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MEDIUM: Watercolor on Yupo
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SIZE: 11" x 15"
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STATUS: For sale $225, in a double mat & natural wood frame
"I've been experimenting using watercolor on a unique surface called Yupo. It is considered a watercolor 'paper' but I would use that term loosely. Yupo is a thin sheet of ultra smooth white plastic. As a watercolor surface, it differs in many characteristics from the standard cotton fiber papers I use. The surface of Yupo is totally non-absorbent so the pigments just sit on the top, they do not get absorbed. This creates advantages and disadvantages: (1) if you want to lift off the color and reveal the white surface, just re-wet the paint and lift it off with anything that will pick up the pigment - a dry brush, dry or damp paper towel or tissue, cotton swabs, etc., and (2) if you try to paint over an area which is already painted, the first layer can easily be disturbed. The trick to using Yupo is to use these properties to your advantage. That's what I have to learn!
I created Forest Zen with a limited palette of colors, covering the sheet with wet pigment and letting blending occur randomly. Once dry, I invented the forest creek scene, adding some of the same colors in places and lifting off colors in other spots. The spatters of the water are fun and easy... just spatter water droplets on the surface and blot off with paper towel. I created the rocks by slightly dampening the pigment already dry, then scraping some color off with the edge of a plastic credit card.
I did lots of other experiments on Yupo, but this is the only one which pleased me. There's lots to learn, so I have signed up for a one-day class on using Yupo. I look forward to having more fun with it!"
