Bay of Fundy Blues - Helen Shideler

Bay of Fundy Blues is my first completed oil painting for 2020!

Mussel shells have always been one of my favourite subjects to paint and I always come back to them.

It seems like a rather long time since i posted last. I’ve been quite busy. I completed a few Christmas commissions along the way – which I am unable to share, then the holidays with lots of family and we don’t have to get into the never ending sinus cold/infection fiasco. So many reasons! But I am back at it once again.

Mussel shells revisited

It is interesting how I keep coming back to subjects that I thought I may have completed after painting multiple series. Apparently not so with mussel shells. First of all, they are forgiving to paint. Really quite difficult to mess up – and not as precise as painting a portrait of a willet, or a raven or a pileated woodpecker.

I love working in realism.

Cannot help myself really. I have tried to paint looser and think it looks undone or something. Detail work is what I am about and so I accept that. However, there are a few ways I like to let go a bit. Poured watercolours is certainly one way. Painting the abstract patterns in nature is certainly another. This painting, Bay of Fundy Blues, took me a very long time to complete. It actually surprised me as I was pretty consistent in working on it. I have signed it thinking it is done.

Lessons Learned

Pencil is messy and smears easily. My hands were constantly covered with graphite and I dragged and smudged it across my painting. And erasers are not your friend with working in oils! Either seal it or use something different to daw with.

As always, I will review it over the next few days before I decide for sure.