25 of 30 Pear Whelk (Broken Shell Series)

Fading Away (Pear Whelk)

9" X 12"

Watercolor

$175

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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!

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.