A little blue book of blue

Sketchbook pages from my little blue book. I'm about halfway through this little square sketchbook (14x14cm) it has a blue cover as apposed to the usual black ones and so I am using only blue inside....a bit easier for me I know. Maybe next time I will brave a red cover and only use red...only joking!  I don't think I could manage that.

From my Little Blue Book  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

From my Little Blue Book  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

 

From my Little Blue Book  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

From my Little Blue Book  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

From my Little Blue Book  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

From my Little Blue Book  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

So I tried.......but I failed.....

Back at the beginning of November printmaker Sherrie York posted here about how she was going to return to a challenge of drawing 100 thumbnails in the month. What a challenge I thought to myself. I had read the post mid month and thought to myself I would give it a go myself with the aim of making it to 50. I have been a little undisciplined of late with my drawing practise and thought the challenge would give me the kick up the proverbial that I needed....

However 50 was a little ambitious I think at this time of year for me and I only managed 30 even though the maximum time I had spent on them was two minutes! How shameful - that's only an hours worth of drawing that I managed after all ;o)  I will do better this month (I hope) it's a nice challenge to get the juices flowing and a couple of these little scribbles might be the start of something in the future who knows...

Sherrie has posted a wonderful video of her Hundred which you can see here . I have to say they are amazing and show just what a skilled draughtswoman she is. Pop over and have a look. Now where is that sketchbook....

30 thumbnails for November   pencil on paper each one 5x5cm approx   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Start of the storm collagraph and mixed media

Ironically after days of storms I am posting this new piece whilst the sun is shining - a brief respite before the rains return. Whilst the sky is clear it is bitterly cold. My thoughts have been with the folk in the north of the country who have been flooded out of their homes and are awaiting the next round. I hope everyone stays safe, warm and dry.

With so much wild weather there has been a lot of sketching to try and capture the moments of contrasting cloud patterns and light. I have turned to collagraph experiments adding pencil on top of some of the deeper embossed textures once the ink has dried.

The start of the storm   collagraph monoprint and mixed media 19x14.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Arriving storm - drypoint with collagraph

We have had some spectacular weather the past week or so...lashing rain, howling wind, there have also been some breathtakingly beautiful sunsets. I love Autumn and all its changeability, I am looking forward to seeing the changing colours. It won't be long now I think.

The storms have been quite something and have been prompting some new work.

Storm at Sea   14x14cm drypoint with collagraph monoprint   ©2019LisaLe Quelenec

A mixture of techniques have been used to make this print - there are areas of drypoint and collagraph and due to the disintegration of the plate in the sky area each time it travelled through the press, each print has altered and arrives at the other side appearing quite different. I like the idea of the plate physically eroding like the coastline it is depicting in the storm.

This print is available at Seaside Studios UK.

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.

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

The beach to themselves

The beach to themselves   collagraph monoprint and mixed media 19x14.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Two collagraph monoprints with added coloured pencil - experiments with materials. I used a variety of materials on the collagraph plates - mostly different textured papers. For the sand ripples above I used sandpaper and in the piece below I glued loose sand to the plate before varnishing. It has given very different effects. As always it seems with collagraph the art is in the inking - I continue to learn with each and every print. It is such a satisfying process.

Last stroll of the day   collagraph monoprint and mixed media 19x14.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec 

Both are available at Seaside Studios UK on Folksy.

Walking the dog II

The first two paintings for this mini series... once again I am in love with Daniel Smith's Sodalite Genuine and its gorgeous granulation's.

Walking the dog   watercolour on paper 17.5x17.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Walking the dog II   watercolour on paper 19.5x19.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Both paintings are available at Seasidestudiosuk on Etsy.

It might be time for a little colour. Where did I put my colour chart?

Three Pebbles - proofing an etching plate and an experiment.

Two little pebble etching proof prints - trying out ideas for inking - both available on Folksy.

Three Pebbles   artist proof no.2  3x10cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Three Pebbles   artist proof no.3  3x10cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

....then a little experiment mixing printing techniques and adding drawing. The darker pebble shapes are the individual collagraph plates from a few posts back over-printed onto the etching. Another avenue of possibilities to explore.

Pebbles   etching, collagraph monoprint and watersoluble pencil   17x11.5cm ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Transformation collage and monoprint

Transformation I  monoprint and collage   29.5x21cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Transformation II  monoprint and collage   29.5x21cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Following on from Ebb and Flow I and II a couple more compositions using monoprint this time. I like the different kind of marks with direct monoprint and the feathery line quality because I did those sections on a textured watercolour paper it is more pronounced than it would have been on a smoother surface giving a softer feel that contrasts with the harder lines of the pebble shapes.

I will start to add these to the Etsy shop over the next few days and make some from the series available as prints and cards on RedBubble.

The pebble project is progressing well and there is much work in progress. However waiting for layers of ink to dry is getting a little frustrating. It means that posts may end up being a bit like buses with lots to share in one go with big gaps in between :o)

Ebb and flow - collagraph and mixed media

Ebb & Flow   28x18cm collagraph collage and mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Following on from the Elemental triptych a couple more mixed media pieces. They have proved very difficult to photograph I'm not sure if it is a problem with my camera or just that it can't cope with the subtleties of texture and tone in the printed elements.

Edges, line, boundaries, balance and texture seem to be my focus at the moment. I think I need to spend some time drawing - thinking with a pencil (or whatever else comes to hand.....).

Ebb & Flow II   28x18cm collagraph collage and mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Pebble collagraph experiments

After last weeks experiments with monoprint and mixed media exploring shape and tone I decided I wanted to look at tonal qualities in the pebbles a little more. Collagraph printing is perfect for this. I keep a box of textured materials to use for making collagraph plates some manmade, some organic and had fun speading out all the odds and ends and adhering them with acrylic medium to pebble shaped mountboard to make plates and using the same medium as a top layer to varnish.


Below are the plates with a key to what I used and a couple of the first test sheets that I printed up.

Collagraph plates and experiments with a key to materials used   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

My favourites from this collection are the rough sandpaper and the dried outer leaves of the sweetcorn husk - I really can't remember how I aquired that but will have to source some more the texture printed beautifully the more it was inked up.

Collagraph experiment samples with added mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Once dry I worked into some of the samples with watercolour, inks and pencils. More ideas started to flow as I began photographing with actual pebbles and background papers (these form part of my digital sketchbook).

In the bottom of my textured materials box I found an old plate that I had made but had never printed. I had been thinking about edges and rockpools and the flotsom and jetsom left behind by the tide. It seemed to be resurfacing just at the right time - perfect for this project - so I inked it up and took a few prints just to see what it was like. It had been made with various handmade papers, string, tin foil, the netting from a bag of fruit and a bit of sand for good measure.

Collagraph plate (detail)  ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

The plate on the left and the first proof print on the right   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

The tinfoil pebble shapes left no impression or variation in ink tone but the textures from the netting and string worked beautifully as did the texture from some of the handmade paper. You can see the cardboard from the base plate had, in a previous life, been the cover of an old sketchbook and I had left the holes from the ring binding in. I quite like the contrast of the regular pattern with the organic shapes made by the other materials. The netting I think worked the best, the holes undulating as sections were stretched and contracted when the plate was made. They look like very delicate dip pen and ink marks.


Once these were dry I worked back into one with watercolour and added collage pebble shapes cut from some of the samples made earlier. (You can see the lovely texture made by that sweetcorn leaf second pebble down.)  I seem to be obsessing with spilling out of the frame at the moment and layering.... This test piece is something I think I will be developing further - time to ponder.....

The Pebble Project    collagraph, collage and mixed media test piece   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Winter

Winter - A/P    blind embossed collagraph 12x20cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec  

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.

  Winter - 1/3          collagraph print        12x20cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

   

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

Winter tree moon II  reproduction print   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Heavy weather sketchbook pages & Seasons Greetings

Heavy weather sketchbook pages   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Well what a storm! We got off lightly in last nights Storm Caroline on the south coast but it was very wet and a bit blowy still this morning. Wild weather is always an inspiration for me. I think some more drypoints perhaps? A few drawings to start from a while back in my sketchbook as a starting point and I will see where this takes me.

Now the rain is passing the temperatures here are set to drop with the possibility of the rain turning to wintery showers....could we really get some snow here down south? It would be nice for Twinkletoes as he hasn't seen any of the white stuff yet. In anticipation I will sign off for the holidays with this ....

Winter   collograph with digital drawing   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Wishing you all a happy holidays & my very best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful 2018.

See you next year.

Gulls 1

Gulls have featured in my work for a number of years now. I discovered a poem by Neruda a while back and some of the imagery in the piece has stayed with me. It has sparked ideas to explore which are turning into a series of works in a variety of media.

I feel like a gull circling in the sky getting closer but not quite hitting the mark just yet. I have started with some monoprints with Neruda's words in my mind. Using an inked plate and removing ink, applying masks and also making marks in the ink before running through the press.

Flying Free   monoprint and mixed media   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Some I made ghost prints with (running the plate with ink depleted from the first pass through the press for a second time). I likes the subtleties of a couple and so have left those untouched. Other ghost prints weren't strong enough to stand on their own so I have worked into those with other media. Others have been photocopied, scanned and digitally manipulated and exist only as digital prints. We are fortunate to live in an age where so many opportunities and methods of experimentation are open to us and I like to exploit as many as I can on occasion.I'm not sure where I am going with these still.....I'll see where the breeze takes me.

Gulls   ghost monoprint and mixed media   ©2017Lisa Le Quelenec

A translation of the poem that inspired this work can be read here

The coast is clear! Etching of Old Harry Rocks

The Coast is Clear!   A/P I etching 14.5x11.5cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Quite some years ago His Nibbs and I went for a walk along the beach at Shell Bay down the way in Studland. We have been many times before and since but there was something about this particular day that sticks out. The sun was out but it was a little hazy, it was neither hot nor cold and there was just a gentle breeze. The water looked glass-like - but with strong contrasts in tone on the surface ripples. Colour was bleached out everything reduced to tones of blue grey. What I remember the most was the stillness and quiet. The quiet sounded loud but gentle if you know what I mean.

Old Harry Rocks photograph ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

I took this photograph and along with the memory of that day it has been the inspiration for many drawings, paintings and now an etching. So far I have made two proof prints and have used paper masks to add some sail boat shapes. I think I could make variations of work on this one memory for many years to come.

Light Across the Bay   acrylic on paper 25x25cm   ©2011 LisaLeQuelenec

Above an older painting from 2011, long since sold but one of my favourites.

Old Harry Rocks  snippets and ideas in mixed media   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

I wonder do you have a memory or lasting impression of a time and place that you revisit in your work again and again?

The Coast is Clear!   A/P II etching 14.5x11.5cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec