Hag stones - watercolour and collage

Hag stone sketch ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Hag stones - stones with naturally occuring holes - are plentiful on the local beaches. Traditional folklore states that they are protection from witchcraft, can protect against disease and by looking through the hole you can see the fairy folk. Dorset fishermen used to tie them onto their boats for luck. I'm not so sure about that but I do find the spaces fascinating and when drawing them I am not sure if I am drawing the stone or the spaces inbetween. This little nugget was a sketch from the summer probably made in a couple of minutes and then forgotten about just as quickly. Until now....


 I started by cutting shapes from pre-painted and printed papers looking from patterns, marks and textures similar to the stones that I have collected. Then I began to play with arranging them on a plain white backing. Four little stacks resulted that are giving me lots of ideas for further work.

Four Pebble collages   approx 20x5cm mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Pebbles - watercolour studies

Pebble studies in watercolour   21x15cm approx   ©LisaLeQuelenec2017

There is something very comforting about a pebble warmed by the sun and held in the hand. I seem to collect pockets full of pebbles from all the different places I visit; picked for their colour, texture, pattern or weight. Quite often holding particular pebbles can transport me back to the landscape from where it came. Some of them appear to depict complete little landscapes within their markings. I have a bowl of them on my drawing table along with all the other bits and bobs picked up on my walks. The above watercolour studies are a few favourites recently gathered locally. The one below reminded me of an early O'Keefe watercolour.

Pebble study in watercolour   21x15cm approx   ©LisaLeQuelenec2017

I think I feel a new project coming on.....

Winter

Winter - A/P    blind embossed collagraph 12x20cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec  

Winter continues with it's dark, cold and damp here on the south coast. It may not be the best light for painting but work continues with printmaking, sketching and planning for this lovely fresh new year.

In December I had made a collagraph plate of a lone winter tree the first print of which I used for my Christmas card. Well I have made a further three prints from this plate and one blind print (a print with no ink that just shows as an embossed image). It is a technique which I rather like especially mounted and framed completely white on white - very crisp and pure.

All three are available at Seaside Studios Uk on Etsy.

  Winter - 1/3          collagraph print        12x20cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

   

A digitally manipulated version of this image is available as reproduction prints and cards on my RedBubble site

Winter tree moon II  reproduction print   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec