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,

 

 

 



Sea Shells

You no doubt know the old rhyme "She sells sea shells sitting by the seashore", a tongue twister. There is something about a shell gathering adventure along the shore that brings back pleasant childhood memories: summer camping trips by the seashore with days spent on the sandy shore and evenings around the campfire smelling of salt and smoke.

"A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers. The shells are empty because the animal has died and the soft parts have been eaten by another animal or have rotted out.

The term seashell usually refers to the exoskeleton of an invertebrate (an animal without a backbone). Most shells that are found on beaches are the shells of marine mollusks, partly because many of these shells endure better than other seashells.

 Apart from mollusk shells, other shells that can be found on beaches are those of barnacles, horseshoe crabs and brachiopods. Marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae create shells made of calcareous tubes cemented onto other surfaces. The shells of sea urchins are called tests, and the moulted shells of crabs and lobsters are called exuviae. While most seashells are external, some cephalopods have internal shells." (Wikipedia)

Shells have been used as "money" or a medium of exchange, as tools (because of their strength and useful shapes), as a source of calcium carbonate and calcium for gardens, and as musical instruments. Shells also have many uses as decorations and adornments, as charms, in crafts and in art  such as the Birth of Venus (Botticelli).

Also along the shore is a diverse selection of seaweed, algae and kelp.

Introduced products such as worn fragments of glass, creamics and metals (nails and pipes and discarded metal containers) also add colour and sometimes controversy.

And of course the rocks, pebbles and sand on the beach are colourful because they have been wet by the ocean and the colours enhanced by many small fragments of shell.

 

A worn dranage pipe adds interesting colour and shapes.

Here are a few bits of driftwood that excaped from the driftwood post a couple of weeks ago:

So to end here are the rest of the words to that old tongue twister:

"She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure.
For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore
Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells."

Here is a recently finished painting of sea shells, called "What goes around..". It is a watercolour.

This has been another scheduled post, I hope you have enjoyed this walk along the shore.

Thank you for dropping by, and happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next week .....