‘By a babbling brook’

Abstract ‘Pebble Swirl’

Pebbles (with a touch of watercolour filter)

Low Tide

Jewels of the sea

 

 

Pebble beauty

 

Patterns and textures on the beach

Click the image to enlarge

The ebbing tide

 

Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,’         Matthew Arnold

Pebble Patterns 2

The patterns and textures in the panel below are derived from pebbles found on the beach.  See also Introducing Pebbles, patterns and textures.

Click to enlarge

Pebble Patterns 1

The patterns and textures in the panel below are derived from pebbles on a beach.   See Introducing Pebbles, patterns and textures

Click to enlarge

Introducing ‘Pebbles, patterns and textures’

A walk along a pebble beach can provide an abundance of source material for the creation of abstract pictures.  The three photos above were not particularly searched for.  I merely stopped walking and photographed the small area in front of my feet.  But look carefully at each photo  –  click on the image to enlarge.  It immediately becomes clear that no two pebbles are exactly alike; there are considerable variations in size, shape, colour, pattern and texture and by zooming in closely it is interesting to explore the uniqueness of each pebble.  This is the source material I referred to from which abstract images can be created.

For me the producing of abstract patterns and pictures is a particular passion and I have many images derived from the process described above.  I intend to post examples from time to time and hope that the above explanation will serve as a generic introduction.

Pebbles in a swirl

This may not be one for the purists but the colours, pattern and energy appeal to me.

Winchelsea Beach

The East Sussex coastline is divided by the estuary of the river Rother, on which stands the town of Rye.  To the east, stretches the sandy expanse of Camber.  To the west, the beaches comprise shingle, punctuated by weathered and disintegrating groynes.  At low tide, areas of sand and mud flats are exposed beyond the shingle.  Winchelsea beach is a particularly attractive example.

This is 1066 country.  It was at Bulverhithe, just twenty or so miles further along the coast, that William the Conqueror landed on 29th September, 1066.

Raindrops on the table (2)

I feel this black and white transformation of yesterday’s picture conveys quite a different feel.  The liquid quality of the original has solidified and the raindrops have become as pebbles in the bed of a stream!  Both pictures have their merits and I’m not sure which I prefer.  But then, I don’t have to choose!

Click to enlarge

Patterns at my feet

Whilst walking on the seashore last week, looking for anything unusual that might have been left behind by the ebbing tide, I became increasingly attracted to the pebbles themselves.  In fact, it was a shingle beach so the pebbles were very small  –  the largest not more than 3cms across  –  and yet the variety of shapes, colours, textures and patterns was fascinating.  How easy it is to overlook the familiar!

Pebble Beach

I have a fondness for pebble beaches.  Sun-bathing on a sandy beach is not my scene and I happen to find pebble beaches more interesting and varied.  These pictures were taken on a day when the sea was beautifully calm and quiet  –  just gently lapping the shore.  The first of the group is obviously taken above the tide line and the others through the shallow waters, softening slightly the shapes and colours.  I was particularly attracted by the range of shapes, sizes and the variety of colours deposited naturally in such a small area.

At the Water’s Edge 4

One of the joys of a pebble beach is the sound of the shingle rushing back into the sea as each wave recedes.  The effect is strangely both powerful and soothing  –  almost hypnotic.

At the Water's Edge 4

See also At the Water’s Edge, At the Water’s Edge 2, At the Water’s Edge 3, At the Water’s Edge 5, Wave, Wave Abstract, Abstract 101

At the Water’s Edge 3. Turning of the tide

At the Water's Edge 3

See also At the Water’s Edge, At the Water’s Edge 2, At the Water’s Edge 5, The Water Abstracts, Wave, Wave Abstract, Abstract 101

Pebble Tower

See also  The Isles of Scilly, Scilly Rocks 1, Scilly Rocks 2, Scilly Rocks 3.ET, Scilly Rocks 4, Scilly Rocks 5, Scilly Rocks 6