Shells On the Beach

Students took one class period to draw from real shells, before composing the final painting. Shown in the photo are a few sketches of the shells from our observational drawing.

We took two slightly different approaches to the shell assignment. In fifth grade, we drew lightly in pencil and then shaded the edges of the shells using adjacent colors. The backgrounds are being finished up currently using repeated patterns. The pieces are very dynamic and imaginative. In sixth grade, we worked with pencil drawings and developed the shell colors by building up layers of wax crayon. Then a warm brown was mixed up for the sandy area of the beach and cool blues were made for the ocean waters. Salt sprinkled into the wet paint was optional and it created a perceived texture that imitated sand or water. Final details such as swirls and lines in watercolor pencil were added after the water color dried .

Stay tuned for more photos of finished work.