charlie o’shields

July is World Watercolor Month!

/ Jodi / 46 Comments

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

World Watercolor Month 2019 – I’m an Artist Ambassador Again!

/ Jodi / 54 Comments

World Watercolor Month 2019 – I’m an Artist Ambassador Again!

My amazingly-talented, awe-inspiring, huge-hearted buddy, Charlie O’Shields at Doodlewash is once again hosting the annual World Watercolor Month celebration in July, which he created four years ago to inspire people to paint with watercolor while raising awareness for the importance of art and creativity in the world.

I wish I could express how much joy art has brought to my life since I discovered watercolor painting about four years ago – around the same time as Charlie – when we became blogging friends.   Charlie has taken it to a whole new level with his energy and creativity, while I hobby along, yet he has once again honored me this year with the privilege of being a World Watercolor Month Art Ambassador along with some “real” artists I totally admire!

For the month of July and in honor of World Watercolor Month, I will be donating $1 from every watercolor sale (originals, prints, greeting cards) from our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY shop to Dreaming Zebra which helps support children in need around the world by providing art supplies and art education.Research has shown that art education has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the learning field across socioeconomic boundaries. Unfortunately, arts education programs are too often the first to be cut when cuts are made, so more and more children each year are missing out on the important benefits of art classes.

The Dreaming Zebra Foundation is unique in that they provide an art recycling program that is free to the public. Reusable art & music supplies that would otherwise be discarded, along with new or unsold materials, are donated by individuals and businesses and matched to recipients who have requested those materials for arts education purposes in communities around the world.

This year, Charlie chose my Bumble Bee watercolor, which I love because it also expresses an important environmental message, as the MX2D watercolor to be put on this year’s limited edition Artist Ambassador zippered pouch souvenier merchandise for World Watercolor Month 2019.  100% of the proceeds from the purchase of these zippered pouches will go to the Dreaming Zebra Foundation!

To learn more about World Watercolor Month, click here.

I’ll be sharing more in July, which is only 11 days away!  How is that possible?!  Hope you will join us in the fun – through sharing your art or supporting art through your purchases.

I would also like to give away a couple of these pouches as a way of thanking all of you sweet supporters of The Creative Life in Between and McKinneyX2Designs.  To be entered in the random drawing, simply comment with “I want it!”  I will choose two winners July 1st!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth

World Watercolor Month 2018 – I’m an Artist Ambassador!

/ Jodi / 66 Comments

World Watercolor Month 2018 – I’m an Artist Ambassador!

My amazing buddy, Charlie O’Shields at Doodlewash is at it again!  He is hosting the annual World Watercolor Month celebration in July, which he created three years ago to inspire people to paint with watercolor while raising awareness for the importance of art and creativity in the world.

Art has brought me so much joy since I discovered watercolor about three years ago that I want to be a part of sharing it, so Charlie honored me with the privilege of being a World Watercolor Month Art Ambassador.

For the month of July, I will be donating $1 from every watercolor sale (originals, prints, greeting cards) from our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY shop to Dreaming Zebra which helps support children in need around the world by providing art supplies and art education.Research has shown that art education has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the learning field across socioeconomic boundaries. Unfortunately, arts education programs are too often the first to be cut when cuts are made, so more and more children each year are missing out on the important benefits of art classes.

The Dreaming Zebra Foundation is unique in that they provide an art recycling program that is free to the public. Reusable art & music supplies that would otherwise be discarded, along with new or unsold materials, are donated by individuals and businesses and matched to recipients who have requested those materials for arts education purposes in communities around the world.

And Charlie chose my Yellow Canary, which I created in honor and memory of a special blogging friend, Terry, as the MX2 watercolor to be put on this year’s limited edition Artist Ambassador zippered pouch souvenier merchandise for World Watercolor Month 2018.  100% of the proceeds from the purchase of these zippered pouches will go to the Dreaming Zebra Foundation!

To learn more about World Watercolor Month, click here.

I’ll be sharing more in July, which is only 17 days away – can you believe it?!  Hope you will join us in the fun!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth