Gray’s Beach Collage

Lesley worked from a photograph of Gray’s Beach in Dennis—a place she visited many times as a child and has returned to with her son, holding a dear sentimentality for the artist.

Lesley took the collaging technique learned for Paper Collage and worked from a photograph of Gray’s Beach in Dennis—a place she visited many times as a child and has returned to with her son, holding a dear sentimentality for the artist. She enlarged the photograph, then copied the layout of the design to the wood panel she worked with.

She painted abstract designs on papers in the colors and textures of the sky, marsh, water, and islands. With the boardwalk, Lesley imitated faux bois patterns in a variety of colorways to replicate light and shadow and the greenish hue of the boards tainted by algae. To get the effect of faded and aging wood, Lesley incorporated a crackle glaze. She then scaled the pieces of paper to achieve an accurate perspective as the walkway receded into the distance. Though a long process, markedly different from the instant gratification of much of her other art, Lesley was entranced by the ability to continually return to that beach through art.

The subtlety of Lesley’s touch is seen across the piece. The abstraction in tones of blue are mistakable for clouds themselves, the forms having a soft billowing effect, as if moving in the piece—a type of stylization that feels emotive and expressive, seeing the sky in the artist’s eyes.

The patterning on the wooden boardwalk mimics shadows, the narrow difference in tonality almost imperceptible as Lesley’s doing—but which, when seen, adds a surprising visual stimulation.

The earth tones on the dunes have a gentle gradient that is not quite subtle enough to be real, but also not stark enough to show Lesley’s manipulation.

The cut paper signaling the end of the dunes and the beginning of the sand, as well as that indicating the ocean, reveals Lesely’s hand, the imperfection of the line that is not quite natural and not quite artificial. 

Lesley has created an image that so carefully reflects the photograph, but which also communicates so sensitively the memories she rendered in this collage.