July is World Watercolor Month!

/ Jodi

July is World Watercolor Month!

Hi Friends!

It’s been a while!  Hope you all are well!   What crazy times we are living in right now.  Five months ago when I stepped back to take a break from blogging, I don’t think any of us knew what lay ahead with this worldwide Coronavirus pandemic and quarantining and all the changes that have taken place in our country and world!

Hubby and I are supposed to be on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation right now in Italy celebrating a very special family event, but instead, we toasted with Italian wine last evening  in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania with those we were going to be with at a social distanced outdoor get-together and Zoom event.  We cried and laughed and felt grateful that we are all still here and healthy!

But what brings me back here to the blog is a very special event created four years ago by a very special man that honors me with the privilege of allowing me to be a small part in it:   World Watercolor Month and the amazing Charlie O!

Charlie O’Shields, the creator of Doodlewash®, founded World Watercolor Month in 2016. His own love of the medium led to the creation of a blog and social artist movement dedicated to promoting and connecting the vast community of watercolor artists all over the world. After hosting a few early art challenges, celebrating various fun and delightfully obscure holidays, it became apparent that there wasn’t an official celebration of the medium he and so many of us love. Over 18,000 applications are submitted for “official days” each year and only 30 are added to the calendar so it was a long shot, but the registrars agreed with the cause and now it’s official! July is now and forever World Watercolor Month!

Charlie and I started watercolor painting and blogging around the same time, and we immediately became lifelong friends.  If you are not following him on Doodlewash, you are missing out on a very bright spot every day!

I can’t wait to make a commitment to pick up my brushes and paint every day in July again!  But beyond being a celebration and inspiration for those of us who love to paint in watercolor, it is an opportunity to raise awareness for the importance of art and creativity in the world.  It is an opportunity to help children in need of art supplies and art education around the globe through our partnership with The Dreaming Zebra Foundation. 

If you would like to purchase this year’s World Watercolor Pouch, the proceeds directly help provide art and music supplies to underprivileged children throughout the world.

So what else have I been up to?  Well – I started a new job four days before COVID-19 quarantine and work-from-home status hit, so I have been busy learning and growing at a wonderful non-profit organization, Green Building Alliance, where I get to participate in helping make our communities and world a greener, more sustainable and equitable place where everyone can thrive.  Hubby is an “essential” worker in the community, so he has been working hard through all of this to keep our community operating.  My grandie girls are growing and thriving, and I am so fortunate to get to spend time with them each week.

Here is some art I’ve created over the past few months.  My DIL, Colleen and I, still have our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY shop, and we enjoy creating art and home decor.

 

 

I occasionally dabble in acrylic abstract art too.  Here I am with my most recent and largest to date piece.

And my dear friend Ellen, asked me to add this “poem” to last year’s World Watercolor Month bee painting, so I created cards from it and love them!

Hope to keep in touch a little more in July, and hope you will join in on the fun and supporting World Watercolor Month!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

46 thoughts on “July is World Watercolor Month!”

  2. Hi Jodi… nice to see you again, and (it goes without saying) nice paintings!
    I’m itching to pick up the brushes once again, even if just to see what messes I come up with this time! Not long off July now.
    Take care! 😀

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    • Thank you, Peter! We were soooooo looking forward to our trip to Italy. Have never been there yet. Hopefully another time. Nice to hear from you! Thank you for checking in. Hope you and Gertrude are doing well!!

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  5. Jodi…so good to hear from you! Looks like you have been very busy. I too
    have been busy. Over the winter I have played with colored pencils and I find that I like it. More forgiving. Lois Feidler
    P.S. Keep up the good work!

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  12. “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same.” – Flavia Weedn. I consider you to be one of those people. On May 12th in 2017, I wandered into “The Creative Life In Between” and stayed by becoming a follower. As a silent follower in the beginning, I was soon a rather loquacious one and introduced Benjamin too. A late June 2017 post with the watercolor and poem about “A Duck Named Chuck” remains a favorite of ours. That eventually led to the October 10, 2017 post “It’s All My Friends”! Which, by the way, is easily accessed by Benjamin and myself through a thumbnail at the top of the computer page. But this does not even begin to touch the many many times throughout the ensuing years that your posts brightened and enlightened my days. Benjamin’s “My Jodi” has touched his young life in so many positive and lasting ways. This post is such a delightful surprise and a gift! The watercolors are all so very beautiful, but nothing is more beautiful than the photograph of “Our Jodi”…you outshine the lovely acrylic abstract! You are a very dear friend and I treasure the memories that you have given me. WHAK (With Hugs And Kisses)!! Thank-YOU! P.S. Two deliveries arrived today and the contents are phenomenal!! If anyone is thinking of purchasing these cards, they will be making an excellent choice and will not be disappointed! P.P.S. I truly hope that you will share your art through some blog posts in this July’s Official World Watercolor Month…Congratulations on that remarkable achievement too!

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    • Oh Ellen – You have such a special way of always making my day with the sweetest things you say! Thank you!! I have grown to love you and Benjamin so! And I have never even see you! LOL! Thank you for your kindness always! Hoping to be around more on the blog in July! 🙂 ❤

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  13. I’m so sorry your trip to Italy was cancelled, Jodi! This virus has caused so many people’s dreams to be postponed…but you’ll notice I said postponed, and not cancelled. You’ll get to go to Italy one day. I have full confidence in the ability of science to come up with a vaccine or a treatment (or both!) for this disease eventually. Meanwhile, it’s okay to mourn. I know I would!
    I love that you are still doing this watercolor challenge, and would be happy to donate to the cause. It sounds as if your new job is a perfect fit for you, and you are certainly doing great things with your art too. Your creations always make me smile…I thank you for that. Take care…

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  14. Love the new Bag. Your hummer is beautiful. My favorite is your Bee poem & painting. Your work is lovely ” just gettingbetter all the time”. That little girl is adorable, is she your granddaughter? Stay safe, keep spreading joy thru your arts. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful.

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    • Awww. Thanks! So sweet to hear from you Dena! The little dancer girl was created as a donation for a local dance team fundraiser and loosely based off of my love and adoration of my little grandie girls 😉❤️

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  16. hi Jodi! I have missed your blog! Your ballerina is adorable! Your painting is really great, love the abstract and the collage style pieces, and the tulips are fabulous! I have been trying to keep up with the Doodlewash monthly challenges since last November, and I feel like my art has really improved, and I’ve had a lot of fun interpreting the prompts and trying new techniques. I am thrilled to learn that now July is officially World Watercolor Month!! Not only is Charlie great and fun, this is such a wonderful cause. Your pouch is so cute, I hope it’s sales raise a ton of $ ❤️
    Jenna

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    • Hi Jenna! Great to hear from you! I’ve been catching a lot of your painting on IG. ❤️. Always a fan of your beautiful art! I’m Really looking forward to joining in and pushing my art self a bit more! Been working a bit more with new job. I love it. But I do miss painting as much.
      Ps. My new boss’s name is Jenna 😉. She is so wonderful! Must be something about that name 🥰

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  17. Namaste, My Jodi! It’s me, Benjamin! Buzz the Bumblebee is my most favorite Bumblebee ever! I love that you put the poem on his painting for me. It made me so happy, and Gem too! I am sending you neckbuster hugs and kisses cause they won’t give you the bad Coronavirus germs. They are safe and you don’t need to wear a mask. I love you so much! Thank you and Bye for now!

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  18. Nice to see you back in blogland, Jodi. Congratulations on your new job. I have a feeling it fits you better than the last one. Your paintings are alive with color, much needed going through this pandemic. The abstract acrylic is absolutely beautiful! And the bee poem made me smile. I finished the first daft of a book. After professional editing, I’m extending it to include more tension & a Berlin Wall incident in 1962. No traveling to visit family this year. FaceTime, texts & calls only. Getting used to the new normal. 📚🎶 Christine

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