Shells and Surf

I feel drawn to the seashore, and to walk along the sand at the waters edge.

So with camera in hand I tried to capture the waves as they lapped at the shore and tried to kiss my toes.

 

“Sit in reverie, and watch the changing colour of the waves the break upon

the seashore of the mind"

 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

"Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or on the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think this is why the environment has to be preserved."

 

Bill Bradley

 

 

" I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing on a seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

 

Isaac Newton

"I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought."
 

Helen Keller



 

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun."

 

Sandy Gringas

 

 

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.
  I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over."

 

John Masefield 

 

I love this shell below, what a face!

 

I hope you have enjoyed my/our trip to the seashore.

 

 

I started this painting a couple of weeks ago and it sat idle for quite a few days before I got around to finishing it off. It is a watercolour that I call "Chinese Lanterns". 

 

 

 

And another food painting called "Winter Bouquet" showing Brussels Sprouts still on the stem:

 

 

 It is the latest of my Food cards, which include a recipe card using the pictured ingredient. What is the recipe for this card, take a look:

 

View at: http://www.pswhimsy.com/food-cards-series-2.html

 

or all the food cards at: http://www.pswhimsy.com/food.html

 

Also this new watercolour and doodle art card

 

 at: http://www.pswhimsy.com/seasonal--other.html

 

 

Until next time...

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday,

 

 

 



Back at last

First a preview of what I have been up to in the studio:

 

More on these to come but first news and a few photos.


Well I have recently had surgery on both my eyes and the difference is dramatic. I thought I was just having trouble with seeing close up, but now that I have had surgery everything has crisp edges again and I can see to read and paint. Hooray!

What was the problem???

Well when I had cataract surgery just over 2 years ago I didn't expect the cataracts to come back, and that is essentially what happened.

This is my distinctly non-medical explanation: some cataract tissue remained in the eye when the new lens was implanted and over time it grew to obscure the back of the artificial lens. The problem is corrected by a laser which "drills" about 100 little holes in the tissue clouding the lens and voila I see almost 20:20 again. Almost instantly.

It is an outpatient procedure and I was fine to take the bus home, I spent the entire trip reading the back of the bus ticket (tiny print) and all the signs along the way. What joy!

Here are a few pictures that I took recently of some fall sites or is that sights?

 

A perfect fall day at the beach and in the park.

 

 

Time for a look around...

 

 

Grooming time at the pond...

 

 

 

Time for a bath...

 

Who you looking at?

 

Mirror, mirror.... now that's better

 

This little fellow was so cute... 

 

and stopped to have a good look at me... 

 

 

maybe, just maybe ...

 

 

no I don't think so ..........

 

 

then realizing that I had no food to offer and was off

 

 

I have been fairly busy with a couple of projects recently:

 

First a new website just for my art at www.gillianolsonart.com 

Second an Esty site to sell digital downloads of some of my work at https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/pswhimsy?page=1#save

 

Check them out and let me know what you think.

 

 

So I gave you a preview of two paintings and without further ado here they are:

 

 

First a poured watercolour of a Venetian mask called "Carnival 2"; this one is sold, thanks J

 

 

Second a watercolour painting of a statue seen in Italy last summer, I call him "The Professor":

 

You can see more details on my new art website (link above).

 

Well it is nice to be back, that is all for today, thanks for dropping by and happy Whimsy Wednesday.

 

Gillian







 

"I must go down to the seas again..."

I have always loved the beach, enjoying the slight saltiness of the breeze, walking on the sand and the rhythmic "chant" of the waves upon the shore. 

So I took advantage of an afternoon low tide to stroll along Spanish banks. Fair weather had brought out many others and a brisk breeze had attracted a few kite fliers. 

As I walked I thought of my Dad, who died this month in 2006, and how he would have loved this walk and was reminded of a favorite poem of his:

Sea Fever by John Masefield (from Salt-Water Ballads, 1902)  I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And the gray mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover, And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

So come along with me .............as I go down to the sea. Many ships were at anchor in the English bay and many a few sailing boats were taking advantage of the wind for a brisk sail. I found lots of things to interest me and occupy my camera.    And of course there were quite a variety of birds interested in what the low tide had uncovered.   -------------------- I think I mentioned last week that I had started on a new series of paintings with a sea shore theme. Here is the first in that series, a watercolour, called "Shell Colour 1": For more information on this and to see more of my original art follow this link: GillianOlsonArt Thank you for dropping by, Happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next week .................