7 of 30 Lightning Whelk

Striking (Lightning Whelk)

9" X 12"

Watercolor

$175

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I have a fair amount of Lightning Whelks in my collection. I consider them elegant....sort of the ballet dancer of shells. The one I painted helped me to realize that even in great beauty, there lacks symmetry if you look close enough. The stripes are not evenly spaced. It made me wonder if they work in the way of tree growth rings....farther apart in hearty years and closer together in lean years. I think I will attempt to find out if that is true.

Most of the lightning whelks here are beautifully colored, but small. I seem to remember finding large (but faded) ones on the Gulf Coast as a child.