Click (below) to Watch Video: Recently I spent some time doing two of my favorite things, painting in watercolor and hanging out on the beach. I brought along a brand new watercolor travel sketchbook. I’m particular about watercolor paper…as not papers perform well. That said, I was excited to give this sketchbook a try.I also have a brand new, custom travel watercolor set that I made from my tube favorite paints. 

In college, as an undergraduate I took most the science illustration classes, which was a graduate program. In those years I was really skilled at life drawing and painting. It’s still something that I appreciate.

I’m mixing a violet and a mossy green and a faint soft blue-grey and these will be the base colors for this shell. My brush follows the lines of the shell.

You’ll get better results in general if you learn to see and paint subtle variations of colors (versus just a flat, base grey mix). Varying base colors also helps to build contrast right from the beginning.

Some parts of the paper are drying quickly and so I use that to my advantage.

To create a shell with depth, you need to keep your brush moving in the direction of the shell.

I’m going to make some color swatches.

Big Orange Clam Shell

Drawing from life will make you more versatile as an artist. Even if you prefer to create abstract art, having strong life drawing skills will always give you greater versatility.

This shell needs big, loose swooping lines to capture it’s gesture. My grip on my pencil is very loose. The bottom of the shell needs little small curvy lines.

***One thing, if you gain a strong life drawing skillset, it will never leave you. You could go years without drawing and it’s a skill that’s like riding a bicycle. 

When I draw, every line adds character. If you misjudge, just do a new line. And of course you can erase.

General color I’m pre-mixing are: Raw Sienna, Anthrquinoid Red and New Gamboge to brighten up the mix…and then a little French Ultramarine to make a soft shadowy violet. Pretty much mixing from experience and intuition.

Again, when painting shells, follow the gesture of the shell. 

When doing life sketching, you have to work quickly as your light source is changing. This effects your shadows and highlights.

***I’m really happy with my underpainting colors…and I bet many newer artists wouldn’t have thought to incorporate a color like Ultramarine Blue into this mix. With enough experience, you train your eyes see these subtle colors within colors…and you’ll also know color temperatures.

The Ultramarine Blue really toned the sweetness of these warmer golden hues and it gives me a very earthy tone…and I wanted that for this shell.

***Notice how I have a good variety of hues from this simple palate mix. I’m already creating depth, bringing the shape of the shell to life.

The Ultramarine Blue will also be mixed again to give me a cool shadow. The color of the shell is warm and sunny so the shadow is cool in temperature. That creates depth.

Different Shapes

I’m now searching for a different shape, maybe a white shell to show you how I would handle this subject. This one is interesting. It’s shaped like a dome and has fine lines and different layers. Of course, I’m observing the shell from a slightly different perspective. 

From the earthy coastal colors I’ve already mixed, I’m going to paint some shadows. This white shell needs a strong shadow, which will emphasize the white.

What’s in my Travel Kit

Let’s take a break from painting shells for a minute and I’ll show you what’s in my travel watercolor kit. It’s easy for me to pack a lot of brushes with this great canvas carrier…and why not (but if I had to, I could choose maybe 2-4 brushes). I also have a plastic container for water and a water bottle…and paper towels, I nearly always have one of those in my hand when painting in watercolor.

****In my next video, I’d like to show you all of the actual colors in my travel paint box…and I’ll swatch them out for you to see.

Last Shell

This squat shell has interesting texture. We can paint this one in a minute. I discovered that by mixing just a few colors I could capture the essence of each of these very different shells. And…let’s just add two more swatches to complete this earthy coastal color palette.

I love trying different watercolors…but if I had to, I could absolutely work within a very small palate and mix everything that I need…and I did do that for the first 15 years of my watercolor journey.