Boo!

Midnight Stroll  acrylic on board 16x11cm  ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec

I posted about this painting earlier in the year but thought I would re post it as it seems fitting for Halloween. It is available to buy in my Etsy store  here  .

Best wishes to everyone who has seen through the terrible storm in the US and Canada. I'm thinking of you and hoping that everyone has made it through safely. The footage that I have seen on the news is just awful. Stay safe everyone and happy Halloween.

Cloud Watching

Cloud Watching   11x11cm acrylic on board   ©2012LisaLeQuelenec

A tiny painting to peer into.

Blazing glory

Blazing Glory   11x11cm acrylic on board   ©2012LisaLeQuelenec

In my garden I have a little collection of trees, most of them are in pots to contain their size and they grow happily enough. Amongst the collection are acers (Japanese maples), an olive, a lemon, a eucalyptus, an acacia, and the latest - a lovely gingko that His Nibbs treated me to for my birthday. I find the different leaf shapes and textures of the barks and colours inspiring. Each tree has it's own time in the spotlight whilst the others wait to take their turn.  At this time of year the acers really come into their own glowing like jewels.

The painting below isn't of my garden (I wish!) it from a place called Hillier's Arboretum  in Hampshire where His Nibbs and I went for a visit. It's magical at this time of year. My treasure bag of beautiful leaves was full to the brim. It's most definitely worth a visit if you are in the area and whether you stop to sketch or not can take up a whole day.

Despite the specimens that I picked up that day it's the acer leaf from my garden that I decided to paint.

The pond at Hillier's Arboretum  ©2012LisaLeQuelenec

Leaf study

Leaf study coloured pencil in a Daler Rowney cachet sketchbook ©2012LisaLeQuelenec

Sometimes the fifteen minute walk to the post office and back can take double or triple that time. This time of year makes it especially long as there are so many of these beauties to pick and choose from on the way. Each specimen seems so much more jewel-like than the last and before you know it your treasure bag (I always have a freezer bag in my pocket or bag for this purpose) is full to the brim. Yesterday was one such day and here is the result. It's amazing to me how fleeting their beauty is - over night this little leaf has dried out, faded and I can see more decay.

During this trip to the post office I also found a pair of acorns that had been stashed in my pocket a couple of weeks ago...... squirrel like? Me?

A heavy rain is about to fall

A heavy rain is about to fall   watercolour on paper   17x17cm   ©2012Lisa Le Quelenec

I was waiting for the next bout of heavy rain and looking back over some sketches I'd done a few weeks ago. Out came the dark watercolours again. I'm still using Daler ivory black, Winsor & Newton neutral tint and Winsor & Newton paynes grey with small additions of other colours on rough paper. The paint can sometimes granulate too much but I am finding a small hint of gouache can help to smooth through these areas and add weight to passages of the painting. I love granulation but you can have too much of a good thing.

Last night heavy rain pounded down. I love listening to the  racket it makes on the conservatory roof and glass walls whilst I am safe, warm and dry inside. It wasn't a night to outside that was for sure. This morning is glorious sunshine until the next weather front moves in.

At the shore

At the Shore   15.5x15.5cm acrylic on paper   ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec

Standing at the shore, listening to the tide gently rolling in and enjoying the autumn light. The chilly edge in the air smells of Autumn now and I will be digging out warmer clothes soon.

The painting above is available in my Etsy Store  here .

Getting ready for the Kaleidoscope show at Highcliffe Castle

Elemental I - VI   mixed media 9x9cm images   ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec

All framed and ready to go to the Kaleidoscope Exhibition at Highcliffe Castle. I've framed these little works with stand backs so that they can be displayed on a shelf or hung on a wall. I've found this to be a popular way of displaying these small scale works. I spent a large chunk of yesterday at the framers,  Coastline Arts,  ordering mounts and some last minute framing. (Thank you guys, you really are stars!). I will also be exhibiting some larger pieces and a selection of unframed, mounted paintings.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the work by the other artists. The Castle gallery is a beautiful space to exhibit and once your eyes have been tempted by the beautiful art and craft you could then pop across to the lovely tea rooms to be tempted by fare of a different kind :o) . This exhibition runs from 24th October - 23rd December.

What is the point?

I just don't get it...what I read this morning.  I'm just not clever enough to understand. Obviously this person was very proud of his actions which is why he 'made a quick exit' and wasn't interviewed in person on the BBC. His aim, so he said, was to change people's perceptions. Of what I would like to know? After listening to the interview I am none the wiser, like I said I'm just not clever enough...

Finding the right title - elemental

Elemental II   9x9cm mixed media   ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec

I did a lot of thinking about a title for this series of tiny works. In my sketchbooks are lists of words, ideas for titles, hurriedly scribbled notes made whilst in the middle of a painting. None of these seemed to fit. Quite a few words came to mind but none seemed to capture exactly what I was aiming for. I started to look at dictionary definitions which helped to clarify in my own mind, in words, what it was that I want to say. I often find titling work the hardest part of the creative process, to articulate the idea and to be succinct can be a big challenge. I want to give the viewer a clue as to what I am aiming at without dictating to them how they are supposed to respond. I find this is a tricky line to walk.

Elemental was a word that I had kept coming back to, below is the definition of  'Elemental' as an adjective from  http://oxforddictionaries.com

 
'forming an essential or typical feature; fundamental... related to or embodying the powers of nature... (of an emotion) powerful and primitive...'


How do you title your works? Do you find it as hard as I do? Do you think titles are important? Maybe you think that all that needs to be said is within the work itself? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Elemental III   9x9cm mixed media   ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec

 

September storms (in October) - part 3

Thursday's walk at the beach brought indigo/purple rain filled clouds with strong sunlight highlighting sparkling grasses on the dunes. Delicious! The kind of light that gives me goosebumps!

This is the first in a series of very small paintings that I am doing to hang along side my canvases in the Christmas Exhibition at   Highcliffe Castle.  Strictly speaking although they are mostly acrylic there is some coloured pencil and ink in there too so I am calling them mixed media. I love working in this tiny format, in some ways it is more of a challenge than a large canvas.

  Elemental I    mixed media 9x9cm    ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec