I have been painting a few new things over the last week or so. I decided to try my hand at painting what you might call natural history artefacts - a.k.a. shells, feather, fossils, etc. It made a nice change to not have to paint fur, which drives me round the twist. But the architecture of these little 'bits' amazes me. Most people overlook their beauty but I have always had a fascination with picking up shells on the beach or feathers from the roadside. Or, at least I did until I brought home a tree branch that must have been home to a spider's egg sac. Let's just say the story didn't end well for someone who isn't overly keen on spiders in the house. I tend to photograph things of beauty now. However, if you take the time to look at shells or feathers you see how wonderful they really are. Little miracles of nature. So I was inspired. I've added a few pictures here but feel that I will have to find a few more 'little miracles' to paint soon.
The first two are shells found on a beach on the west coast of Scotland.
The next two paintings are sharks teeth found on the south coast of England during a fossil hunt.
And this is a fossilised bivalve from the same trip.
Mussels. They may be a form of food to many people but I love those shells.
The next two paintings are sharks teeth found on the south coast of England during a fossil hunt.
And this is a fossilised bivalve from the same trip.
Mussels. They may be a form of food to many people but I love those shells.
