1 Sea Mist - acrylic on linen board

Here is the finished painting....

Sea Mist acrylic 20x20cm   ©LisaLeQuelenec2022

I thought I would try a little video....I hope it worked...

From now until October 31st I will be posting a painting a day that I have made over Spring and Summer. Some have been inspired by a quote from poetry or literature, things that I felt important enough to jot down in notebooks and sketchbooks over the years. For others the quote found me after the painting had been made and just seemed to fit perfectly. Either way I hope you enjoy the series. 

The inspiration for this painting came from a poem by Clinton Scollard called The Mist and the Sea'

'The mist crept in from the sea

Out of the void and the vast;

And bore the silver rain

A shimmering guest in its train...'

                                                                                              Clinton Scollard

The rest of the poem is beautiful, I loved the imagery that it captured and the gentle rhythms of its flow.

This painting is available in my Folksy store.

Opaline seas - acrylic on canvas board

 

Opaline Seas   acrylic on linen board 20x20cm   ©2022LisaLeQuelenec

Sea greens follow me, from these milk glass shades tumbled by the waves for who knows how long to the deep emeralds and teals of a bright sunshiny day. I think I love each variation in the spectrum as much as the next. Spring sometimes brings the mists that blow in with chilly cold fingers softening the colours and sounds of the sea only to be burnt away by the sun as she rises and grows in strength over the morning.

This painting is available in my Folksy store.

Can't stop the tide - collagraph print

 

 

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.......

Sentries I & II - collagraph prints

 

 

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.

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.

 

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.

 

 

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'

Turning tide - ghost print and mixed media

Turning Tide III   monoprint ghost print and mixed media 17.5x23cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

I have been working into the ghost prints from last weeks post. In reality the colours are too saturated and subtle for the camera to pick up, it has made it look very grainy and the subtle aquamarine is lost. Whilst trying to adjust the image digitally to a truer representation (not very successfully) I played with cropping the image. I might try some different versions using this format next time.

Turning Tide III (crop)   monoprint ghost print and mixed media 17.5x23cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

We are in the midst of a heatwave so I am keeping in the shade and wallowing in these blues.....there may be more to come.

A little monoprinting... Turning Tide

Preparing a monoprint plate for printing   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

I wish I could share the smell and sound of sticky ink as I roll a blend of colour. It is a very satisfying part of the process for the senses. The plate is a sheet of perspex (acrylic) the edges filed down and the corners rounded off. With the ink blend rollered on I begin to draw and paint with brushes, making marks and feeling the drag on the darker ink over the colour blend. Using a rubber tipped tool I make further marks lifting off areas of ink which will show as the white of the paper. The moon is a paper mask placed on top. Now it's ready to run through the press.


I place the plate face up on the metal bed of the press, line up a piece of dampened paper on top and cover over with a thick felt blanket. I turn the crank feeling the resistance as the plate and paper pass through the roller of the press then the give as it passes through the other side. Lifting the blanket and carefully peeling back the paper is always a moment of anticipation... you can never be 100% certain what will appear.

Turning Tide III   monoprint 19.5x27cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

This time I am pleased, the blend has covered well and there is a nice variety of marks. So after removing the paper moon mask and without adding or removing any more ink I run the plate through the press again with another piece of dampened paper to get what is called a ghost print.

Ghost print ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

There is much less ink to transfer onto the new piece of paper and a much more faded image results. I love these ghost prints for drawing on and playing with ideas for new work. They have become a part of my process now.

After cleaning off the plate of the remaining residual ink I am ready to start again. Once more a blended roll of colour the drawing/painting on top with a brush, removing ink, adding paper masks. Placing the print with its paper and blanket in the press and running it through. I almost always take a ghost print before cleaning the plate and starting the process again.

I find it a very meditative process but after a half dozen or so prints I start feel a little tired and my concentration starts to lag. Then I stop - look over the prints that I have made, take some quick photographs, evaluate and them place them within sheets of tissue paper that are then sandwiched between heavy boards and wait for them to dry. This can take a couple of weeks depending on how thick the ink is on the paper. Every few days I will change the tissue over for dry sheets and pop them back to bed between the boards.

Turning Tide II   monoprint 19.5x27cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Turning Tide I   monoprint 19.5x27cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

The original prints are available at Seaside Studios UK on Folksy  and reproduction prints and cards at RedBubble.

Coastal collages and mixed media - a larger format.

Ocean View I   mixed media collage 30x30cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Working on a larger format and suddenly there is more air... space to breathe.... - they become more like my 'big empties'. The process feels longer, like pacing yourself for a days hike rather than a morning walk. Still I flit between abstractions and more recogniseable imagery...I am still searching for my answers.

Ocean View II   mixed media collage 30x30cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Ocean View III   mixed media collage 30x30cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Ocean View IV   mixed media collage 30x30cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

All of the above are available at Seaside Studios UK on Etsy.

Groynes sketchbook pages - going back to the source

Sketchbook pages - drawing the groynes   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

I hadn't realised just how long I had been awol. I have been having a bit of trouble with my right hand this year but I am hoping to get it fixed soon. It has been making working a little difficult so I am thinking about how I can get around this. Anyway today I am relooking at sketchbooks and wondering/wandering where I will go next.....

The sketches above are from this year and below are from 2012 - I had completely forgotten about them! Funny how ideas and themes take a while to weave their way back into your conciousness and rise to the top. I think some printmaking might be in order soon but first a little more drawing.

Groynes sketches from summer 2012 ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Marine I - VI collage and mixed media

Marine I - VI   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

I have been playing with abstraction again over the last couple of weeks. Textures, edges and markmaking seem to be the common themes that are developing at the moment. Experiments with paint and ink application (rollering, spattering, frottage, resists, glazing, washes, drybrush, printing) in the making of the 'paper palettes' to collage together have been liberating and I have been using my colour notebook extensively to choose colour combinations. The backing paper for these is a creamy off white textured watercolour paper. It has warmed everything up over all. I think I will start working a little bigger now and compare a change of scale.

Whilst making these, each piece seemed to inform the next making me feel like I had taken a walk physically along the shore seeing the changing light over the course of a day, observing the colours, textures and changing temperatures.


All six are available at Seaside Studios UK on Etsy.

Marine I   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Marine II   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Marine III   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Marine IV   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Marine V   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Marine IVI   collage and mixed media 15x15cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

From the Groynes II & III

From the Groynes II   mixed media 22x22cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

I still haven't committed to the background, I am constantly changing my mind like the tide...

From the Groynes II   mixed media 22x22cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

From the Groynes

From the Groynes I   mixed media   22x22cm ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

I love technology....when it works :o)  I have been without internet for a little while. It has been very on and off-able for some reason and I don't know why. I finally had a lovely couple of hours catching up and blog hopping - there is some very exciting stuff going on at the moment!


I feel a little excited at the moment too. It's a Spring feeling - out with the old and in with the new. Once February has passed the new year feels like it has really begun for me. I have been looking at my February project, re-reading notes made during the process, re-evaluating, tinkering in my sketchbook and pressing on. Above is the first image to emerge - a little bigger and this time working into the collage with paint. This is a scan of the work with a background of a beautifully tactile piece of handmade paper made from denim. I'm not sure if I prefer the clean look of a white backing or this greyed indigo - I haven't committed yet. What do you think?

Stripes on the shoreline - in conclusion

Stripes on the shoreline no.s 1 - 28   paper collages mounted individually on paper 15x20.5cm   ©2019Lisa Le Quelenec

When I started this project I didn't really have many preconceived ideas about where it was going to go, if anywhere at all. I was kind of 'giving myself permission' to try new things and play for a while whilst I worked on a big project that was going to require lots of brain work and technical learning. (more on that later..) The thirty minutes constraint was my 'play time' away to relax, reset and reward myself.


Seeing all the pieces laid out together I can see connections with the pebble project from last year which makes me think I am perhaps transitioning slowly but surely into a new way of working. Sometimes the process of evolving is so slow and incremental that I don't notice until I have travelled far down the path.  

Stripes from the shoreline no.8   paper collage mounted on paper 15x20.5cm   ©2019Lisa Le Quelenec

I had thought I would end up with a whole project of completely minimalist pieces after the first few days. I was very surprised that it only took seven days for me to start gravitating to recognisable imagery from more pure abstract leanings. It seemed like the sediment of ideas was starting to settle a bit and a clearer way forward was emerging at around day 8 along with the realisation that the project was becoming just about the groynes and their relation to the environment they were placed in and their defiance in the face of the elements.


When I first moved to Bournemouth the groynes seemed really odd, cumbersome and out of place. I was used to wide open sand with nothing in the way. They frustrated me somewhat as they got in the way of walking on the beach as depending on how much the sea and wind has shifted the sand they can stand quite high from the beach so you end up walking in a big zig zag up and down and not really getting too far. Now I am used to them they are part of the furniture of the beach and I don't 'see' them. I'm starting really see them again after this project and feel like I want to explore them much more and in detail.

Stripes from the shoreline no.12   paper collage mounted on paper 15x20.5cm   ©2019Lisa Le Quelenec

Although I had flirted with the idea of a moon symbol in the squares from day 6, I'm not sure I realised it at the time. By day 12 I was ready to embrace it for a while. It felt good to have some curves, just a little bit of softness with all the hard edges.

A lightening of the palette occurred at day 18 which coincided with a noticeable lengthening of the days for me. I find February dark and dismal it always seems reluctant to let Winter go and Spring to begin. I always find myself feeling impatient during this month. My energy levels were starting to increase and things feel more positive with the changing of the light. The further on in the month the warmer the palette starts to feel too - I don't think this was a conscious decision, just an indication of how influenced I am by my environment. We had the warmest day in February since records began on the 25th.

©2019LisaLeQuelenec

As a way of getting through the month it was very productive and I think I will find another project for next year using a similar strategy. I really looked forward to the part of the day where I could make the next piece. Next time though I will record and document them in batches as doing it everyday was problematic at times with a school half term and a virus that hit our household and then chicken pox arrived...even the dog was sick for a couple of days which didn't help. That was the only aspect of the project that felt pressured though ( I think due to the scale of work) - making the work felt like a natural flow and progression.

I have found the time constraint of the project to be one of the most valuable lessons. It really helped to focus the mind away from distractions some days, on others to slow down and think in more depth about the process. It is definitely an aspect that I will use going forward - especially on days that are about generating ideas and experimenting. As well, these pieces are very small scale and I think I would like to use the same process but larger so I will continue for a while along side other projects to see where that leads. A few of the pieces feel like starting points for more work, they are seeds of ideas that I would like to explore further.

All pieces are available at Folksy and reproductions and cards at Red Bubble.

Stripes on the shoreline no.28

Stripes from the shoreline no.28   paper collage mounted on paper 15x20.5cm   ©2019Lisa Le Quelenec

The last one (for this month…), now to evaluate. 

This collage is available at Folksy.

Stripes on the shoreline project no.27

Stripes from the shoreline no.27   paper collage mounted on paper 15x20.5cm   ©2019Lisa Le Quelenec

Still lots of sunshine here at the moment it really has been glorious.

This collage is available at Folksy.

Stripes on the shoreline project no.26

Stripes from the shoreline no.26   paper collage mounted on paper 15x20.5cm   ©2019Lisa Le Quelenec

Using tissue as a semi-transparent way to knock back tones and colour – layering again… My 'palette' is nearing the end as is the project.

This collage is available at Folksy.