Written by For today’s prompt of “texture,” I decided to attempt to answer it with the weird and wild challenge of painting aluminum foil. Though fabrics were my initial thought, I ended up here in a sea of fractals and unexpected colored reflections. Most of this was the outcome of moving quickly as usual and letting watercolor decide what appeared in what order. The beauty of watercolor painting is that no matter how you do it, it will provide texture to your work. Often, where and whether you like it or not. My outcome ends up realistic, but my approach is sloppy, crazy and all over the place. I love to just attack different areas with colors and speedily bring something rather recognizable into view. In this case, a baked potato that became my unwitting subject and mostly just a prop for the foil itself today. Sorry potato. I love reflective surfaces because they allow me to use bits of color in places that one wouldn’t normally think it should go. You can imagine anything you like when you omit the context, as I do. For instance, I thought of a lovely cookout with friends at dusk, just as the sun was beginning to set and the beers were only just beginning to kick in. A lovely, yet perfectly mundane moment.
Philippe had to shoot some videos for work this evening, so ran out for a bit. I’m still listening to the French music he left playing, having a glass of wine, and writing this post. Without my normal ticking clock of our regular evening, I’m finding this post harder to write. As much as I do feel a bit too caught up in the whirlwind of all I have going on, these very quiet moments make my mind wander even more and my focus goes right out the window. My French is still rather poor, unless I’m reading it, so I have no idea what’s actually being sung, but it’s perfectly lovely. It’s currently a song by The Pirouettes. It all made for a lovely little moment, doing a little bit of watercolor painting and getting lost in the colors and music. After all this time of making daily paintings, this feeling is what brings me back each and every day. I have no clue what will appear on paper or if it will be anything particularly interesting. My goal is simply to enjoy a bit of watercolor painting without worrying too much about what comes out. And whatever comes out, I post it. Even if it’s just a baked potato.
I want to take a quick little moment to thank all of you who show up to see what I make and read these posts. It really means a lot to me to know that anyone at all might be interested in what I make each day. Also, I’ve added a handful of prints and products to my own little shop right here on Doodlewash, if anyone would like to take one of these daily creations home with them. I’ve no idea which one you might like best, so I’m offering up any of them. All you have to do is send me note with a link to the post containing the one you like most and I’ll add it to the shop! Doodlewash, after all, is a group effort of combining our collective memories and emotions together. Those shared little memories of life that make us smile and give us the hope we need to move through the rest of it. There’s a thrilling future ahead, but it’s built on a lovely patchwork of beautiful moments that came before. These are the bits of ephemera that I love to paint most. A world of emotion brought forth in the simplest, sometimes oddest, bits of everyday life, made a little more memorable through the texture of watercolor.
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About the DoodlewashDa Vinci Paint Co.: Yellow Ochre, Opus (Vivid Pink), Leaf Green, 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 the shop! |
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You did it again! Amazing.
Aww thanks so much, Shar! Glad you liked this one! 😃💕
That foil is wonderful!!
Thanks so much, Lisa! 😃💕
Great colors on the foil. This certainly would have been challenging for me. I like your story too and saw the new items on twitter just today. Very nice. Thank you.
Thanks so much, June! 😃💕 So happy you liked this one… yeah… it was a crazy challenge, but fun to try!
Every time I see one of your foil paintings, I think that I must give it a try. I don’t think there is anything mundane about a ‘cookout with friends at dusk, just as the sun was beginning to set and the beers were only just beginning to kick in’. When all the sound and fury of our lives recedes, these are exactly the moments that mean the most! My print arrived, and it is AH-MAY-ZING! I think I picked the perfect painting! I plan to do a review, but my laptop has decided to catch a virus, so it won’t be as soon as I hoped.
Thanks, Sandra! Glad you liked this! 😃💕 And Yay!! So happy you enjoyed the print! I’m so thrilled to know that one of my little doodlewashes will be making its home in yours!!
Fantastic foil! Really, the pleasure is all mine in showing up every day to read your post and see your latest creation. Your words are uplifting and your art is wonderful. Thanks, Charlie.
Thanks so much, Sharon!! 😃💕That’s such a lovely thing to hear!!
Thanks for in this box i hardly get it. Envay
Shine of foil itself says the story . How beautiful u r colour selections is ?. As u r omnipresent charlie .I love × Ur art hahaha
Beautiful 🥀 work.
hehe! Thanks, Snehlata! So happy you liked this one! 😃💕Sometimes my color choices are just intuitive and a bit crazy…. lol… glad you liked it!
I love the colors in your foil–I always enjoy all your reflections. (K)
Thanks, Kerfe! 😃💕 Reflections are the best things in life!
Foil! What a challenge, but you rose to the occasion. It is wonderful to stop by here every day, Charlie. I might not comment as much as I used to, but your paintings and your words still bring lots of light to my days. Thanks!!
Thanks so much, Ellie! 😃💕 So thrilled you liked this one.. it was a crazy challenge! hehe And I’m so thrilled you enjoy these posts. It means the world to me!
The baked potato does well as ‘foil’ of its own – 😉 – though I’m sure it’ll get its moment sooner or later. Colour and texture are fab!
Thanks, Jacob! 😃💕 Hehe… yes, the lowly baked potato is just waiting for its moment to shine as well! lol
Delicious … the potato … Honestly I didn’t eat the foil but it adds
its own deliciousness. My ‘gratitude’ for today is Doodlewash.
Thanks so much! 😃💕 This was such a big challenge… but fun to try! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it!
You are not daunted by challenging subjects, are you? Good for you, Charlie – and you did a great job with the potato nestled in its foil wrapper.
Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 This was a crazy challenge, but fun to try!
“…watercolor painting and getting lost in the colors and music.” Yes-yes-yes! I do it all the time 🙂
“…my approach is sloppy, crazy and all over the place.” Haha–this is good to know! My current style is rather tight and controlled, but I know exactly what you mean.
It’s also good to know why you like painting reflective surfaces, because I stay away from them as much as possible!
Thanks for sharing your stories — they are such fun to read, as well as bringing the whole thing home. Painting tends to be a solitary activity, and it helps to feel part of a community.
Namaste ~~ 🙂 <3
Aww thanks so much, Nancy! 😃💕 Glad you enjoyed this one. Yeah… as much as I can make a think look fairly realistic, my process is crazy! lol I don’t even think it can be called a process… just a lot of happy sloshing bits of color around and a bit different every time. Yeah, I agree, painting can be so solitary which is great, but it’s fun to be a part of community as well!