Slipper Shells from Noons Landing Beach .....a gift and a memory.

As I said, last week – I recently got back from a vacation in Cape Cod. A vacation where I painted my brains out, actually! – or was it my heart?!   I am a habitual beachcomber, so, naturally, as soon as I arrived at our vacation rental, I was down there on the beach, looking for treasure with my youngest offspring, who is actually 21 and a fellow artist. The most prolific shells on this particular beach were the discarded dwellings of the Common Atlantic Slipper Snail. They come in many sizes and also quite some variation in colour and pattern.   Cape Cod has pristine beaches and clear water and we combed that beach for short spells on most days of the two weeks we were there. It’s funny how you make your own rules whilst beachcombing. One of mine was to find the prettiest Slipper and another was to find some nice other kinds of shell. The Slippers WERE the most pretty, in my opinion – we did also find clams, razors, cockles, mussels, oysters and a few scallops.   So, what did I paint? – Slippers! This one is a still life and in watercolour. It’s a great way to remember those hours of pleasure on the beach and also caused me to study those shells with an intensity that just looking at them doesn’t tend to achieve. A memory that is far more powerful than a mere photograph!   Feel free to come by and visit again, next week! Maybe I have more to tell?!