25 of 30 Pear Whelk (Broken Shell Series)

Fading Away (Pear Whelk)

9" X 12"

Watercolor

$175

Click here to purchase

If you look really closely at this shell, you can see where there was once some golden coloration, but it has been bleached to the point it is not readily noticeable.

I had fully intended to paint this shell "white." Meaning, of course to pick a color of shading and render the shadows monochromatically. I'm not sure how early in the painting I abandoned this plan. First, I masked the whitest whites and put a dark in for the shadow. Next, I painted some purple in the background. After a few coats in the background, I put a light wash of yellow over the shell. Then, I started layering the lines of the tiny ridges. At some point, I must have gotten bored and moved to brighter and brighter colors! Despite the finished product being quite different than my original vision, I'm not at all upset about it. I think it is interesting in the same way as the tulip shell from day 10, but instead of using colors to build a brown, I used them to portray a white shell. I hope you like it!

Jewelry Additions and Presentation

In the last batch of pendants that I created, I used some dichroic glass. This is glass that has metals added. It gives a foil effect. I didn't think I was fond of it, but all of the my favorite new pendants include it, so apparently I am a fan.

I started making these pendants in January or February. I was having fun, but I didn't have a long-term plan to do an entire line of jewelry. Things have kind of snowballed. I have a lot of pendants these days and in several types. I've added a few new ones to Etsy this week, but I will not be adding the entire inventory until after November 8th, when I am doing a show. If you see a pendant in this post that you can't live without, let me know by commenting or by sending me a message. The line of fused glass pendants range in price from $35-$55 depending on the size and kind of glass used. Let me know if you would like a silver snake chain. The chain isn't anything fancy, but it gives you or the recipient a way to wear the pendant immediately.

                                       

 

I try to photograph the pendants on both a black background and I white background. It is astounding how different they look. The pendant pictured above is a periwinkle color, somewhere in between the two photos, but more like the one on the right. All the wire is silver coated copper wire. For some reason it photographs more gold, even with the daylight bulb lighting.

                                        

 

This pendant isn't for sale. I made it as a gift for the owner of the boutique I have jewelry in in Old Town Alexandria (Virginia). If you live near DC or come for a visit, you should visit Local Colour Old Town. It features artwork and crafts produced exclusively by local artisans and artists. You won't be disappointed!

My new cards came in! I ordered them so that I have the option to attach pendants to them if I do not include a chain. Since I am new at this jewelry thing, I want to see what works best for display, transport, etc. These cards are approximately four inches square. These are among the larger pendants that I have made. The majority of them are closer to two inches tall, but the two here on the cards are closer to two and a half.

For my fellow Auburn fans, I did a few orange and blue pendants too. I think I will make some more and add "AU" charms to some of them.

Yes, I Used Purple

Dusty Miller

Watercolor

4" X 6"

$50

Click Here to Purchase

Upon returning home from a walk earlier this summer, I noticed that my front flower bed was looking particularly nice. I am somewhat partial to lamb's ear and other fuzzy plants, so this year I planted Dusty Miller.

If you wonder why I gave the blog post the title that I did, it is because I almost never use purple in my paintings and my friend and studio mate, Bryan Jernigan LOVES purple (and pink) and uses them in at least half of his paintings.

When this painting began, I started with the silvery sage green. I decided that I wanted the background to be a contrasting color and the purple just seemed to be a good choice. I like the combination and may have to work a bit harder to use purples since I have fallen in love with Shadow Violet in the past few months.