Sea and sky and sketching....

Sketching sea and sky II   watercolour 15x15cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Sketching sea and sky I   watercolour 15x15cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Sketching sea and sky III   watercolour 15x15cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Trying to plot the subtle changes of colour and fading light in sequence, there was about 20ish minutes between each one. This is going to take some practise and is a lesson in speeding up.

Tuesday's moon

What a treat to see such a bright and beautiful full moon on Tuesday. It was a stunner! There's not been much time for painting this last couple of weeks but I have managed a bit of sketching... I like making back runs in the clouds.

Tuesday's moon sketchbook page   watercolour   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

For some interesting factoids about this Blue Moon and its other names click here. The next one isn't until 2015!

Sketchbook page

Sketchbook page   watercolour and ink   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

The pattern on this little piece of sea worn china has been fascinating me. The cracks in the glaze and the way that the colour has slowly faded and worn away is so beautiful to my eye. I enjoy looking for these little found abstracts that, to me, have so much history and meaning. I wonder at what kind of vessel this piece came from and who made it and used it and how?  For what purpose? How did it end up in the sea and how far and for how long did it travel? I found it, put it in my pocket and then it traveled over the sea this time to end up on my desk reminding me of a walk at the beach, time spent with my family. My sister is an archaeologist and researches the answers to these kinds of questions for the things that she digs up from the earth....... these thoughts must run in the family.


(Apologies for the orientation of the picture - gremlins have turned it landscape instead of portrait again.)

Dancing light, a big surprise and an exhibition

Saturday saw the opening of the Christchurch Art Guild summer exhibition at Priory House. I knew there was going to be a lot of exciting work on show in a wide variety of subjects and media and had been really looking forward to it. Imagine my utter surprise when I was awarded the the Brian Mead Award for this painting! My jaw hit the floor at the announcement and His Nibbs had to give me a push to go and receive the trophy.

Summer's Dancing Light   acrylic on board 80x34cm   ©2013 Lisa Le Quelenec

Sadly this is the last exhibition to be held at this venue as it will be undergoing refurbishment and put to a new use. The exhibition runs until 17th August and is open from 10-5pm daily (except Sunday) so there is plenty of time to visit. It's well worth it with a gorgeous selection of artwork to view.

New watercolour nature studies

Feather studies   watercolour 6x8inch   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Feather study   watercolour 6x8inch   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

The lower painting is actually portrait format and should be turned 90 degrees clockwise. For some reason Blogger will only load the photo in landscape format. The paintings are for sale in my Etsy store in the studies section here.

I love painting feathers with all their subtleties. I will never run out of subjects as friends have started to collect them for me now too. I'd love to get a blue wing jay feather and live in hope of finding one on my walks by the river where I see them frequently. So far I've not had any luck.

Variations

mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

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So far there are four Variations of this composition. Seen together the changes are subtle and remind me of being at the beach and observing the water. - kind of like film stills in one way..

mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

mixed media 6.5x10.5cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

A new series

I have been intently working on a new series of small scale mixed media pieces which I am show casing at the Hayloft Gallery's Coral Anniversary Exhibition. They have been inspired by my pocket sketchbooks that are filled with quick sketches, often no more than hurried gestural marks that have taken no more than a minute. I like the vitality and simplicity of these sketches which sometimes is lost in paintings and have been thinking about how to make a series of work that captures this essence. Whilst thinking about how best to approach the project I decided that I wanted to keep the scale very small like the original sketches but also have a way of making variations from each sketch - a series within the series so to speak.

Variations series    mixed media 6.5x10.5cm   ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

To begin with I started monoprinting then I worked back into the prints with other media, mostly colour pencil. (I've a hunch that collage may make an appearance as the series progresses.) The textures that the printing ink makes during the monoprint process makes a lovely tooth to work back into. The texture grabs a hold of the pencil in a nice way. As the series progresses I want to be working more on the mark making which is truer to the original sketches but old habits are hard to break ;o) Also because of the unpredictable nature of the printing process it means that I can have very different variations even though the original source (sketch) is the same.

One of the beauties of this way of working is that time has become a very precious commodity for me the last few months so it means that I can keep working through disruptions as they are easy to pick up and put down unlike paintings. (It's difficult to stop a watercolour mid wash or an acrylic where the paints dries too quickly. Especially during this heatwave that we are experiencing in the UK. It has been hot hot HOT!!! - such a change from all the flooding last year.)

Solo

Solo    acrylic on paper 12.5x12.5cm     ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

A gull effortlessly glides the breeze that quenches the heat from the day as evening draws.

We are enjoying a couple of weeks of warm summer sun here, chores are saved for the cool of the evening. It's a big difference to the torrential rain we had last year and I'm making the most of it. This painting will be in the Coral Anniversary Exhibition at the Hayloft, Christchurch 19th July - 15th August.

A gentle sea

A Gentle Sea   13x13cm acrylic on paper     ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

Fine hot weather is forecast for the next ten days or so. (-I hope I haven't just jinxed it ;o)  ) I'm looking forward to some sights like this where everything slows down in the lazy heat. I can't be too lazy though as I've the Hayloft exhibition coming up very soon and then another group show at Priory House in August. I will be making time for some gentle evening strolls along the sand though.

Sand Dunes and Shadows II

Sand Dunes and Shadows II   watercolour 15x21cm ©2013Lisa Le Quelenec

 

Sand Dunes & Shadows acrylic on paper19x28cm  ©2012 Lisa Le Quelenec

Sometimes it's interesting to take a composition that you painted in one medium and do another version in a different one. Sand Dunes and Shadows was painted in acrylic in May last year. The second painting was painted recently when I was demonstrating at the Living Crafts event at the Priory in Christchurch. I like the warmth of the colours in the watercolour. The acrylic has more of a cooler evening atmosphere. I wonder what this composition would transform into if I used printmaking techniques.....