We were in a helicopter the first time I saw a real sea turtle swimming in the Pacific below us. Later, watching them glide in an huge aquarium beside the ocean was mesmerizing, and I hoped to capture that magnificent fluid movement with paint. This is a YUPO painting from quite a few years ago, painted as a demo during the opening of an art show. I'm not a very good 'stand around and talk' person at an art show, but I do enjoy talking about the painting process while it's happening.
"ANCIENT MARINER" Transparent Watercolor on YUPO 25 x 18"
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11 comments:
oh ah Sandy! this is my new favorite! so very beautiful, and fluid, graceful, just perfect!
Well, you DID capture the fluidity with Yupo texture! I asked Rhonda, on her blog, how she used your squeegee technique and she referred me to you for the explanation. I have never been afraid to bother someone with a question, so here I am! Seriously, I am wondering how that works without removing most of the paint from the slick Yupo? I use the sponge rollers, Kleenex, various household items, etc. to get textures in wet paint on Yupo, but don't quite understand the squeegee technique.
Thanks in advance,
Susan
Thanks for the comments, Rhonda, Dawn and Susan. I'm glad you liked him. Here's pretty much what I sent to Susan about the squeegee use-
Squeegee use on YUPO is really cool and just takes some practice to get used to using it. If you apply fairly thick, pasty w/c, the squeegee drags it out to a nice evenly streaked 'film' when you apply just a bit of pressure to the handle. Using wetter paint results in various degrees of paint removed when it's dragged, according to how much pressure is or isn't applied.
Try it by painting 3 'lines' of paint as wide as the squeegee, using 3 different mixtures of moisture in the paint. You'll get the feel of it when you try it a couple of times.
I also spritz the dried paint on YUPO and then drag the squeegee over it, removing the water spots and sometimes streaks with them. You can make very cool textures this way, especially for rainy days or rocky stuff.
Holding the squeegee like you're washing windows is not desirable. Use it like a tool. I broke the end of mine off so I could handle it better.
'Pressure applied' and 'moisture in the paint' are the two factors that make different looks with it. Cutting a squeegee to be shorter also gives you more opportunities to work in smaller areas. I will also apply paint to the under side of the squeegee blade, then drag it lightly to 'paint' with it. Stamping with the paint laden blade can create effective lines, etc., too.
I took a wonderful George James workshop (THE MASTER OF YUPO) this past spring and so enjoyed his teaching and have been working with YUPO for a lot of years. Let me know how it works for you.
Also, no squeegee was used in this turtle painting. The seaweed was created by placing the halloween webbing very thinly into the wet paint and letting it dry completely before removing it. I may recreate this painting again, incorporating many of the newer ways I'm painting now. We'll see.
the plant life is amazing! the whole painting is amazing!!
eBeth
Sandy, I remember the first time I saw you paint - was a sea turtle on yupo. Not this one as I remember more greens and blues - but this one is so cool using the spider webbing for the textured seaweed! Definitely do this one again, incorporating your new palette and styles :) In class, please :) hee hee
I've always loved "turtle art". This is beautiful.
Sandy, Your turtle is beautiful and so well handled on the yupo.I love the effects you get and I thank you so much for sharing your techniques.
I have a good supply of yupo and have done a couple of reasonably succesful pieces ...your example in managing this "new" support is invaluable
I really like this one-you definitely captured the "underwater" feeling! I've never tried the YUPO paper; you got some really cool textures with it.
Great work Sandy, and this reminds me very much of a painting by Celeste McCall if you can find it on her website. I enjoyed reading about the squeegee...and don't underestimate your expertise on yupo, you rule!
I'm lovin this palette. Beautiful work Sandy.
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