats on getting the vase! Sounds like it’s going to be awesome for Halloween!
My Grandmother had a gooseberry bush on her ditch bank. It is the only gooseberry bush I have seen, and the only fresh gooseberries I have tasted. I love them. I once found canned gooseberries at a market near here. They were mushy and awful. Just remembering that gooseberry bush makes me as happy as your bubble chasing dog looks, and he looks absolutely joyful!
Aww yay! 😃💕 I adore gooseberries, but only ever had the fresh variety. We got some canned ones as well, and they failed to deliver on the memories.