A quick trip

A quick trip down to Perranporth last week for a birthday celebration (not mine) and I stole the opportunity for a lone walk on the beach whilst the boys went swimming. My pockets were getting heavy after an hour or so...

Beach treasures   photograph ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

The sky was overcast and it was a bit blowy, though surprisingly warm so there weren't that many people out except for the dog walkers and a few dedicated surfers.

Perranporth beach ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

Perranporth Beach ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

With one eye on the tide, which was on it's way in, I explored the rock pools looking at all the textures and colours.

Rock pool ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

It had been ten years since I had been back to Cornwall. (I used to go three sometimes four times a year) I definitely won't be leaving it so long again. It's such an inspiring stretch of coast. I'm sure the colours and textures will be appearing in new work very soon.

On the rocks ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

And just because..... a few more textures and tones.....

Textures and tones of Perranporth   ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

Storm coming!

Storm Coming!

acrylic on paper 19x29cm

©2011 Lisa Le Quelenec

I got caught out in this storm at St. Agnes, Cornwall, a couple of years ago. It really did feel like the sky got this dark, I remember beach combing and exploring rock pools and looking up to this half and half sky. You couldn't see where the sea ended and the sky began. Within not more of five minutes of the rain starting I was soaked to the skin but within half an hour you wouldn't have known a storm had passed. - I love the Cornish weather, you can have everything within the space of a day.

This painting is another one that was started a little while ago and has been picked up and put down. Partly I think because I'm relying on memory and, whilst the memory is still vivid in my mind, I'm sure it is selective in the information I recall.

The mist rolls in

The Mist Rolls In

©2010 Lisa Le Quelenec

29x19cmAcrylic on paper

We woke up this morning to another cold and heavy mist. It reminded me of the above painting I had done in Perranporth, Cornwall. It had been a lovely hot summers day and we'd grabbed our books and sketching things and headed to the beach. After about five minutes we stopped and watched as huge banks of mist crept their way up the beach - just like a spooky horror film. It was amazing to watch as it was so thick the rocks you'd been looking at a few seconds before vanished into the thick, damp blanket. It lasted for probably about half an hour and as it started to lift it disappeared in horizontal bands so that at one point we could see a pair of legs striding towards us that were unattached to a person. Soon a ball landed in my lap, closely followed by a friendly dog who in turn was followed by his owner, who I'm glad to say now had a body attached to her legs.

This painting is now in the Frost Fair exhibition at the Hayloft Gallery, Christchurch, which runs until 21st December.

A taste of Cornwall in old sketches

 A comment from Vivien at Painting, Prints & Stuff got me thinking today about Cornwall. I did a foundation course there and it was such an inspiring place to be. I've been digging out old sketchbooks and looking at an old painting.

The two on either side are of St. Michael's mount and were probably done about eight years ago. I distinctly remember being pestered by what felt like hundreds of sand flies whilst I attempted to sketch. (It's my dodgy photographic skills today though that have made the horizons so wonky.)

 

 These are of Wheal Coates Mine, done two or three years later. You can see from the one on the left I was quite influenced by Michael Morgan at the time. Strange how even with the passage of time the colours I used were the same as the St. Michael's Mount sketch. The colours I used were much bolder and brighter back then and I also used a lot of texture pastes. I used to scan sketches and play with the colours in photoshop, reversing them and changing hues and saturations and then use that as a guide for my painting. That's something I haven't done for a long time but maybe I should as an experiment.....

 

In the painting Copper Gleam I've upped the contrast in the photo so that you can see the texture paste I used in the cliffs. The sky in the painting isn't quite as light as it appears here. This is one of about four paintings that I have left from my Cornish work, for me it's a keeper as it reminds me of good times. I've not been down to Cornwall the last couple of years but I really hope to next year.

Looking at these old sketchbooks has sparked so many ideas for new work and themes to perhaps revisit. At the moment I'm seeing lino prints in a lot of these sketches. I find it interesting to see as well just how much my work has changed but also how similar it is. So a big thank you to Vivien for the nudge.

 Copper Gleam

12.5x17.5cm acrylic on board

Countdown Begins

The next exhibition date is coming around fast, 17th - 23rd September at the Hayloft in Christchurch. I'll be exhibiting with a whole bunch of very talented people; Eve Hill, Laura Moseley, Harriet Schofield and Chloe Weeks.
There's so much work still to do but I thought I'd take a break to show you some of the work I've done so far.

Early Evening St. Michaels Mount

acrylic on paper 12x19cm

Burnished

acrylic on canvas 60x60cm

It's a beautiful day here and it's bank holiday weekend! I hope you are enjoying yours.