Grey Crowned Crane With Baby Chick Watercolor Painting Illustration
By Charlie

When I’m Older

Written by Charlie O'Shields

For our prompt of “Crane” today, I chose a crowned crane with her baby chick. I can only imagine the sheer wonder a baby chick must feel upon seeing mom with her elegant golden crown and lovely feathers. It must be something along the lines of, “Wow, I’ll turn into that when I’m older!” Indeed, it’s quite a transformation as the little chicks don’t really reveal anything when you look at them as to what they will one day become. Also, I think I’ve felt quite like a baby chick during my art journey. I started by simply sketching stuff and now I’ve moved to sketching stories. Or, at least the start of them for now. When I first started sketching, I would just pick one thing to focus on and try my hand at sketching that. After over five years, I know that I’m still growing up artistically, but it’s been fun to put all of that stuff I learned how to sketch along the way into my own scenes born out of my imagination. Yet, not much has changed from the start. I’m still growing up. One little sketch at a time.

I guess for artists, the ones we look up to and hope to be like in the future are the masters that inspire us most. For me, this is primarily all of the illustrators from the books I adored as a child. And, of course my mother, who was a master crafter. This is likely what gives my sketches a touch of a vintage look sometimes. I just loved the books that had real animals drawn as such and doing things like a human might. Or taking a nearly natural scene like this one and adding a touch of extra color, expression and love. In truth, looking back, even when I was just making a single thing, I always imbued it with a bit of a storybook feel. I guess, it’s how I see life. No matter how bleak the news becomes or what latest awful thing is happening in the world, I choose to imagine a better one. I dream of a world that’s full of happy little animals and harmony. A visual that reminds us all of the good things that have happened in the past or might actually be happening somewhere at this very moment.

Sure, it’s just that little child inside me as always, who still looks up to see a dazzling future full of hope and wonder. The same one that has trouble deciding which awesome thing he’d like to focus on next and instead tries them all at once. Truly, Philippe is a saint for putting up with all of my crazy whims that change so often. He still cheers me on, even when he’s never sure what direction I’ll head next. I think that’s the best kind of support one could ever hope to have. And my hope is that I can keep right on making images that provide a little hope for these troubled times. Beyond the changes I would like to see happen in the world is a world full of things that I wouldn’t change if I could. These are the things I sketch. The simpler things in life that share a touch of humanity, even with no humans present. I’m not entirely sure where all of this is leading me to next exactly, but I’m excited to find out what will happen when I’m older.

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About the Doodlewash

Da Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Opus (Vivid Pink), Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Ultramarine (Green Shade), Terra Cotta, and Indigo. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with black ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Click here!
 Grey Crowned Crane With Baby Chick 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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34 thoughts on “When I’m Older”

  2. Charlie, you and Phillippe have hearts of gold. Remember to give him a Lindt chili chocolate bar. Imported by a Canadian company but you can likely get them there. You are inspiring me to make a little painting or sketch every day although my sketches don’t take paint which is okay too. Take care and keep up your great works.

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  8. Absolutely gorgeous Crowned Crane. So beautiful, Charlie! 💜 Yeah, I wonder what my life will turn out like when I get to back to living. I am excited, though. I get anxious sometimes because I want to hurry and get moving. The Lord has always promised me that the best is yet to come; that my best days are ahead. To say that I am excited and ready is an understatement. 😊

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  9. Baraboo WI is home to the International Crane Foundation. I’ve been there quite a few times and these pompom headed cranes are spectacular in real life! If you’re lucky you might see these and other cranes dancing. We have sandhill cranes living right by my house. They are often in the fields right by us and we get to see them dancing in the spring. We drove out to Nebraska twice to see the sandhill crane migration on the Platt river. Thousands of these guys jumping and bugling. It is truly an incredible sight and if you ever get a chance, you should take it.

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  12. Your cranes are beautiful! I just celebrated with my mama crane, her 80th birthday! I still look at her the same way because she still looks at the world and her loved ones with child like wonder. Seeing “it,” is a lifelong venture I never want to be too “mature” for!

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  14. Beautiful picture of a mother crane and her chick which reminds me of myself and my cat. Can you paint some pictures of deer, such a beautiful animal loved by all. Thank you, Charlie.

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