Back to the drawing board...gull sketchbook pages

When in doubt go back to basics.... something that has helped me many times over the years. The act of drawing with no end in mind can help me push a project through, consolidate ideas or suggest new avenues to explore. I think what these sketches are telling me and the recent experiments and prints is that I need to step away for a while and stop thinking about it. Then later, there will be time to re-evaluate and percolate the ideas. I think I will spend some more time re-reading the poem that was the original inspiration as well. For now the gulls can rest as I begin the wind down to the holidays and the exciting job of planning for next years adventures.

Gull sketchbook pages  ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Gulls 2 - more printmaking experiments in monoprint and digital manipulations

I continue to play with the lone gull motif. The lower five square images are digital manipulations of the original first image. Tiny steps and alterations that can make a big difference to my line of thought. I may be drifting towards vignettes again... On the right three monoprints. I started to play with multiples and pattern - it could be an interesting avenue to explore later. I think I want to contrast this serenity with a bit more energy and texture...onwards!

Gulls ideas in monoprint and digital manipulations   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Monoprint and mixed media skimming the breeze

Skimming the breeze   monoprint and mixed media 21x15

Another monoprint experiment to which I added a little coloured pencil. I cut a paper mask to make the gull shape - it has given me a lot of ideas to think about. I like the contrast in printmaking methods between the painterly looseness of monoprint and the more precise etchings and drypoints. I am filling notebooks at a rate of knots with ideas to further explore. If only there were more hours in the day...

A wave in monoprint

Surf   monoprint and coloured pencil   21x15cm ©2016Lisa Le Quelenec

A little monoprint - just playing with ideas and using up leftover ink. I wonder where it will lead me....

Three little watercolour feathers

Three Little Feathers   15x21cm approx each   watercolour on paper   ©2016Lisa Le Quelenec

More subtle and wintry greys - this time for feathers. My palette does seem to be greyed down at the moment again and I am enjoying it immensely. I love neutrals and especially colourful ones. This are mixes of Payne's grey, neutral tint, cobalt blue, yellow ochre and indigo. There is so much variation that can be achieved. These colours have been all in the skies of late but yesterday was glorious blue - cold and very windy - a good day for collecting treasures.

All three are available individually in my Etsy gallery Seasidestudiosuk

Feather studies and drypoint experiments

Feather I   proof drypoint   15x8cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Feathers I is a drypoint made using an aluminum plate. In the grey version I used a roller to get a very thin layer of ink as a background after wiping the plate and then added more ink and took away more ink with a brush in areas of the feather. This was the first time that I had tried this technique and I rather liked the subtle effect. In the sepia version below I tried to vary the amount of ink along the feather to get a greater variation in tone just by wiping alone.

Feather I   proof drypoint   15x8cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Feather sketches pencil a4 ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Feather sketches pencil a4 ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

The drypoint below was made using a perspex plate which I printed onto handmade paper that had leaves within it. As the paper was so fine I didn't soak the paper this meant that the paper wasn't supple enough to get a good stand alone print from the burr as it went through the press, especially where the the thicker bits of leaves were. However it was enough to use as a base for a mixed media piece and a worthwhile experiment. It's certainly giving me food for thought and sparking some new ideas for the future.

Feathers  drypoint and mixed media on handmade paper   15x20cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Gulls and waves

Solo   dry point  8x7.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Another small drypoint made on a perspex plate. As an experiment I started to draw into one of the prints. I think the vignette idea is still trying to work its way out of my head because I felt like the sea needed to break the confines of the plate.

Into the Wind   10x10cm drypoint and mixed media   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Both versions are available at my Etsy shop Seasidestudiosuk.

Watercolour storms in my sketchbook

Watercolour storm sketches A4 sketchbook ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

More storms in my sketchbook. My aim was to capture the 'wetness' of the weather. I am noticing those mussel shell colours a lot at the moment.

Watercolour summer storms

Last week we were treated to the most fantastic light show during a thunderstorm. I can't remember a storm with so much lightening. It was very loud and very bright and lasted quite a long time. Luckily Prince Twinkle toes slept all the way through it.

The build up to it had started in the afternoon and had inspired these tiny paintings which I have now listed in my Etsy shop.

Storm building I   watercolour 6x9cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Storm building II   watercolour 6.5x8.5cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Storm building III   watercolour 6x9cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Storm building IV   watercolour 6x9cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Print making day 2 dry point and etching

A Sudden Shower 1   dry point 10.5x5.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

Toward the end of the previous session we had tried a little dry point as a test piece to get a feel for the technique. Using a small off cut of aluminum we scratched in a design using an etching needle. I know that I have used this process before back in my college days but being twenty years ago now I can barely remember it. I hadn't scratched in hard enough to get a deep enough burr to hold the ink so my first pass through the press was too feint.

A Sudden Shower 2   dry point 10.5x5.5cm   ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

After going over some of the lines and inking up again I was much more encouraged by the results. Now I just needed to concentrate on the inking up which is I think, the real 'art' of print making; knowing just how much to take off the plate I have found difficult to get the hang of. I think this is something that will come after many, many failed prints.










So a new day and a new set of adventures began. Trying to remember all that I had learnt about the above technique I started a new plate. This is the best print of the course for me. Luck was on my side and some magic happened...

On the Dunes   dry point 10x18.5cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

I used the etching needle to scratch in and cross hatch the fence posts, then carefully drew in the lines of the wire fence and grasses. When I inked up the plate I used a sepia ink only inking on the burr and I didn't apply any to the sky area or the sand on the right. I spent time buffing off the excess and burnishing the foreground grasses. At the last minute I had an 'I wonder what would happen if?...' moment and I used a piece of used black inky scrim and very gently wiped over the areas that had no ink at all on them. (My initial intention had been to leave these areas completely pristine and white.)

Using pre-soaked paper I ran it through the press and was excited to see the result. I like the tonal range of the image. The black inky scrim has given it a very subtle smokiness which I think gives it a nice atmosphere. There wasn't time for me to do a second pass in comparison without the grey so I will have to return to it another time. I think if I had left it completely white the image would have looked to hard and graphic. There are, of course, a lot of things that can be improved on with the drawing and inking of the plate and my edges aren't terribly neat but I felt satisfied that I had made a good start.

The plate 7.5x8cm ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

On to etching with acid... using a small piece of zinc that had been coated in hard ground I gently scratched in with an etching needle. My shell design was so gently drawn in as to only have taken off the ground rather than denting the plate. I wondered if this would be enough for the acid to bite into. It went into an nitrate acid bath (ratio 1/10) for 25 minutes and was washed and prepared for inking. Again I used sepia ink but the burr in the plate was so subtle that I really didn't have high hopes for getting a decent impression. This is the plate before I had cleaned the ink off so you can see the ink in the lines. If you run your nail over the plate you can barely feel the indentation. I really like the plate as an object in itself - nice shiny zinc with the delicate inked lines  - I am tempted to frame it ;o)

Scallop A/P 1   etching ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

The first proof taken from the plate. I was pleasantly surprised at how much detail had come out. I had obviously underestimated just how much pressure the plate is put under in the press.

Scallop A/P 2   etching ©2015Lisa Le Quelenec

As an experiment without inking the plate again I ran it through the plate a second time. Not so strong an image but I quite like the faded subtlety of it.



So after busy day two I had much to think about. I really enjoyed the etching process but baths of acid etc aren't going to be very practical for me to replicate at home. Dry point is maybe similar enough for me and very much appeals to my love of drawing. This was something for me to research before the next session.

Watercolour vignettes

I am fascinated by Turner's watercolour vignettes which you can see and read about here. It is interesting that the vignettes that he did weren't intended as paintings in their own right but as pieces to be translated into print that were subordinate to the text that they accompanied. In my opinion they are all little gems.

It has prompted me to look again at breaking out of the formal constraints of the rectangular or square format of paper and canvas which can lead to something altogether more interesting. This is something I explored briefly some years back but hadn't returned to. Whilst my explorations are no where near as free flowing and randomly shaped as Turner's it might be the start of a journey that develops in that vein. To have the same confidence in guiding the paint rather than controlling it is definitely something that I aspire to.

Vignettes   watercolour  9x9cm   ©2014Lisa Le Quelenec

I have presented these part circular paintings within a square aperture mount which reinforces the formality that I am breaking away from. I like the tension between the formal and the chaotic. Where this will lead I have no idea but it is an interesting idea to experiment with.

Gulls in flight - watercolour sketches

Gull sketchbook  25x5.5cm   ©2014Lisa Le Quelenec

The lions share of the pages from a watercolour sketchbook had been used up in a commission and I was left with a narrow bound book to play with. Using only flame red and turquoise FW ink I painted some diluted backgrounds and once dry sketched gulls in using only white gouache and pencil for the dark wing tips.

The few lines of poetry are from Pablo Neruda's Ode to the Sea Gull; '... ecstatic line of flight.' became almost a mantra as I tried to get the swiftness of the shape in one stroke. There is something very calming and meditative in the repetition of sketching in this way which I enjoyed. My aim was to get to believable shapes using only one or two brushstrokes. I found as I went along that the more I did the more I wanted to do until I had painted just under 150 of them! Then wondered how much better the results would be after another 150. Maybe another sketchbook is waiting to be filled.  - practise makes perfect after all...

New watercolour nature studies

Feather studies   watercolour 6x8inch   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Feather study   watercolour 6x8inch   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

The lower painting is actually portrait format and should be turned 90 degrees clockwise. For some reason Blogger will only load the photo in landscape format. The paintings are for sale in my Etsy store in the studies section here.

I love painting feathers with all their subtleties. I will never run out of subjects as friends have started to collect them for me now too. I'd love to get a blue wing jay feather and live in hope of finding one on my walks by the river where I see them frequently. So far I've not had any luck.

Solo

Solo    acrylic on paper 12.5x12.5cm     ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

A gull effortlessly glides the breeze that quenches the heat from the day as evening draws.

We are enjoying a couple of weeks of warm summer sun here, chores are saved for the cool of the evening. It's a big difference to the torrential rain we had last year and I'm making the most of it. This painting will be in the Coral Anniversary Exhibition at the Hayloft, Christchurch 19th July - 15th August.

Getting out and about

I've been getting cabin fever, with the sun shining and birds calling I needed to get outside. I rushed through my chores, grabbed a camera and set off. It was a lot warmer than I thought it was going to be, so rather than going to the beach I headed for the river to find the evidence of Spring. Today wasn't about painting or sketching so much, more of a reconnaissance for future work and a recharging the batteries so I didn't do any sketching just took a few snaps as reminders of where to revisit.  I'm always drawn to the river reflections, there may be a series of drawings based on them in the not too distance future.

Snap shots from my walk photograph medley ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

I had to include this snap of the black headed gulls. They line up along the bridge waiting for the people who come to feed the ducks. As you walk towards them they size you up for any goodies they might want then as you get too close one by one they drop of the side. They make me think of synchronised swimmers diving into the pool.

Sky Sketches on a cold day

Sky Study II   watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Sky Study III   watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Sky Study IV   watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

These small sky studies are rather addictive. A cold wind blows and dull white/grey skies have come again so I won't be able to do any more of these for a few days unfortunately. Well I could but they would be dull, dull, dull.....

It's time to return to my easel.

Spring sky

Sky Study I   watercolour 18x9cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Yesterday the evening sky was stunning. Looking from the studio window trying to memorise the changing colours, watching the gulls gliding lazily and listening to the blackbird singing the sun down as he does each day. Beautiful clear skies and gentle colours that I had to try and capture.

Sketching gulls

Watching the gulls gliding past and trying to sketch is quite a challenge. Sometimes they are just too quick! When they try to go against a strong wind it makes life much easier for sketching practice.

I like the energy of line drawings. The more detailed ones I did with the help of a couple of photos. Funny how you think you know something because you have seen it so many times before and then when you start to draw find that you haven't looked properly enough. A reminder to keep my drawing eyes open ALL the time.

gulls pencil sketches ©2012Lisa Le Quelenec

gulls pencil sketches ©2012Lisa Le Quelenec

A slice of summer

A slice of summer   20x30cm acrylic on canvas ©2012LisaLeQuelenec 

A little slice of summer....

I didn't really have an end in mind painting this one, I was just enjoying the colour  and light too much. Usually there are sketchbook plans, thumbnails of colour, tone, composition etc Sometimes it feels good to cut loose and free style.



Saturday sees the opening of the Christmas Exhibition at the Hayloft Gallery in Christchurch. The exhibition is open from 10am - 4pm until the 20th December and there will be a wealth of art and crafts that are perfect for Christmas gifts.

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.