Seashells

How do you go about painting a clam shell in watercolor without the use of the color white? This was the challenge I faced when I tried to capture the beauty of shells I had gathered on the “elbow” of the Cape in Chatham, Massachusetts. I worked around the problem by first masking off specific areas of the shells, then painting around those masked areas with shades of purple, rose, and Payne’s Grey. I peeled away the dried masking fluid to reveal the paper beneath, and touched up the highlights with a bit of gouache. Share this card with anyone who is lucky enough to spend the day at the beach, or those who can only dream about a day by the ocean.