shells 52 weeks of nature art

pinterest shells 52 weeks of nature artWeek 5 of 52 Weeks of Nature Art was all about shells! So much inspiration right on my own door step, so fortunate.

This week, I got stuck into some watercolor painting and noticing a style starting to emerge! and some beautiful work from participants.

I also created a Pinterest board here

 

 

shell collection 52 weeks of nature art

First of course! I just had to collect a huge bag of shells from the beach where I live. At the moment, there is an abundance of so much beauty and I had so much fun separating all the different shells into types and also by color too! Inspiration in this area is endless and I can definitely see myself revisiting this theme throughout the year.

shell drawing 52 weeks of nature art

My first drawing exercise was to draw what I see from the first collection of shells above. I help them looking down onto the shell and captured the view from above of each one. Some interesting shapes started to appear!

shells 52 weeks of nature art

It was also fun to see how many white tones I could capture and then use the beautiful shell as a stamp into a piece of rolled out clay.

shell collection 52 weeks of nature art

These shapes and color palette is what I find the most at my beach. Such beautiful creams, beige and browns. So i thought I would test my patience with watercolor to see if i could capture the essence of one of these shells.

shell sketchbook scene 52 weeks of nature art

Here is a photo of my studio desk as I got started with painting. I kept all the shells to the side for inspiration. Kind of like my shell friends as I worked through layering the watercolor to paint out the shell design.

shell watercolor 52 weeks of nature art

I started very lightly with a beige to gently mark out the main aspects of the shell.

shell watercolor 52 weeks of nature art

Then layered and painted the details, capturing the different colors I saw emerge from the shell. My intention was not to copy the design exactly, but to paint the feel of the shell as i saw it. I was really pleased with how this painting turned out. 🙂

shell collection 52 weeks of nature art

The other color palette that was abundant in my collections was this beautiful mauve/purple and shimmery silver. Such a beautiful group of shells.

shell watercolor 52 weeks of nature art

Then to finish the week off, I painted one of the beautiful mauve shells in my interpretation. I really enjoyed painting this and cant wait to paint more!

View more images as they unfold from the 52 Weeks of Nature Inspired Art here.

gallery_templateclick

Participant images

Thank you to all who shared their images on Instagram using the #52weeksofnatureart hashtag. So much fun to see what you came up with and thank you for sharing! Here are a few I gathered to showcase. See all the gorgeous images here. We also have a Facebook group where participants are sharing there too.

participant shells 52 weeks of nature art

Top row: @panaramadesign | @kara.peters | @artfullee

Middle row: @fabienne.tosi | @Uli Day | @Susi Sanlier‎

Bottom row: @Lisa Wright‎ | @Uli Day | @Susi Sanlier

Would you like to join me? Here are the deets

a year of nature inspired artEach week in 2016, I’ll be focusing on a particular theme from nature.

I will post the theme every Monday and pop my photos, sketches and any creations I feel inspired to share on my Instagram and also my Facebook artist page, using the hashtag #52weeksofnatureart.

If you would like to join me, you can find the upcoming themes on the main page here and ways you can share your findings along the way!

I am excited to travel this nature art journey with you and thank you for connecting with me here, via my newsletter or social media.

signature