Spring or sea glass greens - coastal collage and mixed media

 

Untitled   Mixed media collage on A4ish watercolour paper  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Sand and water ripples ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

So much inspiration in this photograph...the colours and textures especially. I'm not sure what people think when they see me taking pictures of soggy sand but I am quite happy in my world 😊 This photograph could be the route of a lifetimes work there is so much that appeals to me.

Untitled   Mixed media collage on A4ish watercolour paper  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Ripples in the sand ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Untitled   Mixed media collage on A5ish watercolour paper  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I have always been drawn to green stones, probably because they are rare here, and have some lovely green serpentine from Cornwall. The very pale textured pebble in the photo I am at a loss as to what it is but would love to know. The mintyness is lovely.

A selection of minty green pieces are available in my Folksy Store.

Trying out a little video - after much messing around with editing this is my first effort!

Ripples and reflections ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Piddock made hagstones ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Hag stones made by piddocks are a bit more unusual here too, I normally find them made by tidal erosion. The perfect circles put me in mind of Barbera Hepworth's sculptures and one of my favourite quotes from her:

'Many people select a stone or pebble to carry for the day, the weight and form and texture felt in our hands relates to the past and gives us a sense of universal force. The beautifully shaped stone washed up by the sea is a symbol of continuity a silent image of our desire for survival, peace and serenity.'    - Barbara Hepworth

Land or Sea? - collage and mixed media

Untitled A4ish collage and mixed media on paper ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Pebbles colour inspiration ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I am pushed and pulled on the tide.. is the series about the pebbles or the sea each new piece seems to change its' focus first land is more dominant then the sea....is this a metaphor.....? Edges, relationships, boundaries, liminal, erosion, words that are scribbled in my sketchbook.

Untitled A4ish collage and mixed media on paper ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Detail - Untitled A4ish collage and mixed media on paper ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Sand Ripples ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted! A virus got the better of me and then ten days of road trip travelling as far up as Edinburgh and Whitby to Liverpool across with a stop off in York has kept me away. So much inspiration on the trip and much beach treasure gathered.

I will be reopening my Etsy shop again soon. There has been quite a few changes since it was last open so a steep learning curve to get up to scratch but hopefully I will be ready in the next couple of weeks. Some of these new works will be available there.

Mixed media collage - tide patterns

 

Untitled   Mixed media collage on A5ish watercolour paper  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Untitled   Mixed media collage on A5ish watercolour paper  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Tide patterns ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Sand ripples ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Thinking about the patterns left by wind and water on the sand, how it forms ripples and carves hills and troughs - the traces left behind.

Worn by water and wind   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

So many of my reference photos have dogs walking through, sometimes Lu sometimes randoms... I think she shows the scale rather well in this one though. The pattern has formed by dry sand catching on the textures made by the sea as it is blown across the beach. This photo was taken in Jersey where the large and rapid tides make large shapes. By contrast the photo below is much smaller in scale.

The trail of water flowing back to the sea, navigating the pebbles left behind   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

The Red Ball

'I started early, took my dog,

and visited the sea;

The mermaids in the basement

Came out to look at me.'

                                              Emily Dickinson

The Red Ball   watercolour on paper 15.5x25.5cm   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Available at  Seaside Studios UK.

Winter walkies

Winter Walkies    watercolour on paper 40x40cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

The winter walkies I have been experiencing haven't been quite as idyllic as this. Dark, dreary, soaking wet and blowing a gale have been more the order of the day this week but still a girl can dream.... It has made me very thankful for my waterproofs.

Ironically, in a way, water has been the essential element in painting these two pieces with very wet washes, glazing and minimal pigment. I have used a triad of Daniel Smith's sodalite, cobalt blue deep and yellow ochre light again. I love, love, love the granulations they produce and it has been good to work on a slightly larger scale again.


Both paintings are available in my Folksy store Seaside Studios UK.

One Man & His Dog   watercolour on paper 40x40cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

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.

The mist rolled in

The Mist Rolled In (detail)   watercolour 12x18cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

The Mist Rolled In  watercolour 12x18cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Subtle tones and barely there colour. A blanket of mist rolls in off the sea masking sight and sound.

(This one wasn't fun to try and photograph, the camera has bleached the colour a little too much.)


Available at Seaside Studios UK Etsy

First to the sea

Looking for Treats (in progress)   17.5x17.5cm watercolour on paper   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

First to the Sea   watercolour on paper 8x13cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Have you ever been to the beach really, really early in the morning before anyone else has arrived with a low tide and pristine virgin sand? You can be alone with your thoughts enjoying the breeze listening to your breath and the sound of your footsteps that dissipates into the big empty stillness as you are slowly warmed by the sun.



The colour chart from a few posts back is certainly coming in useful. Just a touch of colour in the mix and the atmosphere has changed.


These paintings are available at Seaside studios UK on etsy

Looking for Treats   17.5x17.5cm watercolour on paper   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

 

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?

Just walking the dog

Wet sand, reflections and silhouettes fill my mind and sketchbooks at the moment. They are inspiring a new mini project. I watched an interview on Youtube with Fred Cuming one of my all time favourite artists which is where the quote in my sketchbook has come from. He said;

'I might be the only person in miles of open space.

It provides me with endlessly fascinating problems

of conveying something which is about nothing

more than emptiness.'

Fred Cuming

You can see more of his work here.

Sketchbook page   watercolour and pencil   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

He sums up so eloquently what I am trying to achieve. Light, space, solitude and quiet. I often think of my sea and sky paintings as 'the big empties' and this feels an extension of that work. Maybe the addition of a figure exaggerates that notion. Time to explore...

Sketchbook page   pencil on monoprint    ©LisaLeQuelenec

Well weathered - a series in mixed media and collage

Well weathered 1 - 6   10.5x16.5cm collage and mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

I can get up to all sorts of mischief whilst waiting for ink to dry ;o) I have been working into some drypoint and etching prints with pencils, paint and collage - looking at them afresh and thinking about time and errosion.

The original six are available here.

Well weathered I 10.5x16.5cm mixed media ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Well weathered II 10.5x16.5cm mixed media ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Well weathered III 10.5x16.5cm mixed media ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Well weathered IV 10.5x16.5cm mixed media ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Well weathered V 10.5x16.5cm mixed media ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Well weathered VI 10.5x16.5cm mixed media ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

They are also available as prints, cards and notebooks on RedBubble here.

Well Weathered VI by LisaLeQuelenec as prints, cards and notebooks on RedBubble

Well travelled pebbles in watercolour

I had hoped to be able to share the next round of collagraph prints but I am in between stages waiting for ink to dry still. Unable to continue with them I have returned to watercolour and whilst the medium dictates a completely different result from the prints the theme is the same.

Well Travelled   17x17cm watercolour   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Well Travelled II   17x17cm watercolour   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Replicating some of the marks and textures that I had made in the prints with watercolour and a little gouache has made some interesting areas. I also used more granulating pigments in the mixes especially the new love of my life Daniel Smith's Sodolite Genuine. I can see I will be getting through the tube rather quickly.

Well Travelled II (detail)   17x17cm watercolour   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Not a bad way to spend time waiting for ink to dry.......

Sailing at the Ocean's End

Sailing at the Ocean's End   acrylic on canvas board 20x20cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

I couldn't resist trying another version and including the sail boat. I wonder if this one reads as a larger expanse of space compared to the one in the previous post. What do you think?


This painting is available on Etsy at Seaside studios UK.  and as a print on RedBubble.

Colour inspiration   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Ocean's End

Ocean's End   acrylic on canvas 30x30cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

The ocean, the sky and the light....

Shining Sands

Shining Sands   acrylic on canvas board 20x20cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

I am working on extending this series and have a couple more paintings 'on the go' . As I work on more than one painting at a time they all evolve together each one informing and developing each other in a constant conversation. I had thought I had finished two but when I went to the studio yesterday I could see that they weren't. A mini breakthrough on one has meant adjustments on the other two... It's all to the good.

It's funny but when I started working on these I had envisioned mark making being an important aspect of the series but it has really taken a back seat. The work has once more taken a life of it's own and is dictating it's own path which I am happy to follow and so the conversation continues.

Summer's whisper

Summer's Whisper   acrylic on canvas 50x50cm   ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

Summer's Whisper - tonal value check ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

Inspired by a walk I had during the summer on a long hazy warm beach with just a gentle breeze for company. Very tranquil and relaxing...

It has been some time since I have painted on a larger scale and it was nice to stretch my wings a little. I have included a black and white photo of the finished piece to show the tonal range. I often take photos and convert them to black and white as I paint a piece so that I can check the tonal values as a painting progresses.



This new deep edged box canvas is available on Etsy at Seaside Studios UK.

Soft Summer's Light and colour inspiration

Soft Summer's Light   acrylic on board 20x20cm   ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

A while back whilst reading blog post by Sherrie York I chuckled to myself. She was in the middle of one of her exquisite linocuts and had realised that she had mixed the exact colour of ink to match the shirt that she was wearing. This is certainly something that has happened to me more than a few times.

The post reminded me of a time many moons ago at college when a tutor asked me why I had picked a certain colour combination for a repeat pattern design. It was quite a combination - dusky pink, chestnut brown, and bright vibrant turquoise and orange! I replied that I didn't have a clue, there was no reason I just happened to mix them. It was only when I got back home to my student digs and went to the kitchen that I saw the combination in all its retro lino, ceramic tiles and Formica glory staring back at me! I guess the décor was so familiar that I had stopped seeing it. My environment subconsciously influencing my palette is something that I have noticed happening a lot over the years.

This painting is another example - I only realised when I had finished it. I had consciously been looking at these particular shells for inspiration and referring to these pages in my colour notebook.

Colour notes ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

Shells ©2016LisaLeQuelenec

Then I realised that I had also been deciding between these  Farrow & Ball  colours for a decorating project....

Farrow & Ball Dix Blue no.82, Green Blue no.84 and Tersea's Green no.236

...it has been a difficult decision as I love them all.... there may be more than one DIY project in the pipeline. ....ssshhhhhhh don't tell His Nibbs... ;o)


You can read Sherrie York's post here.