Shells of the Shore

Shells of the Shore grew from my lifelong pull toward coastlines and the quiet rituals of wandering along the tideline. As a child I would crouch in the sand for hours, choosing shells by feel rather than appearance, running my fingers along their ridges and imagining the stories they carried from deeper waters. The scallop shell, with its soft curves and fanlike strength, always felt like a small piece of wisdom offered by the sea.

This painting draws from that memory — the rhythm of the shore, the hush of waves rolling over sand, and the sense of being held by something larger. Layered acrylics create a shifting interplay of translucency and form, echoing the way light moves through water and how memories surface gently over time. Gestural marks carry the energy of tide and movement, while the muted coastal palette holds a calm, familiar warmth.

Shells of the Shore sits in the in between — between past and present, inner and outer, softness and resilience. It offers a reminder of the protective, receptive, feminine qualities the ocean awakens in us, and the quiet moments of discovery found at the water’s edge.

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Caris is an Australian abstract expressionist artist and arts therapist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscapes and waters that shaped her life. Born into a family who camped yearly on the remote shores of Ningaloo Station, Caris grew up attuned to reef, tide and the quiet beings of rock pools. Later raised by the ocean in Albany on Western Australia’s south coast, she developed a profound connection to water as a companion, teacher and place of spiritual comfort.

Her practice blends intuitive mark making, colour resonance and energy work, drawing on her background in arts therapy, healing modalities and her natural clairvoyant sensitivity. Caris' paintings explore liminality, feminine essence and the unseen currents that move through land and body. She is known for her vulva portrait series and her nature inspired abstractions that invite viewers into a space of self acceptance, reverence and inner quiet.

Working between the emotional and the etheric, Caris creates art that bridges worlds: land and water, seen and felt, solitude and belonging. Her work is both a personal remembrance and a collective offering, inviting others to experience the soft power, peace and connection she has long found in nature.