Artist Brings out Beauty in Seashells by Paintings

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Byline: SANDY STRICKLAND

If you hold these paintings to your ear, you might hear the ocean.

Leigh Murphy does exquisitely detailed watercolors of seashells.

Picking them off the beach is easy. Painting them is another matter, the Avondale resident said. They're harder to paint than flowers and even people because of their complex shapes and textures, Murphy said.

"You can approximate a person, and it will still be recognizable," she said. "You have to get shells dead-on perfect, or people won't know what they are."

Two of Murphy's watercolors will be exhibited at the Jacksonville Shell Club's 40th annual show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. …