These scallops are commonly found not just in Tasmania but right across southern Australia. This meant a quick trip down to Albany, a town on the western south coast of Western Australia to find some. Winter storms had washed up huge numbers of shells of these two species onto Middleton Beach. It was a simple matter to wander round and in a couple of minutes pick up good intact specimens. The pinkish-grey shell is the Commercial Scallop Pecten fumatus, the orange and black shell is the Doughboy Scallop Mimachlamys asperrima. This latter species is very variable in colour, from bright yellow through all shades of orange, red and brown to almost black or green. I chose this orange-black colour as it seemed about in the middle of the range of colours.
I spent a very agreeable couple of days in Albany, drawing and painting directly from the specimens which resulted in these small works. It is always a pleasure to create so immediately, from material which won’t deteriorate -like a fish specimen, or try to escape -like a lively Rock Lobster!
