Well, it was about time I painted some more shells. I have no excuse as to why it took so long, but now I’m looking at some of these larger shells I have left over from our Florida days in a new way. The big suckers are a blast. Think – mini big canvases, that you can’t overpaint, because a shell can only hadle so much paint.
Anyways, The back side of them all are au natural – the front? Here we go.
Paint a few coats of Daniel Smith Watercolor ground then let it cure for 48 hours. Now the fun begins. (Tip: It’s all about layering.) First base coat of watercolor, then add the outlines, time for another layer of watercolor, then add some highlights, and add a few more layers of paint. Let dry and seal it with Modge Podge. After that dries, touch up any smears with a black pen, and add a few details/highlights with Posca acrylic paint pens. Then, say no mas before you mess it up. Seal the deal with matte acrylic Modge Podge spray (the spray doesn’t smear the paint.) Stop, smile and say, sweet.
In short, it was a learning process, but I’m pretty pumped to share the results.
I have a few more to paint, then I’ll be sure to put them in my shop. In the meantime, I say grab a shell and a sharpie (or a paint pen, or just do what I did and go all out.) and enjoy the zen. Painting shells combines the soothing nature of doodling with a hefty side of beach vibes.
Which is always a rather lovely combo. I shall try to not wait a year in between sessions.
And now…here are a few more pics of a few favorites form the bunch.
