Saturday 11 February 2017

If you go down to the woods today.... monoprint and mixed media via a digital sketchbook




Birch Study III   monoprint and mixed media   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec




Sometimes I like to experiment digitally with images - it can be a quick way of trying different crops of an image without commiting to changing physically a piece of work. I like how I can change tones and colours in seconds and so can be a useful tool to progress a project.

I scanned one of the birch tree monoprint and mixed media pieces from the last post, cropped it, changed the tones and then started to adjust the colouring. I rather like the warmer version and also the darker more moody version that came last. I chose the last idea to explore first wanting to go deeper into indigo with a bigger contrast in the tonal range for more drama.




Birch Study III digital sketchbook experiment page  ©2017LisaLeQuelenec



birch sketchbook sample ©2017LisaLeQuelenec



This is a small sample that I made using a scrap from a failed print and adding washes of watercolour in varying strengths. The oilbased printing ink resists the watercolour in unusual ways giving nice textural effects - something I want to use to my advantage although difficult to control.









If you go down to the woods today...   monoprint and mixed media   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec


The above image is the result of the experiment so far. On top of the monoprint I have used drawing ink, coloured pencils and watercolour. The surface qualities and textures of the materials resisting each other are producing some lovely marks. I think my next step is to return to my sketchbook and work through some composition thumbnails maybe also to see how some of these marks can be translated into pure paint. Fun and messy times ahead I think...



3 comments:

RH Carpenter said...

Fun and messy is good!!

Chris Lally said...

Lovely result. Love your experiments and your fearless attitude, Lisa! What an inspiration!

Lisa Le Quelenec said...

Hi Rhonda - always ;o)

Thanks Chris! I always think if it goes wrong I will just keep working until it goes right. Most of the time it all works out in the end. The best mistakes seem to turn out to be the biggest discoveries.