Sunshine And Summer Days

We’ve reached the first day of June and a brand new Doodlewash art challenge! This month we’ll be exploring all of the fun things to find outdoors. Whether you sketch and or paint indoors or out is entirely up to you, it’s really just a theme. The first prompt up is “sunshine,” which could be just about anything really, but I chose to try a quick little sketch of sunglasses, as it was wildly sunny here today. Okay, my pair of sunglasses is not in the Doodlewash color shown here, but I’m still on the lookout for them and I’ll be buying them as soon as I find them! Also, it was so unseasonably hot here today that there was a “bad air” warning telling people they should stay indoors. A strange irony for the type of challenge I’ve launched this month, but I had to follow suit as it’s just too damn hot! As a kid, the summer meant a glorious time away from school. A time when you could plan amazing things and do all of the things that you’d been dreaming of trying, but couldn’t quite get to because of all the homework. Despite the fact that I still have to work all summer long, I still end up approaching summer in much the same way!

I have no extra time in the summer, but that little boy in me still longs to experiment and try things that have been lurking in my mind. That little kid was insatiable when it came to trying new things. Each summer would bring so many new projects that he could never quite be able to keep up with them all. And, I guess I have to admit, that the adult version hasn’t changed that much at all. I have lots of new things I’m going to try next, in general, and also definitely when it comes to Doodlewash and my sketches. I want to play and experiment a bit more and do things that might even feel a bit scary at first. The little me was literally never afraid. Absolutely convinced that he could do something simply because he intended to try it (even flying, but that’s another story entirely). Little Charlie would learn that not everything would work out as he intended, but even to this day, Old Charlie can’t seem to stop trying. If you really want to DO something, then honestly, you should always give it a go. The attempt is guaranteed to be rewarding no matter the result.

So for this fabulous July that we’re beginning, I hope each of you will use it as a month to explore whatever creative thing you’ve always wanted to try. Don’t worry about the end result as the end of a story is never quite as engaging as the middle. In the middle you have all of the passion, conflict, and victory that makes up all good stories. The end is simply a resolution, that while hopefully satisfying, was never really the main point in the first place. For my part, I choose to live in the middle of the story, hoping it never really ends. As I dutifully fill my sketchbook each and every day and ramble on a bit here, I’m adding to that story bit by bit. Some days are more exciting than others, to be sure, but I know that moving forward is as simple as turning the page. Each day a fresh new page awaits and I’m thrilled to find out what might happen there. I’m not trying to be an artist. I just want to feel what that little kid felt back during all the sunshine and summer days.

About the Doodlewash Da Vinci Paint Co.: Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Terra Cotta and Cobalt Blue. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with sepia 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!

Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash®, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group™, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing daily watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world! If you’d like to be a guest artist on Doodlewash.com, contact me!