After two trips to Florida this past Fall, I decided I felt a creative urge to paint Cluster Shells 1 Acrylic Painting.  The thought of shells magically washing up on the shores of the beach has fascinated me for a long time.  As a child, I lived in Florida from the time I was eight years old through the age of twenty-two.  There were many trips to the beach with my family and with friends as I grew older.  Anyone that lives near the beach knows that you cannot regularly find shells along the shore and even when you by chance do find some they are often broken.  This makes the thrill of finding whole unbroken shells even more special. There is usually a wide variety and I find then very interesting. It makes me think of all these little abandoned homes and wonder what their occupants looked like.

As I started the painting I knew that I wanted the shells to be over sized so the concentration would be more on the shapes.  A year ago I was painting abstract paintings and collages so this realistic approach took more time than it does for me to create an abstract expressionistic painting where I am just going with the flow of my emotions. This does however, carry out my goals as an artist to not be slotted in any one area of painting.  I want to try it all and be as proficient as I can in all areas of painting.  I think you learn more if you open yourself to new challenges. Cluster Shells 1 – Acrylic Painting was fun for me and I am now working on its companion painting, Cluster Shells 2 – Acrylic Painting

Cluster Shells 1 – Acrylic Painting is 20 x 20 x 2/4 inches on stretched canvas with wrapped and painted edges.  No frame is needed.  The original painting is $300.00 and prints are available for $30.00.