Lisa Le Quelenec Seaside studios paintings, prints and mixed media

Thursday, 23 March 2023

And the Gulls Cry - acrylic on canvas board

A companion piece to Where the Wild things are....

These paintings will be available in my Folksy store in a couple of weeks or so. I am going to live with them a short while to make sure there are no adjustments to be made and so that I can enjoy them a while ;o)

Thursday, 16 March 2023

Where The Wild Things Are - acrylic on canvas

Well that was fun!

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

A failed monoprint...a nugget of inspiration - WIP

Below a failed monoprint...with potential....I worked back into it with coloured pencils and acrylic paint... a nugget of an idea is forming... I think the scale needs to be bigger...I want to stretch my wings a little...

Friday, 3 March 2023

Gulls, storms and monoprints

A little monoprint experimenting has been occurring... thinking in ink...sometimes unexpected things happen which lead to new ideas to explore. That happened with this print below. The plate for some reason known only to the gods of print slid in the press making these lovely marks suggesting cliffs. My work is usually of the sea from the shore or clifftop but now I am thinking in terms of from the sea/sky. Ideas are percolating slowly forming more thinking in ink is needed....

The print below on the left is where I had been intending to go. A monoprint with an embossed gull shape in the lower margin. I am still toying with the idea of including text within my work, slowly trying things out and experimenting. The version on the left is a digital copy with added text.. I am unsure so have photocopied and written on it/tried a fully digitised version in photoshop...I am still unsure. What are your thoughts? Which do you prefer? I think maybe in this image the text is a little too big and obvious....? I will live with them for a while.

This print was pulled from the plate after the one above, I added and wiped extra ink to the remnants, playing with marks. If the one above was as the storm was building then this one would be the storm from within. Same composition very different energy.

For now I will go back to thinking in ink, exploring, pushing pulling the ideas and experimenting to see where it will lead.

Friday, 24 February 2023

Swooping and circling - gull sketchbook page and monoprint

If you spend any time at the shore you will find yourself watching the gulls swooping, circling, gliding and diving. I feel I may just have some gull in my genes as I circle back to them in my work again and again. I am mulling over how to approach it this time around.

Sketchbook page - gull studies ©LisaLeQuelenec

Old sketchbook pages - looking back and moving forward - looking at shapes and trying ideas. At the end of a project I store all my reference materials, sketchbooks and experiments and notes in a folder. I often return to subjects when something new catches my eye or an idea for combinations or new connections are made. Sometimes just revisiting a folder strikes up new ideas on its own. It is good to have all the visual stimulus in one place waiting to be plundered again.

I think some monoprinting may be in order to think in ink.

Gliding 13x13cm monoprint ©2023LisaLeQuelenec

This monoprint is available in my Folksy store.

Monday, 13 February 2023

Coastal collection - home accessories, stationery and more

This is a project I have been working on for the past few months and I am so excited to share it with you today. Using my shell watercolour paintings I have created a series of designs in a selection of colourways to be reproduced on various home accessories, stationery and more on RedBubble. You can see the whole collection here.

I have used RedBubble for a number of years for stock in my shops, also for sending gifts and have always been impressed with both the quality, speed and service.

So many hours have gone into putting the collection together and it is really exciting for me to see it all come together. Is there a different colourway that you would like to see? Or maybe a different shell or creature? Do let me know what you think.

Monday, 6 February 2023

Limpet portraits - acrylic on board

The four shells lying vertically in the photo above are the subjects of these first four portraits. When you closely observe and compare them you can see so many differences, each having it's own characteristics and subtleties. Hopefully you can see better in this photo below.

I have been toying with the idea of using text within work for a while. The text in two of these paintings comes from notes I made about limpets from Wikipedia. During my research of these fascinating creatures I stumbled across a paper by Dr Louise Firth, Associate Professor of Marine Ecology at the University of Plymouth, titled What Have Limpets Ever Done for US? It is fascinating reading taking in thousands of years of cultural history all over the world as well as their importance within the ecosystem and many other threads besides. If you would like to delve into this fascinating read here is a link.

Limpets are extremely common in Jersey due to the island being surrounded by the perfect rocky habitat. As a child their common sight left me a little blind to collecting them and I rarely picked them up. However during the summer on a visit to La Hougue Bie Museum I learnt a little and saw how they were considered of such importance as to be placed within the Neolithic grave mound. During the Occupation when food was scarce they became an important source of food, supplementing meagre rations - not for the first time were they known as famine food (and not just in this location). The more I read, draw and paint these tough little critters the more respect I feel for them.

All four portraits are available in my Folksy Store.

Thursday, 19 January 2023

Sundown - oil on paper

There have been some very cold but beautifully clear evenings the last few days. The colours are so inspiring and seem even more vibrant after weeks of pale grey skies. These small paintings may be the precursor to some larger paintings later in the year.

All three are available mounted in my Folksy store.

Thursday, 12 January 2023

Limpets and seaglass - watercolour

I'm not sure whether to continue painting at this point so added real shells and glass in various combinations to see where it might lead and try to nudge a decision.... I think part of the issue I have is that I am so unused to seeing my work on NOT paper as I usually use HOT PRESS and it has thrown me a bit... decisions...decisions....