New England | Clams, Scallops, Mussels (oh my) ep.3

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00][music] [music] [music] >> Hey guys, thanks so much for coming back to the New England series where we make our way around the region. Throughout the years I've collected tons of rocks and shells and driftwood from the various beaches in New England and I want to make a bunch of mini paintings of those shells. So for this video we're going to explore four different Cape Cod beaches and paint the shellfish scattered throughout them. But we have a lot to see so let's get started.

[00:00:34]>> [music] [music] >> We first explore Wellfleet, the oyster capital of Cape Cod. Oysters have historically been featured as symbols of luxury in paintings [music] during the Dutch Golden Age. So I wanted to create a maximalist composition that reflects the abundance of oysters in New England.

[00:00:54][music] Initially I was drawn to these shells for their looks but I stayed for their lore because lord knows I love a fun fact. So here it is. Oysters are a lot like wine in the way that they taste different based on where they grow.

[00:01:05]>> [music] >> Salinity, temperature and location can all drastically alter the flavor of oysters. And the cold, fast-moving and nutrient-rich waters of Wellfleet give these oysters their distinct taste [music] because oysters are the filters of the ocean. They're all over New England which is probably why the seafood tastes so good and the water remains oh so clean. [music] But not always not always. Take it back to 1773, a major cleanup was needed.

[00:01:28]Boston Tea Party. I always wondered what happened to the tea but no doubt these guys guzzled it down and the colonial oyster eaters had some tea-infused shellfish that year. So with painting one done I'm transferred from Wellfleet to Sandwich for some mussels.

[00:01:42]Sandwich is probably one of my favorite places in Cape Cod. The boardwalk to Town Neck Beach is over a winding coastal river hidden by grasslands. The sky and water are moody but the grass is chartreuse and the birds are chic.

[00:01:54]The end of the boardwalk opens up to a foggy beach with a strip of turquoise water that gets its color from the dissolving clay in the sand.

[00:02:03]Pants got in the water so it's time for a beach stroll to dry off. I ran into the Sandwich monitoring seal who watched me graze the rocks and mussel shells but the stars of the show were the harbor seals laying out on the high tide sandbar.

[00:02:20]I accumulated a lovely collection which means it's time to paint.

[00:02:23]>> [music] >> I was inspired by the textural contrast between the inner and outer shells. The outside is a matte rusty royal blue and the inside is this jewel-toned ombre with a hyper gloss coating va-va-voom.

[00:02:34]They are the gems of the sea and have been treated that way throughout history.

[00:02:37]>> [music] >> Because of their rich blue interior, these shells have been used for high-end buttons and ornamentation throughout Europe and America. Their beauty made them victims of over-harvesting so the seals function as little protectors of these guys. But of course some beauty is just irresistible and the seals cannot resist a munch.

[00:02:53]Despite the mussels' beauty, they don't have the historical footprint in art that you might expect or at least that I expected. They were more involved with the textile industries in the area and their pearls were used for jewelry, exported for buttons and in modern times have been used for more like avant-garde pieces. And it makes sense. You can't help but be dazzled these guys. I even added mica powder to my painting to capture their shine. The mussels are now glowing and the tide is receding which means it's time to head over to Brewster Flats for the afternoon portion. [music] >> [music] >> When the clock strikes low tide, there's only one place you want to be. Brewster Flats is a beach on Cape Cod with a coastline that recedes miles back during low tide. I've never seen a tsunami, thank god, but I imagine this is what it looks like when the water is sucked out to sea. The scallops know it's their time to shine so they rise to the surface and beg [music] to be plucked from the sand. But they don't need to ask. I'll gladly take them.

[00:03:53]Scallops are surprisingly prominent throughout the history of art. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was said to be born from the sea foam and to floated to the shore on a scallop. The shell then became a symbol of birth, femininity and fertility, a theme that continued into the Renaissance and was most famously exemplified through Botticelli's Birth of Venus. But the scallop's influence in art doesn't end there. The shell possesses complex color schemes that mimic the palettes of the most skilled painters. They're nature's cheat sheet for advanced color theory so I knew that in order to do these scallops justice I had to depict a wide range of colors, maximum saturation, maximum drama and we have the completion of painting number three.

[00:04:27]Last but not least, we have the clams.

[00:04:30]And I'll be honest, I didn't find these at the beach. I found them in the trash at a seafood restaurant but when inspiration strikes, I must paint. So we're just going to pretend these are from Provincetown. Upon researching clams, I was surprised to find that they don't have as distinctive of an involvement in European art history as some of the other shellfish do. Instead, they have deep cultural and artistic roots with the native Nauset and Wampanoag people. The quahog clam has a rich purple interior that's used to make wampum which is a beaded adornment. In its original use it served as a visual memory aid and for funerary ornamentation. But upon colonial settlement in New England, wampum developed a monetary use to seal treaties, conduct trade and convey status. It's one of the most distinct textiles in the area cuz it's truly of the area and created by the people who first appreciated New England's shoreline.

[00:05:15]>> [bell] >> Now all four shellfish are complete for part one of the Beachcomber collection.

[00:05:18]If you're interested in purchasing a print of any of these paintings, I have a link to my website in the description box below and I also have a monthly print club called the New England Journal where I send out mini prints each month. It constantly rotate. I'll be back.

[00:05:32]Each month I mail out a mini print with a letter. You get a 5x7 fine art print of one of my paintings. This one's the clams.

[00:05:39]Letter about the art process, exclusive links [music] to the videos that you're watching and then it comes in a fun envelope color so you know what it's in the mail. And come back next month for buoys.