River reflections - spring

Some small watercolour studies of the river from the last post. There are surprising amounts of violet in the waters shadows. Whilst the trees are still mostly bare, green buds are appearing and the colour is starting to fizz here and there.

Yesterday snowed most of the day though luckily it didn't stick. It was so fine and grainy that it looked almost like sand. Today is bright with sunshine although it does look quite chilly so there might not be much sketching done.

River reflections - Spring Watercolour A4 sketchbook

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.

Distant haze

Distant Haze
acrylic on board 20x20cm
©2011 Lisa Le Quelenec

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.

Working into river monoprints

Remember the monoprints from the beginning of the month? Well following a suggestion from Vivien  (thank you :o) )I've been working back into them with soft pastel. Initially I was thinking of using watercolour with them as the prints were made with oil based paint and so would work as a resist. Pastel has given some really interesting results. I particularly like the way the pastel marks are broken up by the texture of the oil. I've got lots more prints to work with so will try the initial plan using watercolour next. (after getting all the exhibition work together I'm really enjoying having some time out to play with materials, these experiments are suggesting fresh new ways forward.)

 

Above are the original monoprints, the process I used to make them is  here

Spring on the river

Spring on the River
acrylic on canvas 25x25cm
©Lisa Le Quelenec

I'm having a few problems getting online at the moment as my laptop is being temperamental in starting up and unfortunately big pooter is too. They have both been conspiring against me. I have been getting lots of work done though. Hopefully I'll be able to get the problem fixed soon and can get back to posting more regularly. I've really missed popping over to everyone elses blogs to see what they've been up to. I've not finished catching up yet but if you've a minute to spare have a look here to have a peek at Jeanette Jobson's latest painting. I love the way she's captured the silky smoothness of the flowing water.

In Spring on the River I've added darker areas to indicate the movement of the water. I've also played up the red/brown in the reeds (thanks Roger) which was much more subtle before. I'm really enjoying these river paintings as the nature and colour of the water is so different to painting seascapes, it's quite a different challenge.

The colour of river water?

This painting is turning out to be a bigger challenge than I anticipated. How to describe the colour of the water? It's blue with the reflection from the sky, green from the foliage and there is a definite warmth from the river bed. What do you think? Am I getting there? I'm in two minds as to whether I need some darker ripples in the foreground to add perspective.

Down by the riverside

I've squeezed a bit of time in to paint today before I go to Christchurch to help hang the Hayloft exhibition. This is the beginning of the next painting in my river series. All the beautiful fresh greens of the new growth are inspiring. Tomorrow I will have time to work on the water, I can't wait!

The painting is 10x10 inch and I'm using azure blue, cadmium yellow light, raw and burnt sienna and deep violet. There's a dash of burnt umber in the watermark of the reeds.

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.

More monoprinting

 After the monoprinting I'd done my thoughts were full of reflections and ripples and I started to do some drawings. They were A4ish in size, just using pencil and graphite sticks; little explorations of the broken linear marks that I could make. I thought I'd make some more monoprints and prompted by  Caroline  I decided to post about how I made them.

I started off by using a sheet of perspex as the plate. As it's so warm at the moment I used water mixable oil paint so I didn't have to worry about it drying too quickly and being water mixable it's nice and quick to clean up. I could have used a roller to apply the paint onto the perspex, but for these I brushed it on as I wanted to explore linear marks. I used mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna and naples yellow. (The previous time I'd added paynes grey.)

Next I started to remove the paint using a brush, cotton bud and twigs, making the same kind of marks as I had done in the sketches. The paint is quite a thick layer in places and ridged up on either sides of the marks I've made. Some of these ridges I kept and others were thinned out with a brush. Once I was happy with the mesh of marks that I had made I was ready to print it off. Not having a press I printed them by hand. I also dampened the paper which helped to give a smoother print, dry paper can give a different kind of effect which is sometimes useful.

This was the first impression that I got from the plate. It looks quite rough and ready as a print but will be something that I will work back into later. Where the paint made ridges it has printed much thicker and there are some blots where it has balled up, other areas are much thinner so there are subtle depths of tone too. When I work back into it with different mediums these surface textures will, I hope, enhance the end result.
 
 
 
 

The plate still had quite a lot of paint left on it and feeling lucky I thought I'd try making another impression. I could have added more paint to the plate and redrawn back in but thought I'd see what happened. It's the unpredictability and the chance of happy accidents that I enjoy about this process. This time the thinness of the paint has given a much more subtle print.
 
 
 
 
 
 

I pushed my luck and went for a third impression. I'd dampened the paper much more and not having a baren to help apply more pressure I picked up the nearest thing to hand which happened to be a roll of masking tape. Making circular motions and pressing very hard all over the back of the paper worked better than if I'd just done it with hand pressure but as there was so little paint left on the perspex I've ended up with a very feint print. It could be with a wash of watercolour paint over the top that the oil paint will resist and the colour will pop back out but we'll have to wait and see.

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.

River sketch

A tiny sketch from my walk this morning in my shiny new tiny (9x14cm) watercolour sketchbook. Initially I was just going to sketch the reflections and patterns in the ripples but added in the reeds and grasses at the last minute which is why the white line of the binding is showing. I used watercolour and watercolour pencil in both wet paint and on top of dry washes. I must remember to take a white oil pastel with me next time to use as a resist to get a bit more sparkle in the water. My handy grab and go sketching kit will be getting bigger it seems ;o)

Whilst I was sketching a swan glided past, he would have seemed most elegant if it wasn't for the long piece of weed trailing from his beak like spaghetti.

More reflecting on the river....

Reeds and reflections from my sketchbook in both watercolour (top) and acrylic (below). The acrylic is quite richly textured which was difficult to capture in a photo.The more I experiment the more I think I could possibly be leaning to a more mixed media approach. (of course this might just be because I'm enjoying playing with different materials so much - does it count as work when it's so much fun?)

The blue flashes were a tribute to the beautiful kingfisher that I saw last month but haven't seen since. He/she brought to mind the title of a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins 'As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame'. Not because of the meaning of the poem, just the mental images that it gives me. (although I do enjoy the rhythms of his work) Turquoise, copper, rusty browns are one of my favourite colour combinations.

The sun has been shining today and the temp is above freezing - yay!

Another print experiment...

Another of my watersoluble mono prints that I've worked into, it's a bit curly here as I took the picture whilst it was drying. After spraying with fixative I gave it a coat of acrylic glaze medium to act as a barrier before painting on top. There was some re-melting of the brown pigment into the glaze but as it is an image of muddy river reflections I didn't worry too much ;) this would be a problem for other subjects and is something I will have to keep in mind. Once the barrier layer was dry I felt more confident in painting back into the print and so I added more acrylic paint, some of which was quite wet.

I think by painting into it I've made the reflections look more a part of the water rather than shapes and lines sitting on top.... I hope when you look at it you can feel the wet and cold of the water. 

 Just for fun after photographing the image I thought I'd have a tinker around with it on the computer.... I quite like these magenta/orange/violety combinations. Oh and I do like a good crop too.

It's been so much fun playing with these experiments and it's given me a lot of food for thought. I know that to anyone else they must look like strange scribblings but I think taking this time out to play has been very valuable. I must remember to do it more often.

Working into mono print experiments

On the right is the original mono print with a colour photocopy on the left that I've worked on top of with coloured pencil. I thought I would try working with the suggestion of a waterline in the print and and play with some reflected ripple patterns with the hard edged pencil building up the layers of colour.

I wanted to work back into the original mono print with watercolour and watercoloured pencil but was worried the original image would move if it was re-wetted. I wasn't sure if it would work but I sprayed the paper with a pastel fixative first and hoped for the best. It does seem to have worked as there was no visible movement as I dampened the paper. (I wonder if this would work with acrylic? Something to try next methinks...) I was having trouble getting the pencil on dark enough so out came the acrylic paint to do the lower part of the reeds. In the original mono print there were some dark spots where pigment had balled and blotted on the plate, I decided to add to this by running a sharp blade along the point of a watercolour pencil to make shavings that sprinkled and melted into the damp paper.

It will be interesting to use what I have learnt and translate the marks into acrylic when I start to work on canvas again. However that will have to be for another day as I'm due back at the Hayloft Gallery this morning.

I hope everyone in staying warm, it feels like another cold one to me.