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Tag: Shells

September 30, 2011
Kathy
2 Comments

Pearl Painting

Posted in Art Work, and Peeking Behind the Easel

Pearl Painting

I have a new miniature painting in my Etsy shop. This is the kind of oyster I want to find.

SibStudio Pearl on a Half Shell Oyster

One of the things I like about painting the miniatures is they can act as a thumbprint for a larger painting.  I've painted oyster shells in prior paintings but haven't tackle pearls. This was a chance to experiment with capturing the luster of the pearl. I used little touches of purple, blues, and creams to recreate the colors you can see in a pearl.

I took a little artistic license and used a bed of sand rather than the oyster itself. I wanted to contrast the texture of sand versus the smoothness of the pearl. 

I also used a pearly finished paint for the background to contrast the dullness of the oyster and highlight the pearl. I think in a larger painting, the pearly background would be overkill, but it works well on a small scale painting.
And that's a peek behind my easel – enjoy the rest of your day!

June 20, 2011
Kathy
One Comment

New Shell Painting

Posted in Art Work, and Reference Photos

New Shell Painting

I have a new miniature painting up at my Etsy shop. I used some sea shells I have on hand from various family members. I laid them out on my work table as models to paint from directly.  I painted the shells on a background of the beach and seashore where they were first found.

Here is the new miniature:

New painting of shells with ruler to show size.

I have a larger, newly started beach painting that will also include shells. I hope to have that painting done by next month. So stay tuned. 

April 15, 2011
Kathy
One Comment

Shell Reference Photos

Posted in Reference Photos

Shell Reference Photos

I'm working on a painting that has shells in it. I have a basket of shells from New England shores and Florida that I pull out for reference.  Sometimes I'll stage them in a tray of sand.  I've even staged them in a tray of sand with flip flops for a painting. You can see a peek at the results on my blog header above. 

I  photograph them as well. When they sit in sunlight it allows me to see the true colors and where the natural highlights and shadows lie .  It's also really helpful to have photos too when something fragile like a shell  is suddenly in pieces on the floor.  While looking for guilty faces, you can still move forward on your painting. 

A really simple way way of photographing them is to lay them on a piece of foam board. The foam board is sturdy enough to move around with the shells to adjust the way the light falls or carry the whole set up outside. I photograph outside in sunlight or set up next to a sunny window.  The white of the foam board allows me to see how the shadows of the shells fall. The piece of sea glass on the lower right photo has an interesting shadow.  Here is some of my shell reference photos:

Shell reference photos