I’ve seen quite a few artists and seashell art that makes me go, yowza that’s a brilliant idea ( Like these beauties by Cara Rosalie Olsen) . The key is this: you leave the front of the shell alone, then have a fiesta on the backside of it with whatever artistic medium you choose. So, naturally, I had to give watercolor a shot.
Although I quickly learned it was going to be a tricky learning curve, these puppies turned out pretty sweet. (I might retake these pics – the iPhone wasn’t cutting it and was making ’em look a bit wonky, but I was too darn excited to share, that I couldn’t wait to shoot them again tomorrow with a real camera.)
The miracle product that made it possible? Watercolor ground. My beloved Daniel Smith miracle product that you brush on to make (almost) any surface turn into a watercolor friendly canvas, worked wonders on the backside of a shell. And made ’em into quite a fun little canvas.
So, if you want fun dog days of summer craft, here you go. Or at least here’s some inspo.
I definitely will be working on a few more of these soon. They’re quite a joy to paint (even if you mess up), and soooooo relaxing, because…shells.
