Chrysanthemum And Blue Bird Watercolor Painting Illustration
By Charlie

Pretty Things

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Chrysanthemum” today, I doodled a couple of them with a tiny blue bird hiding in the mix. Though I’ve now gone months without seeing very many people, it’s nice to have nature to visit in real life and in my sketchbook. There’s actually a house in my neighborhood that has chrysanthemums growing in the front, but I didn’t think they would appreciate me taking one, so I just sketched something from memory. Looking back, I have to giggle at myself that I actually avoided sketching flowers when I first started. In my more detailed style, they seemed overly complex. But, as it turns out, that’s also what makes them really fun to draw and color. I got a little carried away with my drawing on this one, as I just went into a sort of zone and couldn’t stop. That’s one of my favorite things about sketching stuff. Going to a space between reality and imagination and just happily playing there for awhile.

This afternoon, I had to go to the dentist for a regular checkup. Of course, these days, nothing is really regular, so I had to follow the new procedures, which include wearing a mask upon entry and exit and getting my temperature checked before they would see me. My temperature was actually a touch cooler than the perfect norm, but this is weirdly normal for me. I also tend to have a little lower blood pressure as well. Then my dentist appeared wearing a helmet and what appeared to be a full blue HAZMAT suit. The only thing I could recognize were her eyes, which was nice, but it still felt a bit like I was some sort of extraterrestrial they had just discovered and were trying to save. This made the entire experience a touch surreal, but I did feel truly safe. And, for anyone curious, I also got a good report on my teeth, though it came with the requisite plea to floss more.

Next up will be an eye appointment as I was just informed via text that I’m overdue for that. Indeed, I’m at that age where my eyes keep changing in inexplicable ways, making glasses a touch more complex to create. The benefit of the weird shifts in vision is that I can now lay in bed in the evening and read a book without needing glasses at all. This is certainly handy since I tend to fall asleep while reading and then I don’t have to worry about still having my glasses on. The falling asleep bit is a touch frustrating as I’m currently trying to get through a book and it’s taking me longer than it normally does. With the extra daylight, we end up going to bed a bit later and that doesn’t give me as much time to read before sleeps overtakes me. But, I do love the extra light at this time of year. It’s wonderful to have the sun shining longer into the evening, so I get more time to enjoy the pretty things.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Opus (Vivid Pink), Cobalt Turquoise, Indigo, and Ultramarine (Green Shade). 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!
 Chrysanthemum And Blue Bird 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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28 thoughts on “Pretty Things”

  1. This is beautiful Charlie! Getting to see nature is one of the perks of being home. I really need to get over my not wanting to leave the house and go outside to sketch. They want some of us artists to paint downtown on each Saturday of our socially distant art walk which starts is just over a week away. I almost hyperventilate just thinking of doing that but my storefront window is on the outskirts so by sitting in front of my window some people might walk down that street to have a look.🤔 We shall see.

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    1. It is ok to take your time but don’t let great opportunities pass you by. I have developed the same kind of anxiety about driving, and really am shirking my world. I used to drive over 120 km in my daily commute and had no hesitation to jump in the car and go anywhere. Now I can’t make myself go further than 10km from home…. IKEA is only a 20 minute drive and I really want to go but I can’t seem to get up the nerve to do the drive. I am working on iit and I hope you can do the same you are so talented and your community will miss you if you don’t make the art walk I am rooting for you!

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  2. Floss those pearly whites! Joe was given some of these floss tools like tiny mouse brushes. They work very well and he went from a twice a year flosser to a daily one!

    I had to wear a retainer when I was young, so good dental hygiene is built into my DNA.

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  4. I’m old enough now that I need to get classes for the small print. Fortunately, my kindle lets me bump up the font size, but it’s harder and harder to read some of the important stuff, like the instructions on medicine bottles. Good luck with your eye appointment.

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  9. Gorgeous! So cheery. They come in so many shapes and sizes, like Dahlia’s. I had to laugh at your dentist story. I had to go about a month ago because I was having problems with a tooth. I felt like I was going into surgery, everyone was geared up. Come to find out, I had been grinding my teeth. No problems. I just have to wear a mouth guard. The problem did go away.

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