A few weeks ago when I was in Provence, I picked up a feather discarded by a Hoopoe. I put it between the pages of a notebook and thought nothing more about it until a few days ago. I wrote recently about 'just making marks' if you feel in a bit of a block, then to see what comes from them. The other morning I woke and the image of the feather popped into my mind and I decided I would like to do a study of it, just for fun. So often I am working from a commercial standpoint or have a deadline to meet, but on this occasion it was pure pleasure. I was completely absorbed in the project and decided to do a study of the feather in watercolour paints, pencil and watercolour crayons. The above photograph is the result. She sells Seashells I then started to see what other 'nature table' objects I might have lying around and selected a few shells for a similar treatment. Here I just stuck to using watercolour paint and went for a very wet approach allowing the colour to find it's way in the water and help create the shading and form. I have a feeling a bit of beach combing may be on the agenda. Nature has so much to offer