Kitten Cat Pouncing On Mushroom Smelling Flower Watercolor Illustration
By Charlie

Taking A Breather

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For Day 26 of World Watercolor Month and our optional prompt of “Breathe,” I sketched a little kitten taking a break and resting on a mushroom while enjoying the sweet fragrance of a flower. I’m a big fan of spring when the first blossoms begin to appear and they fill the air with such a lovely smell. By summer, everything is hot and humid here and it’s hard to smell anything at all. Taking a little imaginary break in a storybook garden, however, is always a good way to enjoy that feeling again. I don’t take as many breaks as I should during the day, but I always take a sketching break and it’s often the best part of my day. I get a bit lost in the lines as I create something around lunchtime that I’ll color a bit later in the day. I only paint at home just before dinner, so it’s my second little break of the day when I get to take out my paints and start to color! I don’t have a plan when I begin. I just go with the flow and see what colors call to me in the moment. It’s fun to see a black and white world become more colorful and alive. I’m still that little boy with a pack of crayons, happily coloring away as the image begins to change and become something brand new. It’s really the best way to refresh and renew, so that’s why I’m always trying to get more people to do it!

I’ve actually tried to get all of my friends to sketch stuff with me, but only a few have every tried to do it. Philippe used to sketch and paint more traditionally, but now he only sketches on an iPad. In truth, sketching for me is a solitary activity where I’m just in my own little bubble. I’m sure I could sketch in a group, but I prefer to use that time to just curl up in my own world and thoughts. It helps to me to recharge after whatever stresses were thrown at me that day. So, this approach works perfectly when I come out of that bubble and share what I make after I’ve made it. Then I can be totally social and interact and see what others make and it’s super fun! But yeah, that little bit of sketching time is rather precious to me and it’s the one time during the day where I feel like I just get to “be,” without having to worry about anything else in that moment.

Then, of course, after I’ve made my little sketch and colored it with watercolor, I then get to spend time with Philippe and my pup Elliott. That’s my other little bubble of a world that makes me infinitely happy. Well, Elliott can also add a bit of stress if he’s in one of his moods where he gets a bit puppy crazy and starts to do things he shouldn’t do in order to get more attention. But, he eventually chills out and waits for the big adventure at the close of the evening, which is really just an evening walk where he gets to chase a stick for awhile. Yet, each of those little moments of my routine are perfectly wonderful. No matter what, I always make time for the things I love to do and the people I love most. That, in the end, is what you’ll always find me doing, whenever I’m taking a breather.

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Sketching Stuff Coloring Set – Da Vinci Watercolors: Charlie O’Blue, Opus (Vivid Pink), Yellow Ochre, Benzimida Orange, Terra Cotta, Ultramarine (Green Shade), and Indigo. ZIG Cartoonist Mangaka Pen with black ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Click Here!
 Kitten Cat Pouncing On Mushroom Smelling Flower Watercolor 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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26 thoughts on “Taking A Breather”

  3. I get the sketching in a bubble! My husband always laughs at me because I’m so easily startled when I’m painting — I tune everything out, and if something does catch my attention I usually jump and scream. A very elegant and lady-like scream of course. That’s why he laughs at me.

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    3. Isn’t it wonderful to be in your place! That’s meditation, that’s the art. I love being in this state and thinking of others like this as they create. I went to an exhibit and there was a glass room. I could see the easel and a few tools. It was dark and I still think of that empty room that once was lit up. I say that is the problem with the world today. That we don’t feel like this enough. We don’t connect with ourselves and that spiritual experience that is truly us. I must say the social version of me that doubts and fears are awful. Oh I now see that so thank you for reminding me and thank you Charlie for this wonderful painting.

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  8. In the spring when the first blooms appear…Oh, I love this! I think these days we are busier with dumb stuff like Instagram , using things we don’t need and all we need to do is just admire what’s around us. I sat the other day at the park near the most beautiful tree. I watched the breeze and I wrote a poem . With moments like that I don’t I can say I didn’t live. This is life.

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  9. Hello Charlie,

    That is such an amazing Doodlewash!! It spawned a bunch of stories in my mind and I got lost for a while in a very happy jumble of thoughts. 🙂 For me, reading these posts everyday is a breather. Am sad WWM is coming to a close soon and we won’t hear from you every day. 🙁 Whatever you do, please don’t stop posting weekly. Pleeeease!

    Love,
    Mugdha

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