Unleashed

I apperciate everyone's input about ways to make my standing to paint more comfortable. I bought some interlocking rubber mats for my studio and I am amazed how much they helped with my leg fatigue. I don’t know why I didn’t do this years ago. I've been painting daily since I put them down.

The Yupo painting above,’ Unleashed’, came about by a different approach than I usually use. Instead of creating a composition by painting in shapes then working from there, I poured paint and let it flow. I laid another piece of Yupo on top and created a mono print of sorts. Meaning I only used the results as a starting point. I sprayed water, bushed and lifted paint, then repainted some areas again. Unless you are a master at painting on Yupo it is rarely forgiving. You can lose what you have done in a heartbeat. For me it becomes a real game as to who will win. Hours pass before I surrender and the next day I am back at it, often ruining my hard won progress of the day before. I have to say, “STOP” and then leave the studio!

Yupo Eclipsed

I spent so much time standing lost in the fascination of watercolor on Yupo, that my legs could not take it anymore! This really eclipsed my painting time. My studio is located in my basement, which has concrete floors. I have a small padded rug in front of my art table. It has always seemed sufficient, but I guess my old age has caught up with me. Now any amount of time standing there turns into to pure torture. I have tried sitting, but I cannot get the fluid motion I want. I am going to try some of those interlocking rubber pads, but in the mean time, I have created a small platform from a door scrap. (I cut up doors for art panels.) Although it creates other problems, ie, table height and inadvertently stepping off it, I hope the platform will do the trick.

The painting above is the last painting I created before I had to surrender to my legs. I titled it Eclipsed, which seemed to fit the painting and the current situation. I used a limited palette again and my usual cruciform, axial obvious format. The energy of the ocean and other moving water has always been my favorite subject matter. Although I was not consciously aware of it at the time, I believe being horrified by the oil disaster in the Gulf, has influenced my work.

Yupo Artist, Sandrine Pelissier

Struggling with Yupo led me to look for ways other artists have dealt with this tricky painting material. I discovered Sandrine Pelissier’s website and blog. Not only has she mastered Yupo, but also she generously shares step-by-step demonstrations, tips and techniques Her nude painting that I’ve featured here is one of my favorites. Amazingly Sandrine is a self taught artist and is proficient in all media   

Sandrine grew up in France and has been living in Vancouver for the last 10 years.. Since 2010, she has been an associate member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, and exhibited in numerous juried exhibitions in Canada and in the United States. Sandrine had a feature article in the August 2009 issue of Watercolor Artist magazine. Her work has been published in several books including  Splash series Splash 11 New directions: The Best of Watercolor, Splash 12, Watermedia: Best of Worldwide, Art buzz 2009 and 2010.

I hope you will visit all of Sandrine’s websites and her blog to see her wonderful creations.

Marks

                                                                       Shaman's Staff

I am still painting on Yupo. The crazy stuff continues to fascinate and frustrate me. The slightest attempt to correct, lighten or darken an area usually ends up distorting it. I tell myself that in time  I will master it, but I may be fooling myself. The other side of the coin is if I ever did, would I continue to be captivated?

I am reading,’ Expressive Drawing’ by Steven Aimone. Drawing and mark making was my first love. As a child, I scribbled and drew on everything. I hated coloring books, because I was too impatient to stay inside the lines. I envied the neatly colored pictures my friends would make but try as I may I was unable to do it. Steven encourages automatic drawing and expressing yourself with the freedom of a child. Yupo gives me that freedom by not allowing me to have total control over it. This painting, ‘Shaman’s Staff,’ illustrates that freedom. The ‘axial obvious’ composition motif that I used for this painting is a favorite of mine, which probably annoys some who cling to outdated rules and possibly color inside the lines :D