Watercolor on Yupo

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Abstracted Azure sold too soon!

I am really having fun with watercolor on Yupo. Yupo is a slick, synthetic paper that has wonderful lifting ability. With watercolor and the use of objects such as Q-tips, plastic embroidery grids, corrugated cardboard and other tools you will learn to create unusual textures with watercolor on Yupo. My first Abstract painting on Yupo, "Abstracted Azure",  won a second place award the first month I showed it in Galveston. The second month I showed it in Houston, it sold! I was a bit sorry to see it go. That's why it is important for artists to get a good photograph of their work before framing. If it sells you have the option to sell prints of it after the original sells. Some people may not be able to house or even afford original art. With a print, it can be sized down to a proportional dimension to fit their wall and their budget

The Gator's texture is easy with Yupo.

My second painting on Yupo was the Gator to the right. I got a lot of wonderful texture using sponges, plastic brushes that look like spatulas and paper towels. I was happy to hear that "Gator" won both and honorable mention in Texas City and a first place ribbon in Baytown. My third painting on Yupo didn't come out to my liking. Did I worry, no—I just took it to the sink and washed it right off the paper. I have found that some of the colors like Alizarin Crimson and French Ultramarine Blue do stain slightly but it will be covered up with my next creation!

The other thing to be cautioned about is that Yupo fingerprints easily. The paint doesn't adhere to the oils on the paper from your fingers. That being said, It can create texture and happy accidents that you just can't get with  Oil or Acrylic paint. You really can’t go wrong. If you don’t like what you have created, simply wipe it back to the white of the paper and start over. So relax and discover the joys of painting on Yupo.