Lisa Le Quelenec Seaside studios paintings, prints and mixed media: forest

Showing posts with label forest. Show all posts

Monday, 18 November 2024

Silence & snow - the series continues...

Oh the irony....I am having a very silent time with an ear infection. Much nicer to imagine the silence of snow which they appear to be having further north - drizzly rain for us in the south.

My prints have finally dried and they are available in my Etsy and Folksy stores.

Thursday, 24 October 2024

A new print edition in the making...Silence & Snow

I have had an image whirling around in my minds eye, a seed that has started to grow for a while. There is a very early version, more of a sketch at the time from some years back that I have always had on my list to explore further. Recently I have decided to just get on with it - enough with the procrastination.

Below is the scribbly sketch of the idea.... you can see the folds in the paper that gave me guidelines for the composition using the rule of thirds. I am very much inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, the style and minimalism, and although that doesn't show at all in the sketch I think it will be obvious in the prints.

Thumbnail for Silence & Snow

Before printing the carved block I printed an uncarved block to give a base colour using very thin ink. For the initial prints I don't want to show any of the white paper - I'm sure this will change as I explore further and experiment with different colours and tones. My thinking is to create different versions using colour, extra elements and possibly adding tissue paper chine colle at some point. I would like to evoke the magical gloaming as night falls, hazy, misty and frosty nights, possibly a few prints inspired by the recent Northern Lights displays, then maybe warmer winter sunshine. Can I do all of these with one image? I want to experiment to find out, I haven't done this using this technique before nor on this scale which is somewhat larger that I have done before in print.

This is one of the first prints with the second layer added. I felt like something was missing and out of balance - I wasn't getting the depth that I could see in my mind...

Using a small piece of the soft carve lino I cut a third mini block of tree silhouettes to add to the right of the composition. This gave much more depth and balance, now to experiment.

This is one of the first prints that I felt happy with. I like the looming distant trees and the frosty haze that is lighting up the sky as it descends. I have printed on my usual bright white paper but it didn't feel right with the warmer blues so I have ripped the edges of the prints up to the image margins and mounted them on a warmer off white paper for the warmer blues and a softer white for the cooler ones. I think if I continue to do this it will give some continuity to all the prints in the series despite some big variations in colour and other additions. It will also add some opportunity to contrast a different texture with the backing paper that will show when it is framed.

Cropping changes the composition and feel of the image, I might go back into the square versions and add additional tree silhouettes in between.

I have just a few prints that I am happy with so far and will add to both my Folksy and Etsy stores. In addition I will put a version on RedBubble as I think it will work well as a holiday card.

Any way this has very much kept me out of mischief, what do you think?

Thursday, 10 October 2024

Shades of Autumn II - Oak drypoint prints

I made a sister print to last weeks Acorns and have popped a couple of variations into both my Etsy and Folksy stores. I rather like working in this way and having colour variations.

The one below is in Folksy.

I am still working on some larger drypoints of stormy skies and seas but having been rather enjoying the dry spells of sunny weather between the storms so progress has been slower. We have had lots of reference weather to help things along though....my gosh the rain! Obviously nothing compared to the weather some American friends seem to be enduring at the moment though, I do hope they manage to stay safe.

Thursday, 3 October 2024

Shades of Autumn - Acorns drypoint prints

Acorns that found their way into my pocket whilst out walking my dog. Each printed in a different autumnal shade and one in a soft warm charcoal black. I have two proof prints made whilst the plate was being tested for the edition which I may work into with mixed media at a later date. I have put a couple of the prints in both my Etsy and Folksy stores.

I enjoyed printing the edition one print after another mixing the ink as I went adding to the colour left by the previous mix. I think I may do more of these with different motifs. It was nice to try something different.

Thursday, 11 January 2018

Winter

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.

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

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Pine cones - it started with some sketches....

...and quickly got out of hand... but in a good way. I love the structure of pine cones, such a challenge to get 'right'. There is a park I visit with my little one that guarantees we will come home with at least a few we are both as bad as each other with our little collections and we added quite a few more this summer.

Sketches and doodles turned into...

There are two paintings available to buy here at Seaside Studios UK.

But then that turned into....

and now I have these....

Which are also available at Seaside Studios UK and at Seaside Studios Uk on Folksy.

I do get myself in a pickle sometimes :o)

Thursday, 23 February 2017

Deeper through the forest

Thinking about hard and soft, lost and found edges using pencil, oil pastel resist, watersoluble pencils, inks, and new to me pigments from Daniel Smith - sodalite genuine and lunar black. These two are fast becoming favourite colours. I love, love, love the soft inky denim of the sodalite.

I might leave this as it is or work into it again at a later date....it may even be the starting point for something else. The half term week has thrown me off kilter a bit. It's funny how just a few days off work can make you lose your thread. For now back to sketchbooks to find myself again I think.

Saturday, 11 February 2017

If you go down to the woods today.... monoprint and mixed media via a digital sketchbook

Sometimes I like to experiment digitally with images - it can be a quick way of trying different crops of an image without commiting to changing physically a piece of work. I like how I can change tones and colours in seconds and so can be a useful tool to progress a project.

I scanned one of the birch tree monoprint and mixed media pieces from the last post, cropped it, changed the tones and then started to adjust the colouring. I rather like the warmer version and also the darker more moody version that came last. I chose the last idea to explore first wanting to go deeper into indigo with a bigger contrast in the tonal range for more drama.

This is a small sample that I made using a scrap from a failed print and adding washes of watercolour in varying strengths. The oilbased printing ink resists the watercolour in unusual ways giving nice textural effects - something I want to use to my advantage although difficult to control.

The above image is the result of the experiment so far. On top of the monoprint I have used drawing ink, coloured pencils and watercolour. The surface qualities and textures of the materials resisting each other are producing some lovely marks. I think my next step is to return to my sketchbook and work through some composition thumbnails maybe also to see how some of these marks can be translated into pure paint. Fun and messy times ahead I think...

Thursday, 2 February 2017

Birch tree monoprints and mixed media with a dash of freezing fog

A few days of thick freezing fog the other week has inspired a different avenue to explore. I don't ever remember seeing such thick and persistant freezing fog before. It has caused quite a bit of disruption to travel but has had an element of surprising beauty to it. The little one was fascinated by the 'crunchy' sparkles on the spider webs on the way to preschool. Simple looming silhouettes and subtle greys have inspired a very different feel to the series.

The two mixed media pieces at the bottom have been made by using ghost prints. (a second print made from the printing plate from which a print has already been taken. Due to there being only residual ink left on the printing plate the second print is much more subtle.) As you can see from these two I was lucky enough to get two ghost prints the one on the right was the first to be taken.

I often prefer the ghost prints as I like the subtlety and delicate textures and they are often interesting to work into with other media. I think my next stage may be to take scans of these two and then play digitally with them and see what happens. 'Birch Study I & II' are available as reproductions at Redbubble here.

Thursday, 19 January 2017

monoprinting birch trees

The first monoprint of the year! I have been really enjoying markmaking with monoprint recently experimenting with a combination of applying ink and different tools to take the ink off and draw into it. Birch trees are a favourite winter subject and feel a good fit for these first pieces.

Initially I rolled a layer of ink mixed with extender for a little transparency onto the plate before wiping off some trunk shapes. Then applying ink with a stiff brush I added the trunk markings in. The rough grassy floor was fun! I added a little more ink and scratched into it with sharpened sticks, a supersharp pencil point and toothpicks.

I wanted a really sharp and bright white moon so cut a paper stencil for this. The thickness of the paper has meant a darker edge to the ink surrounding the moon but I quite like this as it adds to the contrast and I think it needed something hard amongst all the lost and found edges through the rest of the image.

This image is available as a reproduction and stationery on my Redbubble site

It is also available here on Fine Art America.

I managed a ghost print (running the plate with leftover ink again through the press with some slightly damper paper) only adding a little extra ink to the trunk markings and lower corner of grass. Once the print had dried I worked into it with watercolour and coloured pencil introducing some colour and neutralising some of the harder darks adding more form into the trunks. I liked the way the pencil picked up the texture of the inks where it had printed thicker in some areas. I think this is an avenue well worth exploring - a big adventure for the start of the year - the results could be very exciting...

seasidestudios@hotmail.com ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Thursday, 12 January 2017

Pine cone - a drypoint

I have been working on a set of new monoprints of winter birch trees and am impatiently waiting for the ink to dry so I can work into them and experiment with combining other media. My fingers are itching to get going but It will be another few days yet....

In the meantime here is a small drypoint pine cone that I finished last year and have just put for sale in my Etsy store SeasidestudiosUK.

I am so lucky to be so close to the sea and near the New Forest - it really is the best of both worlds.

Thursday, 15 December 2016

Seasons Greetings & Happy Holidays

December started and I'm not sure how it's managed to speed past the halfway mark already but here we are! I'm signing off now for this year and will be back in January. A very big thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me throughout the year I wish everyone who celebrates a very happy holidays and toast the New Year to come - I hope it is happy, healthy and successful for all. I look forward to seeing you in 2017.

Sunday, 30 August 2015

Full moon and birch tree drypoints

The above painting is an old favorite of mine, I really do like this theme and often revisit it. So I thought I would use it as a starting point for a small drypoint using a metal plate instead of acrylic. I have also been enjoying working in a circular format so set myself the challenge of combining the two elements.

A set of five prints is the result. Each one a variation in colour and tone. I am doing these as an open edition as I might do another few impressions. I don't think there will be many more than this as each time the plate runs through the press the burr gets more worn and the prints will be less clear.

All are for sale at my Etsy shop seasidestudiosuk.

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