Ocean Breeze

Ocean Breeze   watercolour 15x21cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Inspired by a recent trip to Jersey to see my folks. I love the beaches there...

Tranquil waters

Tranquil waters   watercolour 23x10cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

The result of paint left on my palette, a mix of paynes grey, ivory black, manganese blue and what ever else was left, one brush, a no.8 round and the end strip from a large sheet of paper that had been cut down. The inspiration came from an old sketchbook that I had been flipping through. I enjoyed painting with limited means, the challenge of making each element work hard. It was one of those off the cuff moments that just seemed to work. I thought it worked anyway..... 

Watercolour sky studies continued...

Sky Study VIII  watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Sky Study IX  watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Sky Study X  watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Summer Evening

Summer Evening   22x22cm  watercolour  ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

We are in the midst of our wonderful English summer. The weather is changeable with rainy days amongst warmer sunnier ones. It's a very English thing to complain about our summer rain but for a painter it can hold many opportunities. Whilst it can be chilly in the evenings it's not really cold and the cloud and moisture in the sky can make for some beautiful colours which are a challenge to capture. The rain is also great for the garden and saves me the chore of watering - win win!

Gingko leaves mixed media painting WIP

I began this mixed media painting some time ago and have only just had time to do the finishing layers. Sometimes I find it hard to come back to a piece after a break but I think in this instance it has helped. It has slowly evolved using different materials and techniques and I like the way that the different layers that peek through from each stage meld together in the final image.

Gingko mixed media step by step ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Stage 1 - I started with a multi block print of gingko leaves that had been printed on top of a monoprint. My intention from the beginning was to build up a rich patina of texture and colour. The two different processes of print making had given me a good start toward fulfilling this aim. As an image it looks bold, graphic and simplistic.


Stage 2 - After working on top in some coloured pencils and acrylic the image was becoming brighter and bolder. To knock back this strength of colour I added a layer of handmade mulberry paper using acrylic medium to glue it down. The random placing of the threads in the paper added to the texture and the semi opaque qualities of the paper knocked back the colour like a veil of haze.


Stage 3 - In the background of the piece I added watercolour in violets and aqua. Where the acrylic medium that I used to glue down the silk paper was thickest it resisted the watercolour, where it was thinnest the paint settled adding tho the rich tapestry of marks. The leaves were worked into with further layers of acrylic.


Stage 4 - The whole now had a layer of semi opaque buff titanium acrylic glaze from the edges of the silk paper onto the the initial paper ground of the original print.


Stage 5 - I took this same glaze and painted right through the whole image uniting the backgound and image. The leaves were then enhanced with layers of acrylic including the addition of some gold metallic paint to draw out the form of the leaves.


Stage 6 - A final layer of aqua stronger at the bottom and running through the smallest top leaf added some depth to the piece.

Falling   mixed media  15.5x25.5cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

In the final crop I wanted to show the layers that have gone into making up the painting and so left some of the original paper from the print stage showing. I also chose a double mount to emphasise  the frame within a frame aspect. Whilst it is difficult to show in a photograph, each stage of this mixed media piece has added a rich patina of colour and texture. This painting is for sale at my Etsy shop here.


Ironically I started planning this image from some leaves that I had pressed last year in Autumn whilst now the gingko tree in my garden is in full leaf showing off some beautiful summer colour...