The sandy beach was filled with shells, rocks, leaves, and other intriguing beach finds whose general shapes and textures were drawn in my sketchbook.
On a remarkably springlike day within the final weeks of winter, I was at a beach along Lake Michigan. Shady areas near trees and large rocks held on to as much snow as they could. Ice that had formed where the lake met the shore had mostly melted. Ducks, including redheads and greater scaups, bobbed in the gentle waves as they slept with their heads tucked into the feathers on their backs. Red-breasted mergansers occasionally disappeared underwater, diving in pursuit of fish.
I brought my sketchbook and a few pens and quickly found some subjects to draw. The subjects were spread out all over the sand. I explored the lakeshore with an interest in all sorts of little things, sketching their intriguing shapes and textures along the way.
Feathers that had most likely belonged to gulls skated about the beach in the slight breeze. Sharp pennaceous feathers sometimes sported a simple black, white, and gray pattern, and fluffy plumulaceous, or downy, feathers occurred in a uniform white. Brittle cottonwood leaves with rounded teeth and long petioles lay cemented in the sand. Halved and hinged non-native zebra mussel shells were both piled and sprinkled throughout the beach. The small white shells were lined with brown and black striping. Rocks, including flat mudstone and orangey jasper, were consistently found to be smooth, a finish attributed to time spent being naturally polished by water and sand. Also waterworn were pieces of pale, skeletal driftwood. Small, dark pieces of bark often looked like rocks and were impressively light and sturdy.
A sketchbook page filled with beach finds is propped up against a collection of driftwood on a picnic table. The beach finds were drawn in a sporadic fashion similar to their sporadic appearance on the beach.
Most of these beach finds had spent a considerable amount of time underwater, and their appearances showed this. They had washed ashore and were introduced to dryness and unfiltered sunshine. Perhaps they will eventually find their way back into the water. Waves might pick them up and carry them out. Strong winds might encourage them into the lake. Someone might want to see how far they can throw and throw them into the lake by hand, watching the objects disappear with a neat plunk.
As the afternoon carried on, the temperature dropped. I capped my pen and closed my sketchbook. I did not end up taking any of these beach finds with me when I left, but a page in my sketchbook had been filled with them. On paper, they were black and white illustrations that offered insights into the landscape in which they were found. Beachcombing and plein air sketching are two activities that I consider to be fun in their own right. Combining them made for an especially delightful day at the beach.
Supplies that were used included Strathmore 400 Series Drawing Paper and a Misulove 02 Needle Drawing Pen.