The Seashell: how I create…

Here are the steps I took to create a drawing and then a painting of this beautiful, fluted seashell on the beach. You can use this image to inspire your own sketch or find an image of the particular object that came to mind when you were journaling. Do a simple sketch in your journal or take it further and do a little painting on watercolor paper.

Step One:

 Follow the first few steps to do a simple sketch in your Creativity Journal and then decide of you want to go further and do a watercolor image.  If you do a watercolor, I recommend hot press paper since the pen glides so nicely on smooth paper.

 Use a pencil to do a simple, quick, shape drawing to locate the objects in the photograph on your paper.  Make it quick so it’s easy to adjust as you check proportions of the shapes in relation to each other.

Step Two:

Observe the object a little closer this time.  Start at a corner of the object and without looking a lot at your drawing, focus your attention on the outside edge of the object and record your observation on your paper staying close to your original shape or making slight adjustments.  I refer to this technique as contour drawing.

Step Three:

 Now use the same observational eye to record the inner shapes and line that occur within your object.  Notice how the light makes shapes in the object as well as how color makes shapes.  Along with the seashell, I include the sand and the water as objects in this sketch.

Step Four:

Use a felt top, waterproof pen to select and redraw your lines in ink. I like to use the 0.3 size tip for this step.

Step Five:

This step is for those who have recreated their sketch on a piece of watercolor paper.  Determine what the lightest colors or values are in each object and apply a light wash of those colors with watercolor paint.  Apply the next darker values to any shadow areas on your image.

Step Six:

Water isn’t easy to paint.  I applied some light washes of a cobalt teal and cobalt and then before they were bone dry, I pulled my barely damp brush over the surface of the water to make light, curving stripes.  This is called lifting and a also did a little bit of blotting with a paper towel to adjust the values and shapes of color.

Step Seven:

Apply the final colors to the seashell.  Remember, you’ve captured a lot of the seashell with your ink drawing, so just a few light washes of saturated color pigment are needed.  The final touch is to soak your paint brush with a few of the darker colors of paint (usually right out of the paint well) to splatter paint on your sketch.  I do this by knocking my brush on a finger placed over the image.

Buy my Creativity Journal on Amazon and fill your book with all ten projects! There is space for journaling, ideation and to create the final project. The QR code in the book links you to the journal so you can take it with you and be creative anywhere you go. You just need a pen, curiosity and joyful effort!!