Stepped Plough Shell - Maree

i keep looking for those | magic words, words | that will open | me, open | you

A Twitter poem from WATERMARK

A sketch from my shell collection - sketching them is easy, trying to capture the beautiful, subtle colours is another matter!


"Stepped Plough Shell" (Bullia annulata) - Pen sketch with watercolour

The sea and coast holds a great fascination for most of us, and walking the beach can unearth the most wonderful treasures, from smooth glass to round pebbles, pieces of driftwood and, of course, the most collectible, shells. Unfortunately for these wondrous living creatures, this spells doom, as people will go to great lengths and pay hefty prices for these little creatures, which results in the harvesting of a living infrastructure which will not last forever.

And living proof of this is the fact that, walking the beach does not often turn up many shells, and in some areas, none at all. I have sketched some of my beach finds (from many years ago!), but nothing can portray the beauty of some of these as well as the living specimen.