Waiting - watercolor on Yupo

Hoping
(Window from Chimayo, New Mexico)

8x10in watercolor on Yupo  SOLD

Chimayo is famous for
El Santuario de Chimayo
and the documented healings
from the "sacred earth"
The link is worth the visit.

Artist Note.

Watercolor on Yupo
is pretty remarkable,
 allowing for stress-free
painting due to the
clean lifting ability

Different techniques
are fun to try...
like in the one below

Threesome

9x7  watercolor on Yupo  SOLD

Sunny Lunchtime

Sunny Lunchtime

12x9in alcohol ink on yupo

Available HERE

Artist Note.

This one looks a bit like a batik

to me. I loved the way it 

turned out. 

The photo was taken in 

my daughter's garden where she 

had the tallest sunflowers

I have ever seen.

I did another watercolor 

on yupo with the same theme 

only it was a goldfinch

playing a camouflage game

with the sunflowers.

Berry Picking - and other stuff

Berry Picking

13inx10in  Alcohol Ink on Yupo  SOLD

Artist Note

Painting a series allows an artist

to experiment freely with 

different media. The Alcohol Inks 

were a real adventure into

the unpredictable.
I enjoyed it.
I had 9 out of thirty paintings
done with the inks.

Below I am looking happy
that all the work was over
on the night of the opening.

My house became a real mess due 

to a knee injury which 

prevented easy access to the 

steps to my studio.

Guest room

and dining room below.

The kitchen table was worse

so no pic of that!

Invaluable lack of complaining 

and total support from hubby

earned him a few gold stars!

Life is getting back to normal.

Everything picked up and clean.

Daily painting has resumed.

Different Studies of Pink Tulips

Pink X Two

8x4" oil on canvas

fracturing demo

Artist Note.

I have been experimenting

with painting the tulips 

on different surfaces 

with different media. 

The top one in oil was

a quick demo on 

the fracturing technique.

I used alcohol ink on the one below.

Still a work in process. 

I want to keep it abstract

and am looking forward to 

doing more with it. 

I am still discovering 

what acohol ink can and cannot do.

I enjoy its unpredictability.

X three

 alchohol ink on yupo.

Below is another WIP.

I like working on the 

YES canvas surface.

It takes all types of wet media.

Watercolor lifts off cleanly,

but unlike paper

it feels slightly scratchy 

and has a tooth.

X four.

watercolor on Yes Canvas

I don't know if or when 

I will finish

any of these paintings.

Does it matter?

I enjoy doing them

and like

  having a stash of 

unfinished paintings to 

nibble on when I

feel like it.

Balcony in Guadalajara, Mexico

Balcony in Guadalajara.

9x8 in watercolor on Yupo

study

Artist Note.

Carol Marine came up with

a neat subject for this week's

 Daily Paintworks Challenge.

I have loads of balcony photos

from all my travels. This one 

from the gorgeous old city 

of Guadalajara, in Mexico's

interior. In this area they 

all had small clothes lines,

sometimes four to a balcony.

This was 20 years ago...

I wonder if they still

hang it outside or 

if they have dryers

now their electricity has

improved.

Yupo Landscape

Yupo Landscape

9x11 

Unfinished

My husband and I made a

quick trip to Phoenix - 

nice cool Phoenix-

 (record breaking temps)

to attend a funeral this weekend

and this kept me totally

occupied in the car. 

It is weird, I cannot read 

in the car, but I can paint.

The trip takes over six hours

each way,

and as you probably know,

the beauty of Yupo 

is I can paint - wipe it off

and paint again

It went through several incarnations

and I still consider it unfinished.

I was never trying to make a

painting, but just exploring 

the different mark making 

Yupo allows

I was working from memory

 of an area I had plein

painted earlier in the week 

so I was free to concentrate

on the technique.

I did discover some pigments

will stain Yupo.

Even thick applications of

paint will lift off 

topping over with 

another layer, and 

pooling color within 

boundaries is basically the

 only way to get a smooth wash.

I saw this fabulous post by

Jill Golden on alcohol inks

using yupo. It showed 

all her student's work

and they were great.

Her blog is 

jillraefinallyart.com

 see link here Jill Rae

I was intrigued

by the wonderful appearance 

of alcohol ink on Yupo. 

Jill definitely has 

the heart of a teacher and 

she generously

sent me a couple of links

on her youtube demos

see below.

alcohol inks

Greenwood Chapel

Thank you, Jill.

They look fun,

I am going to give them a go...

but NOT in the car!

Dryer Lint Nest.

Dryer Lint Nest

6x7" watercolor on Yupo
Sold

I was given this wonderful nest last week.
The eggs were still in there - never hatched.
Lots of dryer lint was attached by strands
of horse tail hair and stuffed between twigs.
Quite amazing how those birds are such
good engineers...
BUT
they do not know dryer lint is bad for
them if they use it.

Chemicals 
From the soap and dryer sheets.
Dust
Dry, loose lint causes respiratory problems.
Scent
Attracts predators right to a vulnerable nest

There are other serious problems too,
 but the thing I hope to pass on
 is not to put dryer lint out for
the birds during the nesting season.
I used to, but not anymore.

There had to be a reason these eggs
did not hatch.

Testing Wax Finish on Yupo

Tree Study.
10x8in watercolor Not for sale

Artist Note
This was a practice watercolor on Yupo. Learning
to handle the non absorbent surface is an interesting
way to spend time. I have a few of these types of
painting experiments and they are handy to try out
the different wax or varnish coating
Below is a close-up of the tiny, tiny bubbly marks
the force of the spray varnish made...even though I
held the canister far enough away to land very lightly.
I held it at an angle for you to see
what I mean.
Watercolor on Yupo lifts off too easily.

The next one is showing the wax finish and the
soft sheen it gives when held to the light

The watercolor below originally had a richer color which
lifted off when I applied Dorland's cold wax.
(Dorland's is great with oil)

I have tried three different brands of wax and tomorrow
I will show which product I like best with a
short video on how I apply the wax.
IF I can get it to work!!

My Favorite Gift

My Fav Gift

6x7in watercolor on Yupo  NFS


Below is a photo of a gift from a blogging friend.
Plus a bit of seasonal holly!

The true spirit of Christmas giving is in
this gift. Can you imagine how my heart
jumped with pleasure when I opened this up.
This gift is from someone I have never met but
when she saw this beautiful glass ball filled with
feathers she thought of me and my feather series
Her thoughtfulness left me speechless.
It arrived just as we were leaving on a 6 hour
drive. I hung it from the car visor so I could
try and paint it while we traveled.

First I explored with some sketches.

and then I went into my first ever Yupo
experience...and what an experience THAT was!
Can you imagine every bump in the road...
The journey flew by.

I sincerely wish everyone's Christmas will be 
full of love for those with us as well as those 
who have departed, but live on in our hearts.