2026 drawing project - plant forms for June and July

 

I seem to be experiencing some gremlins within my blog. For reasons that remain a mystery this post didn't publish last month and I seem to be unable to comment on mine or anyone else's blog. I haven't the foggiest why but hope it resolves itself soon. Fingers crossed that this post publishes....

This is the missing drawing from June for my drawing a month project. The same model as March's drawing but this time a top view.

Pine cone top view   sketchbook study in stages   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

My drawing for July is below. Dandelions begun in Spring but only recently completed. The meadows were full of lush grass and dandelions back then - a very different story to now as everything is burnt, dry and dusty with the rather repetitive heatwaves.

Dandelion study   sketchbook page   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

How beautiful was this? I couldn't fail to be inspired...

2026 Drawing project - Mrs Willmott's Ghost

 

Mrs Willmott's Ghost   sketchbook page coloured pencil and ink    ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

Eryngium giganteum, with the common name Miss Willmott's Ghost, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. The short-lived herbaceous perennial thistle is native to the Caucasus and Iran in Western Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

Named after Ellen Willmott (1858 - 1934) who liked to secretly scatter seed, maybe the first guerrilla gardener, she certainly seemed like a character with an interesting life and a passion for horticulture.

I love this plant for it's barely there colour, almost luminescent tones, which makes a strong contrast against other plants. The specimens that I have drawn here were grown in my garden last summer and have dried to a hint of cream in colour. I am looking forward to seeing it again this year.

Mrs Willmott's Ghost (detail)   sketchbook page coloured pencil and ink    ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

2026 drawing project - honesty... silver dollars...lunaria and a pine cone

 

Honesty Silver Dollars Lunaria   sketchbook drawing mixed media   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec  

April's drawing (I am so late posting!) is inspired by a stem of Honesty that blew across my path as I walked down to the fields. It was dull grey winter time and this little stem shone like it contained all the light of the day - so beautiful. It has been standing in a bottle for a few months waiting for its turn to be drawn. It isn't until you start to closely observe that you see just how many colours are contained within it's luminous discs, I'm not sure I have done it justice but it was an absolute joy to try.

Now I am not sure what happened to March's drawing because I did post it but it seems to have gotten lost as it is not here now. Anyway, I will include it here;

Pine cone Drawing stages   sketchbook mixed media   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

I used to draw pinecones frequently in the past, I love getting lost in the patterns but has been a little while since the last one. I thought you might like to see the stages of drawing that I use and below the final sketch.

 

Pine cone  mixed media in sketchbook   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

Below is a bonus sketch; on a familiar stretch on a dog walk I came across this on the path. Either the remainder of something's lunch or maybe discarded by another dog  was this 'pinecone flower' another treasure bagged and stored away in a pocket to be drawn. The strange thing was that I'm pretty sure the nearest pine tree is about a kilometre away so this little flower had travelled a bit.

Pine cone  mixed media in sketchbook   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

I will try to be a little more punctual for May!

A circular sketchbook - mixed media storms, waves & gulls

 

I started a new pocket sketchbook at the beginning of the year. I have prepped the pages with tissue some marked with ink by drying prints others with watercolour marks. Each page will have a composition made within a circle. I am hoping that I will learn things about composition from a change in format. I am allowing myself to spill outside of the circle as the mood takes me. I will probably stick to grey, indigo and white to take away the decision fatigue of choosing palettes. I like the consistency in these small sketchbooks when reviewing sketches over a longer period of time. 

I used to work within circles quite often in watercolour so it feels, at least to begin with, like I am revisiting old ground with new eyes. Of course the sea, as always is present and so too are the gulls that circle and swoop within my work. At least that is how it is starting although that isn't necessarily how the sketchbook will finish. It does rather fell like the start of a voyage in a way...

Circle sketchbook page   watercolour and mixed media   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

Circle sketchbook page   watercolour and mixed media   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

Circle sketchbook page   watercolour and mixed media   ©2026LisaLeQuelenec

Inspiration from unusual places...

Rag rug watercolour thumbnail sketch  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

 

Rag rug ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

It started on a sunny day, I noticed the denim rag rug and the way the light had faded areas - the patterns made by light and shade, the tones, the colours and textures... a little noticing.

Sketchbook studies - rag rug    watercolour   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I grabbed my sketchbook and sketched out some thumbnails.....which led to some collages.....

Collage WIP    ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Rag rug studies   collage with shells   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

That were strangely addictive to make.....  to be continued......

Watercolour treasures from the beach

 

Scallop shell study   watercolour 21x30cm approximately   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

 

 

I've been spending a bit of time getting my shop back together over on Etsy. A few new watercolour shell studies have been added and I will add more work in the coming weeks. I will continue to post on Mondays and Thursdays for the forseeable but if you need something more urgently please do contact me to see what can be arranged. If your intended purchase is a gift I can always post it directly to the recipient with a note if you let me know the details.

 

Seahorse, urchin and starfish studies available individually   watercolour 21x30cm approximately   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

The skies just lately...

The skies just lately   photographs   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

I have been enjoying looking up just lately. Evenings have been noticeably drawing in and the weather feels on the turn. The recently endless blue is now filling with some quite dramatic cloudscapes - much more interesting to record... I think there will be some clouds on my horizon.

Sky study sketchbook page   acrylic   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

Sky study sketchbook page   acrylic   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

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

Stripes from the Shoreline - every day in February 2019

The latest treasures collected from the shore ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

The inspiration for a project has come from a tiny page in a sketchbook that I shared in August 2017 (Time really does fly, I couldn't believe how long it had been when I checked back.) 

Stripes from the shore sketchbook page ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

The notes and small sketches on the A6 pages keep coming to mind as I walk along the beach and notice more and more ‘stripes’ not only in the little treasures that I pick up along the way but also in the actual beachscape itself. From bands of cloud, the bands of waves as they travel to shore and also in the groynes that protect the space from erosion. The more I notice, the more I feel that I need to make some work exploring these patterns. Not only the horizontals but also importantly the verticals that I find in the landscape. 

Stripes from the shoreline   ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

When I look back at my work over the last couple of years, I feel that I can see this motif emerging subconsciously more and more. Now I feel that it is time to recognise it more fully – to name it so to speak. I also have a hankering for making some work in a more abstract kind of manner. I have no sense of how these ideas could develop and feel open to possibilities so I have decided to make a mini project for the month of February a small collage a day to try out and maybe consolidate some ideas.

 

The 'palette'  ©2019LisaLeQuelenec

 
I work better when I have limitations so I have set some boundaries for myself to hopefully achieve a considered approach;
  
Each piece will have a base layer measuring 6.5x6.5cm (2.5x2.5 inch) square.

         Each piece may or may not have elements that break this boundary.   

      The palette will be a range of aqua, grey, white and cream opaque and semi-transparent papers that have been pre-painted or printed.

 Attention will be paid to the weight, balance, tension, edges, tone and texture. 

I may spend no more or less than 30 mins on each piece.   

In the interests of a cohesive body of work each piece will be mounted      onto a white textured backing paper measuring 15x20.5cm (6x8 inch).

I feel quite excited by the project idea. There are so many rabbit holes that I could wander down and the difficulty will be focussing on only one aspect a day. I am hoping to see a progression of ideas that evolve over the four-week period. Intentionally I am going to make an abstract piece as a starting point in the hope that I can brush aside any preconceived ideas – I wonder what will develop…. Tomorrow I will begin.

Colour charts and colour sketchbook pages

The colour that I used in the previous post was Daniel Smith's Sodalite Genuine. I like using this colour on it's own for tonal studies for it's unpredictable granulation and the way the blue and the black sometimes separate as it's drying. I think of it as a soft faded denim and as comfortable to use as a pair of well loved jeans is to wear. It occured to me that although I have used this colour often and have used it in mixes with other blues I hadn't actually made a colour recipe chart for it with the other colours in my palette.

Colour charts for black watercolours ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Above is the chart painted this week on the left. To the right are some charts made previously  - you can see posts about previous expermients with black watercolours  here.  It was well worth doing the chart as I don't think I would have discovered these beautiful greens that can be mixed otherwise. I particularly like the way Sodalite Genuine mixes with Cobalt Turquoise Light, Green Gold and Indanthrene Blue (all Winsor & Newton)

Pages from my colour recipe and experiment book ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

This another chart to add to my colour sketchbook or recipe book. Below are a few pages from it that I have been refering to lately with all the greys, blues and aquas. It's filled with experiments, clippings, charts, notes and all sorts - even a couple of disposable palettes have been stuck in. To be honest it is an unruly mess with splats and spodges and scribbles but it is well thumbed, dog earred in places and beyond value to me. It's been added to over a number of years and as I am running out of room I will have to re-bind it to add more pages at some point in the future. It could end up as thick as a brick :o)  .

Making shapes

Watercolour sketches   watercolour   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

My little bundle of happiness on four paws has been making some interesting shapes as she explores her world.

*note to self - you can justify puppy watching as research if you have a sketchbook and brush in hand ;o)

Beach Treasures in mixed media

Beach Treasures   etching and mixed media    ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Following on from the etchings in last weeks post I couldn't resist playing with a set in coloured pencil. I have scanned them and made the available as cards and reproduction prints on Redbubble .

Beach treasures   etching and coloured pencil   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Beach treasures etchings and process

Sketches and preliminary sketchbook work for the Beach Treasures etching ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

I had begun to plan my most ambitious etching project to date some time ago. As always it started in my sketchbook and was a kind of continuation of the watercolour beach treasures collections to begin with I wasn't sure if the compositions were going to be in watercolour or print. I had even gotten as far as thinking about colour when I decided to go the etching route.

Concept sketch for Beach Treasures etching plates ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Refining the shapes and drawing for each plate took some time as I wanted to get the spacing and balance perfect for each individual plate and for it to work just as well as a triptych. Once that was done I was ready to make the plates and could easily transfer each outline onto the prepared zinc. Carefully I added in the hatching to render the form of the objects. There is a lovely parallel between the hardness of the shells and pebbles and the delicate marks they have and recreating it on a hard metal plate.

Once completed the plates are bathed in acid for the drawing to be eaten away giving a 'tooth' for the ink to settle in and imprint on the paper. After carefully cleaning away the rest of the ground (the substance used as a barrier to keep the acid from eating away at the metal where you don't want a mark) the plate is ready for inking.

The plates all ready for printing - Beach treasures ©2018LisaLeQueleenc

I have proofed the plates individually (made test prints) in both black and blue/black ink and am happy with the results. It really does pay for me to spend time in the preparation before starting the plate making.

The proof prints are both available mounted as you can see here at Seaside Studios UK on Etsy. Prints of individual plates are available on both Etsy and in my Folksy store.

Beach treasures I, II & III   original etchings, first artists proof prints mounted to 30x50cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Beach treasures I, II & III   original etchings, second artists proof prints mounted to 30x50cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Beach Treasures I, II & III   etchings 6.5x13.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec