Written by This was the last letter of the alphabet with any real options, and although I was seriously considering a much-suggested wombat, which are incredibly cute, we ended up with this walrus instead. Maybe it’s because I opted for an emu instead of an elephant several letters ago, but I just needed to doodlewash something chubby with tusks. And a walrus definitely fits the chubby description, clocking in at an incredible 4,000 pounds. But unlike humans, their blubber is actually necessary for survival and protects them in icy waters.
The most distinct part of walruses are their long ivory tusks. The tusks are actually modified extra large canine teeth that never stop growing. What’s unusual about these teeth is that they aren’t used for gathering food but to help the walrus pull itself out of the water or make breathing holes in ice floes. The secondary use is as a weapon against other male walruses to display dominance during mating season and get the attention of the waiting females.
Walrus prefer to feast on bottom feeders like shellfish, so they can dive 260 feet (79 meters) to the bottom of the ocean to have a snack. It also pretty handy then that they can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes. Once on the bottom of the ocean, they simply use their very sensitive 450 whiskers, called vibrissae, to help them locate food. Pretty cool, I thought, and then got distracted and ended my quick and dirty research. Next up, we’ve finally made it to the option-free “X” in our little alphabet adventure, and just 3 more letters in total to go now!
About the Doodlewash
M. Graham watercolors: Quinacridone Gold, Pyrrol Red, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Neutral Tint and Titanium White Gouache. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon black ink in a 5″ x 8″ 140 lb. (300 gsm) Pentalic Aqua Journal
Your walrus is very loveable. On of my favorite animals. Beautifully rendered Charlie.
And, don’t forget the Beatles
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’ joob
Thanks Sharon! 💕😃 And super high praise since it’s one of your fave animals! And yes!! I should have mentioned the Beatles!! Hehe
Haha!
WOWZA! 450 whiskers! I had no idea! 😄👍🎨 A Wonderful Walrus doodlewash, Charlie! 💕
Neither did I!! Lol learning soooo much on this one!! Thanks Jill!! 💕😃So glad you liked him!! I wasn’t sure he would appear out of all that blubber at first! 😊Lol
And what a handsome fellow you have created! Well done Charlie! 🙂
Awww thanks Susan! 💕😃 I always thought that walruses look rather regal. Hehe
W for wow!
Hehe!! Thanks so much Catherine!! 💕😃
My son’s class from a couple of years ago had such a funny story about saying Walrus in a test. The teacher who didn’t think it through banned the word making it the thing to say. Then anything at all that looked like walrus tusks was put in their mouths. It was hilarious!
That’s awesome! Yeah, if you want kids to do something, the easiest way is to tell them they can’t! lol… works for some adults too actually. hehe
Ok – don’t you DARE tell us you whipped this up in a hurry. You have been working on this one since the letter A – right?! OMG – the realistic details! If you did this in anything less than 300 hours, I must watch a video! Seriously amazing! And now… I am concerned….. x y z = 3 days. 26, 27, 28. What is Charlie going to doodlewash on February 29th Leap Year!?! Oh the anticipation! And “x”…. must be something x-ray – eh? <3
Awww thanks Jodi!! 😊❤️ And Uhmm… I wish I had 300 hours to paint!! But that would be like 10 months for me as I only have an hour a day! And these are cooked up with same day delivery still. I do a quick sketch at the end of my lunch break and then doodlewash it when I get home while dinner is cooking. Hehe And yep…it’s all easy to guess from here! So few options. There’s only 3 pages left in my sketchbook too so that worked out great! The 29th day will be a reveal of a couple ones I’m swapping out and plan to do this weekend, and the reveal of the ABC poster I’m creating! 😉👍🏻
So exciting. Can’t wait now!!
Lovely, handsome walrus. I agree with Jodi, give us your time to create this beauty!
Thanks Cathe!! 💕😃 Glad you like him! And Jodi told me not to say exactly, so I’ll tell you… Lol… 8 minute sketch at lunch and 50 minutes of painting before dinner. That’s roughly the same amount of time for every one I’ve done (give or take 10 minutes) as it’s all the time I have to paint each day lately. 😊
What Catherine J. said :-D!!! I very much like how you rendered the highlights. He carries his weight in a very handsome way. Maybe it has something to do with those sexy whiskers and mighty tusks? Enjoying the animal series extra much (I stole that from Teresa). So curious about X. More options if you go with scientific names. I’ve been meaning to verify your lion facts but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Their sexual stamina is somewhat astounding!
Thanks so much, Myr! I💕😃’m so glad you liked him!! Yeah… I think it’s easier to pull of such a chubby stature when you have sexy whiskers and tusks! Lol So glad you’re enjoying the series! And haha! Let me know if you find something different on lion mating. I’m no journalist and have the attention span of a goldfish so I don’t cross check my facts. 😊 hehe
😀 . I only crosscheck things when they are really surprising or I want to find out more. Still haven’t checked up on lion mating. I’ll let you know when I do – I wonder why they evolved that way. You may have a short attention span but you’re really good at picking out interesting information and summarizing it in an engaging way. Thanks for the educational and entertaining reads!
Thanks so much!! What a sweet thing to say…hehe… I’m glad you’re enjoying these! And I think the facts are mostly right. Lol
Wow, Charlie! The walrus even looks like he just came out of the water! Love the way he glistens! And what will you choose for X? 😜
Thanks Kari!! 💕😃 glad ya like him!! And I’m thinking they’ll be no real surprises on XYZ! 😉hehe
Nice work on the rolls of skin. You are really discovering so much about these creatures. Their features are all so different. You capture these differences so well.
Awww…Thanks so much Carmel! 😃😃Yeah, I’m learning fun facts and learning so much about them visually. The different textures are so interesting and I’ve never looked this closely at these animals. I feel like a kid going to the zoo for the first time! 😊
As good looking as Mr. Walrus is, I must say again that he is not nearly as good looking and dapper as you! <3 😀 I think Myriam has a great idea about including scientific names in your search for something that starts with an X to doodlewash!
Awww …you’re too sweet, Teresa! ❤️😃 Kerfe asked if we were going to see me dressed as a walrus for selfie art day…and I almost said this is me dressed as a walrus. Hehe…but that doesn’t really count. Plus…it would thankfully take 10 of me to fill out a walrus costume properly.
LOL!!
Beautiful walrus, Charlie! You’ve got the wrinkly skin spot on, and show very well the scale of the creature – he looks like a small mountain range lying there! Still charming, though, in his unique way, just not sure I’d particularly want one in my pond; not sure how the seals would take to a new housemate.
Definitely looking forward to seeing what comes up tomorrow!
Awww thanks Jacob!! I was worried about getting the scale across with no background or anything else for reference. They’re so big!! And yeah…leave this one… The seals are far cuter and would only be horribly jealous. The next three will basically be the standard fare as animal charts go. Everything Z is about a Zebra from a shark to crosses with one like a Zorse. But my favorite is Zonkey! Lol
Haha, zonkey – what a great name, and they look marvellous! You need to do a zonkey!
LOL… maybe one day, but now that I’m assembling a poster, I’ll be sticking with the more mundane zebra. 😉
Fiiinneee – it’s just as well that I can count on your mundane zebra being cool!
Amazing facts on your wonderfully painted walrus.
Thanks so much Teri!! 💕😃 Glad you liked this one!!
wow wonderfully wrinkled walrus! gorgeous gradation of the brindled browns for the walrus Charlie. Didn’t think I’d be overly keen on a walrus. but, with your brindling effect, wow! I do now 🙂
Thanks so much Debi! 💕😃 Yeah…I wasn’t sure about a walrus either, but figured I’d give it a go and see. Beyond the tusks it’s just all brindled blubber! 😳Lol But so glad you like how it turned out!
Walrus would not be an easy thing to paint…this one’s cute! 😀
This was really challenging…not a lot of hard lines in this guy…just fat! Lol Thanks so much Janina! 💕😃
yeah, I agree…could end up looking just like a fat pastie with head and flippers! LOL. I wonder what he would’ve looked like front-on head only? Cheeri-pip! 🙂
Like tusks stuck in a brown blubber ball!! Lol
This fellow has real gravitas – which somewhat consoled me for missing my wombat.
Awww…sorry about the wombat…but I did manage a quokka once and they’re cute in a similar way! Hehe 😊Glad ya liked my walrus!
What a cute whale! I guess I can forgive you for this giant blubber ball, as they are pretty adorable, plus one of my fav childhood books was about a walrus that collected hats….miss B’s bonnets.
Hehe…he’s a big blubbery thing isn’t he? Thanks so much! And that book sounds so adorable… I was thinking this one needed a top hat. 😉
This qualifies as a selfie, as you are the walrus! I second Sharon! Well done, Charlie! Looking forward to see where you are going next. 💜
Haha! Thanks sis!! 😊💜 This butterball was super challenging. Too many soft lines. 😉lol Glad you liked him!!
You’re good at soft lines…….good at soft lines……goooooood at …… (Are you feeling hypnotized yet lol?)
Haha! I am!! Thank you!!
I had to laugh with Sharon…immediately I’m singing “I am the eggman…”
as to x…an x-ray of animal bones? x-men?? I’m stumped. (K)
haha… Yeah… after Sharon’s comment I can’t get the song out of my head! lol And for X, there’s only one creature with a non-scientific name I could find. 😉
I’m looking forward to it!
i learned something new about walrus teeth. haha. nice walrus, charlie!
Lol…me too!! I didn’t know that! Glad ya liked my walrus doodlewash! 😃
I do love your walrus, but a wombat would have been wonderful. Did you know Wombats have tough butts? The thick leathery skin is a protection against attack when they are burrowing. For some reason, my husband finds this vastly amusing, and brings it up out of the blue on occasion, just so he can giggle about it.
haha! You had me at “tough butts” LOL Love it! Yeah, a wombat would have been so much better! 😃💕