Monday 29 July 2013

New watercolour nature studies


Feather studies   watercolour 6x8inch   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec





Feather study   watercolour 6x8inch   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec


The lower painting is actually portrait format and should be turned 90 degrees clockwise. For some reason Blogger will only load the photo in landscape format. The paintings are for sale in my Etsy store in the studies section here.

I love painting feathers with all their subtleties. I will never run out of subjects as friends have started to collect them for me now too. I'd love to get a blue wing jay feather and live in hope of finding one on my walks by the river where I see them frequently. So far I've not had any luck.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Variations



mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec
mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec





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So far there are four Variations of this composition. Seen together the changes are subtle and remind me of being at the beach and observing the water. - kind of like film stills in one way..



mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec
mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec





















Friday 19 July 2013

A new series

I have been intently working on a new series of small scale mixed media pieces which I am show casing at the Hayloft Gallery's Coral Anniversary Exhibition. They have been inspired by my pocket sketchbooks that are filled with quick sketches, often no more than hurried gestural marks that have taken no more than a minute. I like the vitality and simplicity of these sketches which sometimes is lost in paintings and have been thinking about how to make a series of work that captures this essence. Whilst thinking about how best to approach the project I decided that I wanted to keep the scale very small like the original sketches but also have a way of making variations from each sketch - a series within the series so to speak.



Variations series    mixed media 6.5x10.5cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec



To begin with I started monoprinting then I worked back into the prints with other media, mostly colour pencil. (I've a hunch that collage may make an appearance as the series progresses.) The textures that the printing ink makes during the monoprint process makes a lovely tooth to work back into. The texture grabs a hold of the pencil in a nice way. As the series progresses I want to be working more on the mark making which is truer to the original sketches but old habits are hard to break ;o) Also because of the unpredictable nature of the printing process it means that I can have very different variations even though the original source (sketch) is the same.

One of the beauties of this way of working is that time has become a very precious commodity for me the last few months so it means that I can keep working through disruptions as they are easy to pick up and put down unlike paintings. (It's difficult to stop a watercolour mid wash or an acrylic where the paints dries too quickly. Especially during this heatwave that we are experiencing in the UK. It has been hot hot HOT!!! - such a change from all the flooding last year.)


Thursday 11 July 2013

Solo



Solo    acrylic on paper 12.5x12.5cm     ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

A gull effortlessly glides the breeze that quenches the heat from the day as evening draws.

We are enjoying a couple of weeks of warm summer sun here, chores are saved for the cool of the evening. It's a big difference to the torrential rain we had last year and I'm making the most of it. This painting will be in the Coral Anniversary Exhibition at the Hayloft, Christchurch 19th July - 15th August.

Friday 5 July 2013

A gentle sea




A Gentle Sea   13x13cm acrylic on paper     ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec


Fine hot weather is forecast for the next ten days or so. (-I hope I haven't just jinxed it ;o)  ) I'm looking forward to some sights like this where everything slows down in the lazy heat. I can't be too lazy though as I've the Hayloft exhibition coming up very soon and then another group show at Priory House in August. I will be making time for some gentle evening strolls along the sand though.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Sand Dunes and Shadows II


Sand Dunes and Shadows II   watercolour 15x21cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec


 

Sand Dunes & Shadows acrylic on paper19x28cm  ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec
Sometimes it's interesting to take a composition that you painted in one medium and do another version in a different one. Sand Dunes and Shadows was painted in acrylic in May last year. The second painting was painted recently when I was demonstrating at the Living Crafts event at the Priory in Christchurch. I like the warmth of the colours in the watercolour. The acrylic has more of a cooler evening atmosphere. I wonder what this composition would transform into if I used printmaking techniques.....