Last print for the year....I think...before the big unwind for the holidays. I am looking forward to it. A chance to process the last years work and make plans for the next year.
Best wishes to all for a happy holidays and a happy, healthy and creative new year.
Available in my Folksy store.
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| Surge II Collagraph 14x14cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
Another big wave collagraph in a varied edition of 6. I am experimenting between high and low key prints... more ink...less ink... strong colour more muted. So many variables to try, I guess it's the printmaking equivelent of taking a line for a walk. Whatever it is I am enjoying it immensely.
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| Surge II Collagraph 14x14cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
and then using one over inked print I re ran it through the press with another sheet of paper on top and made a monoprint - the same but reversed.
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| Big wave monoprint 14x14cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I also like the plate at the end of the printing session and may frame that as an image in its own right....
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| Surge II printing plate cardboard and mixed media 14x14cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
Prints available in my Folksy store.
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| Can't stop the Tide collagraph 14x14cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
As well as lots of reference material of the groynes at Bournemouth beach being replaced I have hundreds of photos of waves crashing and splashing into them. I can obsessively stand clicking away trying to get the perfect shot of spray as it flies back from collision, the perfect light as it catches the water in shimmering flashes of colour.
Where previous images I have made about the groynes along the beach have been calmer in atmosphere I wanted to make something that in a small way captures that exciting, elemental energy, the sea battling against the solidity of the
wood. So another collagraph, with obscured shapes of the groynes as the sea pounds against it's side, raging at the obstruction that shields the shore. I think whilst I obsess at taking photographs to try to capture the moment I could soon obsess about capturing the perfect moment in print too. This may well turn into a series of it's own.......
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| Sketchbook pages ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
You cannot come to Bournemouth beach and fail to miss the groynes that march down the sand into the sea from Poole to Hengistbury Head there are 50-odd of them all protecting the beach from being washed away from the tide. They are part of the beach furniture here as much as sand and gulls. They are in sketchbook upon sketchbook of beach doodles I have filled since I moved here more than twenty years ago - so familiar are they that after a while they become easy to overlook.
It is a constant job for the Council to replace them which they do in sections working year on year. As a tot my son spent many a happy afternoon, from a safe distance, watching the diggers, dump trucks and cranes as they got to work removing and replacing. Once work is finished for the day and the light has become a little more exciting there were opportunities for some interesting sketching and photographing for me. I found the shadows fascinating.
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| Groynes at Bournemouth ©22021LisaLeQuelenec |
They have inspired a few series of work being rather convienent ways of introducing verticals in otherwise horizontal seascapes. A large series that kind of morphs every now and then to pop it's head up is one that I think of as 'Stripes on the Shoreline' - fairly recently in monoprints which you can read about here before that in a set of 28 small mixed media collages. It has surfaced again briefly in a collagraph with some rather unexpected results...
I made two collagraph plates using some cardboard as a base and added acrylic mediums and carborundum powder. I incised lines first using a biro then overworking with a blade being careful not to cut all the way through - I wanted an element of drypoint to the prints. Finally they were finished with a dilute layer of acrylic medium to seal them.
Below on the left is one of the prints taken by inking up the plate in the usual fashion. The carborundum holds copious amounts of ink and is difficult to wipe making holes very quickly in the scrim I use to wipe the plate. As there was so much ink on the print and on a whim remembering Henry Tonks* I ran the print through the press again but this time with a piece of clean damp paper covering it. The result, on the right, is a second print in reverse which whilst very different in mood to the original I also thought was a pleasing image.
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| Sentries collagraph 14x20.5cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
The process didn't work consistantly each time and I have some interesting misprints that I will use for further explorations and sketchbook work but there are three prints and three 'tonks' are available as an edition of Sentries and Sentries II and are available both on Folksy and Etsy.
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| Sentries II collagraph 14x20.5cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
*Henry Tonks - 1862 - 1937 a teacher at the Slade School of Art who used to press newsprint on to sections of paintings to remove excessive oil paint from the surface so as to be able to continue to work without having to wait so long for it to dry. The method is known as 'tonking'
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| Softly, softly watercolour 14x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
Summer seems so far away now....the pandemic and the various lock downs have skewed my sense of time so much..autumn felt springlike. I think even the seasons have been mixed up themselves as I see plants popping up through the soil that shouldn't be here for a few months yet and leaves only just coming off the trees that should have happened weeks ago. I'm no longer sure when things happened.. was it this year or was it the year before? Am I the only one to feel like this? It's chilly here so I think I will keep thinking of summer..
Both paintings available in my Folksy Store.
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| Quiet evening watercolour 22x22cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Watching the rain come in watercolour 20x16cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I love the magical light over the sea when a rain storm comes rushing in...
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| A Keen Breeze watercolour 16x20cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
Both paintings are available in my Etsy Store.
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| In for a Soaking Watercolour 25x25cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
It's funny how the rain can creep up on you ...
Available in my Etsy store.
This week is Just a Card's campaign week to celebrate and support artists, craftspeople and all small independent businesses. A wonderful idea, now in it's fifth year, sponsored by The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) and endorsed by many amazing supporters from the arts and business to celebs in the UK and around the world.
Venus comb shell card pen and wash ©2021LisaLeQuelenec
Whilst
I post images of paintings and printmaking, like a lot of artists, I
also make small images for handmade cards which are available in my Folksy. Selected paintings and prints are available as cards, prints, stationery and accessories at RedBubble . All the 'just a card' sales help keep
us going especially in recent times.
It is never just a card,
just a print, just a painting... it always means so much more. Just imagine, every time you hit the checkout somewhere an artist, craftsperson and independant business owner is doing a happy dance. If they are like me there will be a huge smile on their face and a daft butt wiggle too. I don't think you would get that so often with big business would you?
Just a Card explain it so much more eloquently than I can, follow the link to the website. Support the campaign and
support independents everywhere...go on you know you want to 😉
image by @cheerful.geek find them on Instagram
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| Sailing where the sea met the sky watercolour ©2020 LisaLeQuelenec |
We have been treated to some beautiful sunsets this Autumn, absolute stunners full of firey reds and oranges with rich cerise and purples. Breath taking as they are, my favourite kind to paint are these more mellow late summer ones.
This painting is available in my Etsy store.
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| Blue on Blue watercolour 28x28cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
A full moon from back in the summer twinkling on the sea in answer to the twinkling lights of the town in the distance. I am missing warm mellow evenings it feels distinctly chillier now.
Available in my Etsy store.
After having a huge studio sort and refurbish, I feel like I have now
properly moved in. It took a bit longer than I had anticipated and
weirdly even longer for the space to feel like it was mine. It was too
pristine and intimidating with all the new work surfaces and furniture -
I didn't feel like I could make a mess. I had to give myself a talking
to and just crack on. Now I have so many new drawers to store things I
am still hunting around to find what I am looking for but it does feel
so much more organised. What a lovely 'problem' to have.
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| Transitions I - V collagraphs xcm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I love this time of year when the light mellows from summer to autumn. Mornings of mist and earlier evenings, colours change subtley at first and all the summer green retreats to gold and bronze. This is the time of the harvest moon, still time to pick the last berries from the hedgerows before the late autumn storms that will arrive. We have had so little rain here now for weeks, the fields where I walk have looked parched for a while and the ground is so hard. For now I will enjoy the autumn sun and look forward to the storms that will eventually come. The wild weather that churns the sea and throws pockets full of treasure to the shore for a different kind of hunting and gathering.
All five prints are available in my Folksy store here.
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| Transition I collagraph 16x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Transition II collagraph 16x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Transition III collagraph 16x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Transition IV collagraph 16x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Transition V collagraph 16x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Details Transitions I - V collagraphs 16x24cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I'm not sure what is happening with Blogger at the moment. I thought I had posted this last week but it seems it just saved into drafts. Also I can't seem to post comments!?! Maybe it's me, I'm finding the newish format a bit difficult. Has anyone else had any problems?
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| Sea Breeze II collagraph 14.5cmx14.5cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
A new set of collagraphs inspires by watching kite surfers one evening. I started to think about how I could represent the sea breeze that so many people were having fun playing in. I could have watched them for hours whizzing along jumping and twisting as the sun was going down. It was both exhilarating and peaceful at the same time.
I started with some grey board and used acrylic medium, carborundum grit and aluminium tape to make shapes before inscribing into the board to make some intaglio marks. Just for an experiment I cut away some pieces of the base board to make gaps within the picture frame too. I haven't done this before but may again in the future. Below are the plates ready to be inked after they had been sealed in acrylic medium.
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| Cardboard collagraph plates for Sea Breeze I, II and III ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I inked them up in a mixture of intaglio (getting ink within the indentations) and relief ( a different colour rolled over the raised surfaces) techniques. I printed a set of five from each plate and all of them are quite different in variations.
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| Sea Breeze I, II & III collagraph varied edition ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Sea Breeze I, II & III collagraph varied edition ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
Below are the plates with their patina of inks - a history of colour and process.
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| Collagraph plates for Sea Breeze I, II & III ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Sea Breeze collagraph 10.5x14.5cm varied edition ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I will have some prints from each edition in my Folksy and Etsy stores.
Best wishes for a creative week.
Oooohhhh get me! My exciting news! I have been interviewed on the Folksy Blog in their Meet the maker series. To read the interview click here.
A really big thank you to Abi Jackson from The Sage Apothecary for such great questions (her skincare looks amazing!) and to Camilla Westergaard from Folksy for the opportunity. It has been fun.
It looks like I will be taking over Folksy's instagram @folksyhq over the weekend for a few posts in a maker takeover....think of the mischief I could get up to 😉
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| Limpets ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
At home in Jersey, I still call it home despite not having lived there for more than 25 years, limpet shells are very common due to the rocky coastline that is their habitat. In Bournemouth a lack of rockpools means that I don't see them washed up on the beaches. When I go back to visit I usually find a few have worked their way into my pockets. I'm not sure if it is because I am missing home (I'm wondering when it will feel safe to travel - I am cautious by nature) or because the broken shells that fascinate me remind me so much of the hag stones that I do find here in Bournemouth but I have been drawn to draw them. (See what I did there.)
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| Limpet shells and the collagraph plate that they inspired ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
After sketching out a few plans in my sketchbook I decided to make a collagraph plate, I had just had an order delivered that had some fine carborundum grit in it amongst other things and was eager to test it out. Using mountboard as a plate, acrylic medium as an adhesive, the grit and some grout/tile adhesive I set to work. I'm not sure if in shows very well in the photo but once the plate was dry I scratched into it with a drypoint needle to add more linear elements.
Below are four of the prints in the small edition all inked up differently to each other.
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| Ensemble (4 of the prints in a varied edition of 6) collagraph 9.5x9.5cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I couldn't resist making some more plates below is another of them with the resulting prints. I have put some of the prints for sale in my Folksy store.
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| Limpets shells and collagraph plate ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Stacked varied edition collagraph 8x13cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
At the end of all of this printing, I looked again at the plates. I kind of think they could be framed in their own right. I like looking at the worn down textures (worn by the press rather than by the sea) and the history of ink colour that has sunk into the grooves and the plate.
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| Collagraph plates and limpet shells ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Fossil Three drypoint 7.8x15cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Fossil Three drypoint 7.8x15cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
Back to a favourite subject here...ammonites - well I do live on the Dorset coast. This time in collagraph and again in drypoint. Prints from both editions are available in my Folksy Store.
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| Just a Trace collagraph 16x22.5cm ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I'm chasing my tail again this week with looming deadlines and I'm hoping to catch up with everyones blogs with a nice strong cuppa soon. Wish me luck.
Miss Lu - sometime studio assistant, field trip organiser and snack snaffler.
Hi, a quick post today as I'm trying to finish some jobs off before school holidays start - last day of school tomorrow and I'm not sure I'm going to make it....eeek!
I really like blogging it is something that I really missed this last crazy year when days were short and time was long and I love visiting other peoples blogs too. Blogger is special to me for the sense of community and friendships that I have made. I like that it takes a bit of effort to post something. I love that complete strangers and bloggin' buddies take the time out of their busy day to engage, comment and make contact. I have always found it a wonderful and supportive place. My intention is to continue with my once a week ramblings that hopefully are of interest to some people.
I have been meaning to start an Instagram feed for an embarassingly long time and just kept putting it off and putting it off - not sure why really. Anyway a couple of weeks or so ago I started an account so if your thing is more images and far less waffley wordery then you can now find me there now too. Lu will no doubt stick her paw in every now and again as well. I'm quite liking the format in a different way to blogger and partly it feels like an instant exhibition.
So far I have found a few blogging buddies who don't seem to post much here any more so if you are on there pop over and say hi so I can find you.
Wishing you a wonderfully creative week.
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| Laura's watercolour 10x10cm paper ©lisalequelenec |
Thank you for the great challenge, it was good fun.
You can see Laura's blog here. Full of beautiful, delicate coastal watercolours.
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| Scallop shell study watercolour 21x30cm approximately ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
I've been spending a bit of time getting my shop back together over on Etsy. A few new watercolour shell studies have been added and I will add more work in the coming weeks. I will continue to post on Mondays and Thursdays for the forseeable but if you need something more urgently please do contact me to see what can be arranged. If your intended purchase is a gift I can always post it directly to the recipient with a note if you let me know the details.
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| Seahorse, urchin and starfish studies available individually watercolour 21x30cm approximately ©2021LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Shore drypoint 8.8x15cm ©2021 LisaLeQuelenec |
A varied
edition of 15 'Shore' each print will be an experiment in printing
different combinations of mulitple colours which is something I haven't
really tried before. This is part of my challenge to widen my palette
this year.
These prints are available at Folksy.
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| Shore drypoint variations 8.8x15cm ©2021 LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Sky studies 10x10cm watercolour on paper ©2020/21LisaLeQuelenec |
During lockdown I spent a lot of time looking up. There were some fantastic coloured skies, the air seemed crisper and cleaner. Maybe due to a drop in pollution? I am fortunate to live within a short distance of the beach so could easily visit during the allowed exercise time/distance. It is only really now that I am starting to get used to seeing planes in the sky again and they are still alot more infrequent than before.
I started a series of 10x10cm watercolours inbetween the homeschooling, dog walking and in spare moments. I am starting to put these paintings into my Folksy store each measures 10x10cm and represents a quiet moment to forget about the stress of these troublesome times.
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| Sky studies 10x10cm watercolour on paper ©2020/21LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Sky studies 10x10cm watercolour on paper ©2020/21LisaLeQuelenec |