Flowing to the sea..

Flowing to the sea   29x29cm collagraph and mixed media   ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

This is one of my favourite views of Autumn, looking from the back of Hengistbury head to wards Christchurch across the reedbeds. I love all the contrasting textures of the land and the sound of the wind in the reedbeds. It always feels so peaceful to me.

collagraph plate  ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

I made a collograph plate on a mountboard base using different textured papers and painting glue on in the highlighted areas. Some areas I cut into the mountboard and peeled back the layers to reveal the texture of the inside of the board. It was then sealed with shellack.

Inking up the plate was a joy. Rubbing different colours into the pits of texture and giving a wipe of different colour to the high points to give variagated colour and really show off the textures to full advantage - never quite sure what the final result will be.

After running the plate through the press with dampened paper and leaving the print to dry I decided to work back into the image with coloured pencils, pastels and acrylic paint. The embossment made by the plate on the paper when it passed through the press was beautiful to work on. Small scumbles of pure colour to visually mix in give a rich surface quality - there is quite a bit of pure yellow and orange contained within the reed areas but they are such small dashes they don't jar the eye and would be missed if absent.

I have two more prints that I would like to work back into in this way. The next one I would like to use a more traditional Autumn palette of ochres and siennas for a different mood. It's an enjoyable way of working with many possibilities to explore.

I have made this image available as a reproduction print on Fine Art America and here at  Red Bubble.

Mixing it up a bit

 

This is another experiment using monoprints, on the left I'd added watercolour which resisted the ink of the monoprint. There wasn't very much bare paper in the top area so really the change was nominal. My intention was to slightly refine the drawing and beef up the colour in some areas whilst still keeping lots of the mark making of the print.

On the right is a picture of the same piece with added colour pencil (Derwent). This toned down some clumsy areas where the ink had been too thick but flattened out the light in the tops of the reeds.

To gain back light and get in even more colour I worked back in with pastel. Believe it or not there is still quite a bit of the original monoprint visible. I've added a detail of the painting which shows the amount of colour more truly, the photo of the whole has flattened it somewhat.

Completed Reeds and reflections WIP

 

Reeds and Reflections
acrylic on board 34x37cm
©2011 Lisa Le Quelenec



After resting my eyes from this painting for a few days I returned to it and can now call it finished. Edges have been softened and colours adjusted (especially in the two back reeds). My aim at the start was to paint the soft, golden light which I think I have achieved. The lightest areas still photograph as very white but have been glazed with raw sienna and so are more golden in the actual painting.

One of the things that attracts me to the reeds is the range of colours that they contain. In the painting there are many small passages of colour ranging from blue to green as well as magenta but with unifying glazes of siennas the overall impression is of the soft sandy ochre which is what you first see. Had I not used so many colours in painting this area I think it would look a lot flatter and lifeless. My palette is usually much more restricted and it has been an interesting process to use more colours whilst still trying to keep a harmony between them. (I think I have achieved this, I hope that you agree.) Nine colours were used overall; naples yellow, cadmium yellow, raw sienna, burnt sienna, quinacridone magenta, burnt umber, azure, indanthrene and zinc white.

River monoprint experiments

 

I needed to 'get away' from looking at the painting I've been working on so I've had a day of monoprinting and working through a couple of ideas. These two prints are on quarter sheet HOT PRESS watercolour paper using Winsor & Newton's water mixable oil paint. My plan is to work back into them with watercolour and maybe some oil pastel as soon as they are dry (at least a week). Working in this way sparks off lots of ideas for me I like the unpredictable results and surface texture the process creates. It's also a great way to loosen up which was much needed after working intensely on the current painting.

WIP and my moment of madness...

I added in some more reeds and messed up! Can you see that claw-like shape on the top left side? Yuk! As soon as I'd done it I wanted to paint it out. It made me think of a Gruffalo type beastie.

I went ahead with the quin violet and cadmium yellow in the reeds but also added a naples/azure mix into the shadows. Over the top is a glaze of raw sienna bringing back the warm light which continues into the water.

 Areas had been softened in the reeds but it was still too hard edged for my liking and so I had my moment of madness.. I needed slightly more textural broken marks in the bottom reeds so using a side of card I printed in additional stalks. I think it 'works' but I'm not sure if I should bring it up higher on the left, the problem being that it would be very easy to get carried away. I going to live with it for a while, hide it in a drawer for a week and then sneak up on it.

More reeds and reflections WIP

I've been working on the main reeds today, trying to keep in mind that it isn't about the details in them but about the light. When I was out sketching I couldn't help noticing just how many different colours they contain. At first glance they are a pale ochre/sand but as you look closer there is a lot of purple, blue grey and even magenta at this time of year and many differences in tone.

The colours I've been using so far to build up the tones are raw and burnt sienna, naples yellow and burnt umber. In the next stage I'm thinking of using quinacridone violet and cadmium yellow but I will make some test pieces first. I need to soften the reed stalks and build up more on the left and will add ripples in the top right to show the recession in the reflection of the opposite bank.

Reeds and reflections WIP

These are the plans for the painting that I started working on today. The more developed sketch on the left is a mixture of watercolour, watercolour pencil, acrylic and ink. I enjoyed mixing up the media but I completely overworked the sketch. I want to keep the painting lighter and softer so will have to remember to stop myself from fiddling as the painting progresses.

This painting is a little bigger than the others that I've been doing of late. I'm using naples yellow, raw sienna, burnt umber and azure blue. I started by blocking in with very dilute paint on a board that had been primed in very rough strokes of acrylic gesso.

I've built up the tonal/colour graduation of the water and reed reflections. Soon I will start on the feathery reeds.

It wasn't so hot today so I'd dragged everything out into the garden and painted under the apple tree. After a short time I had the feeling that I was being watched and when I looked up I saw this inquisitive little chap. He kept coming back and forth inspecting my progress.

I've done quite a lot of scratching into the reflections in the top right section, as the layers have built up there has been more texture so I've started to dry brush to soften sections. However when I started to fiddle with the sparkles on the water surface I thought I'd better call it a day and start afresh tomorrow.

Past the reeds



Past the Reeds
acrylic on paper 12x12cm
©2011 Lisa Le Quelenec



Pondering and painting

 I've been doing a lot of thinking about the workshop... I have lots of questions that I'm trying to answer. They include;

  

   How can I make sure that whilst I'm using Jane's techniques I don't become a 'poor imitation'?

The techniques are very different to the way in which I have been working lately and their 'newness' makes them very exciting. However I need (and want) to paint with my own voice and not make poor imitations of someone else's work. I hope that doesn't come across as arrogant as it sounds I'm struggling with the words. I think what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to paint a subject and be thinking 'how would she do that?'.  

   What can I take from the techniques that will inform my work and help me to grow?

This is an easier question to answer, mark making and surface quality. I have been feeling for a while that I have been getting stuck in a rut by relying on colour blends and glazing on smooth textures. It's a habit that I need to break. The workshop has thrown up ideas for experiments, what's not so easy is the next question...

   How can I adapt the techniques and materials to use what I already have without getting more?

...hmmmm..... I have a range of pastels but if I was to embrace this technique I would need to have a lot more, not to mention the medium. I'm hoping that by using what I have creatively I can adapt. I already have a selection of texture pastes and mediums which I'm sure with a little tweaking I can use. The proof will be in the pudding.

 With this is mind I started to work. Using very thick, half dry acrylic I started to make marks on the paper to indicate water and an area of reeds. With a sharp stick I drew into the paint almost carving into it. I wanted to get texture somewhat in the manner of the acrylic medium that I'd used in the workshop. I used a 300lb watercolour paper that would be able to stand up to all the gouging in texture. The photo is a little fuzzy and was taken at an angle to try and show the peaks and troughs of the paint.

 

Once that was dry I painted in the darkest tones using a burnt umber and indanthrene mix following the raised areas and lightened the thinnest areas in the water. Dry brushing over the reed areas where the indentations were thinnest meant the paint only rested on the proud areas of the paper leaving the indentations light. 

Now for some colour... using more dry brushing than anything else letting the brush whisper against the texture in much the same way as pastel would brush against the pastel ground medium.

Building up colour and tones slowly and adding in details this is where I have got to. Next I will work more on the reflections and light in the water. I think I need to bring back some of the warmth and colour.

Priory Moon, Christchurch

Priory Moon, Christchurch
acrylic on paper 12x12cm
©2011 Lisa Le Quelenec

I've painted this view of Christchurch Priory from the reed beds many times but I've used a higher viewpoint before, looking more across rather than up and personal with the reeds, which are a joy to paint . In this one I wanted to concentrate on the mark making, there's some really thick and grungy paint making up these marks and I've tried to keep it loose and more impressionistic.