I reached down and picked up the sand on the Sea of Galilee shore. It wasn’t sand at all, it was tiny shells! I was so amazed and inspired by these intricate sculpted shapes that I decided to make a painting of them.

The woman in the painting is the woman who ended up purchasing it. As I was creating this piece of art, I knew in the back of my mind that it would be her who would buy it.

I used tiny brushes to create the detail in the painting, and so much spattering to give it texture. I used tape and masking fluid to keep myself from spattering over the paper that had to be kept pure. I am kind of a ‘Watercolour Purist’ in that I don’t use gouache or white pens or white acrylic paint. My preference is to keep the paper as my white.

 I thought of a few designs for the painting, but none of them showed the actual scale of the shells. I decided to add the sea, a figure in the background, and a white border that the shells could spill out of. I wanted it to feel as though you could reach down, as I had, and pick up the shells for yourself.