When I was in Dorset during Easter, I made it a mission of mine to seek out The Shell Painter, an artist I remember from my youth.
He would sit on the steps near Lulworth Cove beach and dazzle me with his beautiful paintings on shells, stones and bits of glass, some of them very tiny.
I was happy to find him still sitting there, painting his lovely little souvenirs, so I had to buy one.
I even spoke to him, told him I remembered him from my childhood. He told me he’s been doing it for twenty-odd years now, and that occasionally people would come up with their children, and insult him with comments like “you could do better than that.”
What they don’t see is the love and care that goes into his tiny works of art, and his steady hand. I purchased a small stone off him with a painting of a mermaid on it along with a poem:
"How often and often I wish
I lived in green depths like a fish!
No noise, not a thing,
But the mermaids who sing
Whilst their tales give a silvery swish.
Frances Cornford"
Take a look for yourself, it’s beautiful.
So I must insist that if you’re ever down in Dorset, head to Lulworth Cove beach and you’ll spot him a mile off. I took a photo of him myself, but you can find a much clearer one here.
Purchase one of his little treasures and encourage more artists to live the dream!
Lovely. I live near Lulworth and he is still there some days, it is great that he does this, he is a real person! Dedication for sure. He adds colour to the shore. Hils xx
ReplyDeleteI have just come back from a short holiday in Dorset and also found myself very drawn to this amazing artist. I struggled to only buy the one stone, but I finally chose a beautiful one with a poem about trees. I hope he will be there next time I holiday in Dorset x
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