A Shell by the Beach

This watercolor painting was inspired by a picture that I took from my phone while at Horseneck Beach - a beach in Westport, MA.

It was my first full day visiting my old stomping grounds in Massachusetts, and my family and I decided to visit Horseneck Beach - a little beach not too far from my undergraduate alma mater. During past visits to this beach, we enjoyed looking for the perfect shell, or simply listening to the calming sound of the water moving to and fro on the sand. While I was perusing the piles of shells on the sand, I happened to find, what in my opinion was the most flawless shell on the beach, and took a picture of my hand holding the shell.

After visiting Horseneck Beach, I reflected on this picture and how I loved how my hand holding the shell was such a clear focal point in the image, as well as how the blurry background of the water and sand ended up looking like little white. blue, grey, and tan dots. This design of focal point and difference in detail inspired me to create a water color painting from this image. (While packing for this week long trip, I decided to bring along my water color paints, which were my only transportable paints that I owned at the moment. Even though water color paints were not originally a fan favorite of mine to work with, I decided to try and make friends with it.)

The finished product shows the discovery of finding that “perfect” shell at the beach, with a hand gently holding it and the viewer taking in the view of the shell, and the pure joy of finding something so delicate and unique out in the natural world. Through this art piece, I designed my hand and the shell as the focal point, seeing that the water and sand in the background are not as detailed. I invite my viewers to go out into the natural world and experience the natural awe and fascination in the discoveries found in the natural world.