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,

 

 

 



A walk on the bright side

We have a lot of heavy rain here lately so when a sunny day dawned I wanted to take full advantage. I walked along the beach and back through the forest.

 

A freighter waits in the harbour just off Lighthouse Park.

 

 

A golden eye watching another dive.

 

Hooded Mergansers I think

 

Shell and driftwood catching a few rays

 

 

a few patches of frost remained in shady areas

 

you know I love shells

 

the light is low this time of year but the sun was catching a few leaves and some moss

 

lots of mushrooms this time of year

 

a couple more patches of light

 

 

a creek and some birds

a varied thrush

 

a Pileated Woodpecker excavating the side of a tree

 

and finally a beautiful reflection

 

 

 

refreshed now I am back in the studio and here is what I have been up to

 

a new watercolour of a small town in the Veneto region of Italy:

 

called "Asolo" it is 14" X 20"

 

 

Well that is all for today, thanks for dropping by and happy Whimsy Wednesday, sorry about missing last week, a senior moment perhaps,

 

Gillian 

 



Colour and Promise - part 2

My apologies to early readers last week who saw that I thought the baby Pine Siskins were baby Goldfinches. Thank you for setting me straight. They sure are growing fast.

Today I am sharing some pictures that I took a couple of weeks ago, on a beautiful spring day.

We have had a few summer-like days recently and my thoughts have turned to gardening. The seedlings that I have put in are growing almost as fast as the weeds.

Here an American Widgeon on an almost still pond.

The Bulrushes provide perching sites, nesting materials and food for the birds and ducks.

The turtles (painted turtles) catch the sunshine on a warm afternoon.

Ring necked ducks, male and

female:

A Mallard, maybe sitting on eggs, she did not budge as I walked past, but she did watch me closely.

Down at the shoreline, the tide was going out, revealing clam shells

barnacle covered rocks,

and this clam shell that reminded me of a butterfly.

A seagull (glaucous-winged) was search the shallow water for anything tasty.

Sailboats, big and small were out, and there was a group of kayakers practicing ``wet exits``(purposely tipping their kayaks to practice reentry skill); looked like hard work.

Out:

Back in and pumping out the water:

All with supervision of course:

Hardy souls, looked pretty chilly on the water!

I went back to my beach combing:

interesting textures and patterns on this wood and stone, both close to the wharf.

Small daisies, I remember spending hours making chains of these as a child.

Periwinkle, I think.

A beautiful white camillia.

The tulips have been beautiful this spring, but are almost at an end now with the weather getting warmer.

Flowering shrubs and colourful spring foliage to delight the eye:

It always amazes me how fast plants grow this time of year, with noticeable changes every day. The weeds too are thriving too as are the ``volunteer`` plants (those that grow up from the compost that I spread on the garden in the springtime); this year the tiny arugula and fennel plants are everywhere.

I have been spending a lot of time outdoors in the garden and less time than usual in the studio but I have recently finished another seashore themed painting:

Here clam shells are catching the low late day light of a winters day. I call this "Say Ah":

A watercolour of course, for more information follow this link: GillianOlsonArt.blogspot.ca

Thank you so much for stopping by, and a special thank you to all those who leave comments for me, I really appreciate hearing from you.

 Happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next time ..............