YUPO ADJUSTMENTS ARE EASY!

Finished, again.....  Changes on Yupo are so easy to make, once you figure how what changes to make to improve the painting.  

Using the Valueviewer Ap, I snapped pictures of the painting before and after, then switched each photo to a Notan, showing the dark and light value patterns in the pictures.   The pattern which dark and light shapes make in a painting is the first thing we notice from a distance.   If it is a good pattern with good shapes, we will want to see it closer.


"St. Emilion" Fluid Acrylics and Watercolor on YUPO 26x34"

Finished Pattern

Step 1

Good patterns have interlocking and overlapping shapes which are irregular, unpredictable, and move somewhat diagonally through the picture.  Notice how more predictable and regular the pattern is in Step 1, the black and white taken from last week's post.  The Finished Pattern of the finished painting has more irregularity to hold the viewer's interest longer. 

Same picture, different placement of darks and lights.
How many times have we loved a painting because of the colors?  The textures? The subject matter?   But without a really good pattern of lights and darks, a painting will soon become less exciting no matter how great the subject, colors, or textures.

WORKSHOP WASH

 

Painted on Yupo with fluid acrylics, this painting shows wash day in Le Vieux Couvent in France.  Lisa, Leslie, and Paula headed back to the studio to paint as soon as the laundry was hung to dry. 

Next September we will be painting on Yupo, also known as Lana Vanguard in Europe, for the eleven days we are in Frayssinet.  Sooo many possibilites and creative adventures abound when we paint on Yupo!  For more workshop info, please contact Sandy.

"WASH DAY"  Fluid Acrylics on Yupo 19 x 19"

YUPO in FRANCE

 

"CREATIVITY IMMERSION" Fluid Acrylics and transparent Watercolor on YUPO 26 x20"

Last month, our YUPO workshop in Frayssinet, France was an experience of a lifetime.  And I'll be going back in Septemebr of 2013 to teach another workshop there. 

Words cannot describe!  The location, so French country; the studio, excellent; the accomodations, superb in a finely refurbished ancient convent; and the food!  Unsurpassed!!!  Each and every meal was delectable, presented so beautifully and so delicious!   French gardens, a pool for an afternoon dip, a lilypad pond to enjoy while reading a book or sketching, flowers, a courtyard for our lunches and late afternoon apertifs'.  Life was so good.  Can't wait to return.  Each of us felt like we had been totally immersed into ten glorious days of creativity.

Email me at sandymaudlin@gmail.com to find out more about the workshop experience for next year. 

NEW PAPER

Painting on a new surface is always exciting and challenging, and the last time I painted on Indian paper was about twenty years ago.  This paper, Punjab, comes in a beautiful, handmade book, sold at Daniel Smith in Seattle.  I loved the paper! 

This little sketch book will be going to Frayssinet, France with me very soon where, hopefully, it will be filled with paintings of the beautiful French countryside.

Inspiration for this quick painting came from a rainy night in France last spring.  This couple was splashing through the rain while crossing Pont Marie. 

Thanks, Linda, for the great sketch book!



"Pont Marie"  Watercolor on 140# Rough Punjab Paper  4 x 7"

FIREWORKS, PART ONE

Watching fireworks is lots easier than painting them.  This is my first attempt, using fluid acrylics on Yupo.  The real show was spectacular overlooking Lake Wawasee.  The next painting will be considerably larger.  This was a trial run, and my hope is to capture that intense, breathtaking, spectacular display of light, texture, and color without making a garish painting.

                                                        "WOW!"   Fluid Acrylics on Yupo 5 x 7"

REVISIONS

I met Grandpa Otter when he was paddling around in the small fishing cove in Homer, Alaska.  He was waiting for the day's catch to show up so he could enjoy a free supper.  He seemed nearly friendly as he posed for us. 

Original Otter Painting

The original painting, above, was completed over ten years ago then framed.  Recently I removed the painting from the frame and decided to make adjustments.  Since it's watercolor on YUPO, it was easy to remove paint and add paint. 

First I spritzed the surface with water and squeegeed away some areas around the otter.  (See revised painting below.)  Using a flattened tissue, I lifted the spritzed droplets of water/paint off the torso and feet of the otter to lighten that area since it seemed too important in the original.  Still, the otter didn't have the delight I felt when I first saw this gorgeous creature.

Adjusted Otter Painting

Cropping is such a wonderful tool to use at times.  This was one of those times for sure.  After cropping off those awkward looking legs and punching up the color in the water, he was looking better.  Some warms were added to the face to contrast more with the cools of the water.  It's framed again!  Now I like it.  He was so adorable! 

Finished Otter Painting on YUPO
GRANDPA OTTER Watercolor on YUPO 13 x 19"

JUST A LITTLE CHANGE

A slight change to this Irish woman's expression made this picture more appealing.  The original, shown below the finished painting, seemed to have a sour expression on her face.  By making a minor adjustment to her inner lip line and lip corners as well as to her eyes and brows, her expression is more gentle and evocative. 

This TAPE BATIK painting won a first place at a show this weekend, too.  Some may be bothered by the 'square' within the faces.  Putting it there was important to me.  This beautiful couple seemed to be totally melded.  They were lovely to talk to and so gracious as they viewed the trip through the train window.  The square represents their balanced life together as well as representing their apparent outlook on life, and is symbolic also of the train window.

Using my TAPE BATIK method to create skin, especially faces, is challenging.  This process will be taught at a five day workshop in Dallas, Texas in late October. Hope to see some of you there.

"IRISH EYES"  Watercolor TAPE BATIK on Hot Pressed Crescent Board

BATIK WITH FLUID ACRYLICS

Once again I've removed a painting from its frame and changed things.  The three photos here show the original painting at the bottom, the painting as it was when framed in the middle, and the top painting, which is now completed and reframed. 

Notice the changes to the window and the posts beyond the door in the top painting.  The window sill was adjusted to create more interest and variety there.  The stone work was also quieted down by simplifying some areas as well as by bringing back whites to the brick work.  All of this has helped create more movement in the completed painting.  A cool wash on the bricks helped settle down those aggressive warm bricks, allowing more emphasis to be on the man. 

The bottom painting had way too many bricks with no place for your eye to rest.  The foreground was too light, also. 

The Tape Batik process is one that I developed and love to share at my workshops.  I really like the finished painting now and think it was well worth it to adjust it.  Hope you like it, too.

YUPO AND FLUID ACRYLICS

These pigeons were stunningly beautiful on this ancient fence just outside Notre Dame in Paris.  The bright blue sky that Sunday made their feathers appear even bluer than they were.  Their attitudes were fun to capture, too. 

This photo of the painting was taken through the non glare plexi, so the colors are a bit off and the values not quite as dark as the painting in some areas.   


"SITTING ON THE FENCE" Transparent Fluid Acrylics on YUPO 40 x 26"

EASTER

This abstract was started a week ago and has evolved slowly.  When the painting began, my purpose was to just play with the paint on YUPO, using the Atelier Acrylics which lift even after they have dried. 

Today after taping it up across the studio, I was surprised to see the face.  The word 'FORGIVENESS' was added vertically to the right side of the face then subdued.  It's also printed backwards so it's nearly impossible to see.  Using Caran d'Ache crayons I added some other scribbles and other meaningful words as well as lightening the eyelids and adding a highlight on the lower lip. 

Easter is my very favorite day of the year because of its significance for me.  Happy Easter!

"GOOD FRIDAY" Atelier Acrylics and CAran d'ache Crayons on YUPO 20x26"

NEW ATELIER ACRYLIC PAINTS!

Finally, the brush made it to my hand and into some glorious new paint! It's been nearly two months since I painted anything at all - long, long time for me, but a 'bug' kept me under the weather and not caring if I painted. Then a box of new paints arrived at the studio with some gorgeous colors made in Australia by Chroma, Inc.

This painting is the first of what will be many acrylic paintings on YUPO using these Atelier Interactive Professional Artists' Acrylics. The acrylics behave like regular acrylic, but can be blended MUCH easier, even after they get dry! They can be re moistened with ease.

This painting is a result of forty five minutes of experimenting to see what would happen. The paint can be applied thickly like oil or very thinly like watercolor washes. The dozen colors that I have are mostly transparent, so glazing added a luscious look to those colors. I can't wait to share these new paints with my classes and see what beautiful paintings they create.

Though this isn't a 'real' painting, (no planning, etc. just impulse and delight,) it was so much fun to play and experiment. There are several unique mediums from the order that I must try next with the paints. Check out their website at http://www.chromaonline.com/.

"THINKING OF OREGON" Atelier Interactive Acrylics on YUPO 22 x 16"

SAME SUBJECT

The barn posted below was created using a flat, 1" brush from Daniel Smith Art Company in Seattle. It's from their platinum series and is around $15, my favorite brush ever. However, when my hope is to paint in a loosey-juicy fashion, the way this same barn was done in the previous post (see below,) I use a good squirrel mop brush. The Daniel Smith flat brush gives me plenty of control with watercolor, rather than the looser look. This brush has a razor edge so very tiny spaces can be painted as easily as a 1" swatch area can.

Another difference in the paintings is the kind of paint that was used, with this one being done with Golden and Da Vinci fluid acrylics, with one, or at the most, two, glazes or washes. An old bristle fan brush was used for the grasses and a credit card employed to indent the still damp, painted paper for the tree branches.

Miskit was applied to cover the snowy roofs, the tops of the silos and fence posts before beginning. The paper was misted overall, then diluted colors were allowed to flow as I tipped parts of the paper at a slant for the sky. The trees were tapped in while the paper was still damp to create a soft look, with the tips of the pines being put in later when the paper was dry.

Once the sky area was dry, the whole paper was misted again. Since the sky area was painted with fluid acrylics, rewetting that previous wash didn't disturb it a bit. The snow bank was blushed on to the top of the hill and allowed to move on its own while the paper was held at a slant. (I never ever tape down my paper so that it can be manipulated at whatever angles I want when it's wet.)

The details of the barn area and fence posts were added, again with fluid acrylics. The paint seems to dry just a breath darker than it looks when it's wet, quite the opposite of watercolor, which dries considerably lighter when used in washes this wet. I'd like to try this once again using a squirrel brush in the fluid acrylics in a loosey-juicy style, but first I'll have to buy a cheaper squirrel brush than the ones that I save just for watercolor. The painting actually has much more color in the barn than it looks here. It kind of glows IRL.

"EARLY EVENING" Fluid Acrylics on 140#CP Arches 14 x 11"

SNOW

It's been a beautiful snow day, though I'm glad I'm not out driving on the roads right now. These days are best for making a huge pot of veggie soup and kicking back, which is what I've done.

Here's another barn painting created as a demo in December, using a large, floppy squirrel brush. The idea was to allow a loosey juicy, more carefree look with the watercolor. The paint on the hill was poured on spritzed paper, rather than painted, to help create that wonderful, fresh watercolor look. A rigger brush was used to put in the grasses poking above the snow, as well as the fence wire. Let it snow...

"WIND DRIFTS" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Rough Arches 20 x 15"

TEXTURES

Almost every artist I know absolutely loves TEXTURE! This class demo was done to show various ways to create watercolor textures in a rural landscape. It was the first of three barn paintings so watch for more.
"DRY FORK ROAD" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 22x16"

MORE FUN

Here's another textural painting that was freeing to create. It's also on acid free foam core which has been covered with various textural products and allowed to dry. Then the acrylic paint was added to bring out the textures of the surface and to help develop a good design. Transfer cut from an old magazine was also embellished onto the painting for added interest. Painting smaller, nonrepresentational work increases my love of being an artist.
"ONLINE" Acrylic on Acid Free Foam Core 4 x 4"

TEXTURES

This painting was created with fluid acrylics, tube acrylics, some surface treatments, and lots of time discovering and maneuvering shapes within the created textures. Painting it somehow seemed like a vacation away from painting, and yet 'painting' has ALWAYS seemed like a vacation... sometimes without a map or reservations. It reminded me of the huge volcano that erupted this past spring, hence the name.

"EYJALLAJOKULL" Mixed Media on Acid Free Foam Core 4x4"

DEMO

Helping artists see how to create what they are after is part of what I love about teaching. Brenda wanted to paint a very specific sunrise in watercolor - very challenging. Sunrises or sunsets with watercolor are fairly easy, but to capture what you really felt when you watched in awe as the sun disappeared or peeked above the horizon - that's hard. When I started the little demo, I told her it probably wouldn't work out to be a good sunset since it's just too easy to overwork them. Glad I was wrong.
The very edge of parts of the tops of the clouds was misketed first, then the paper was sprayed to dampen it everywhere. The excess water dripped down since my table is at a slant. Only three colors were used, in this order - permanent yellow deep, quinacridone coral, and cobalt violet deep. Cobalt doesn't move much on wet paper unless it's really pushed around, so it was pretty safe to paint it next to the yellow even on very wet paper. Though it looks like color was sprayed off, it wasn't. Because the violet stayed where it was brushed on, it was easy to make the sun rays accurately fan out from one point under the clouds. Adding it to the darker parts of the clouds helped give depth to them, too.

Clouds have some attributes that are different than objects on the ground. They are sharper edged farther away and softer edged closer. The bottom of clouds is nearly always warmer than the top due to the reflection of light off the earth below them. Unless the sun is behind your back when you take a photo of clouds, there is hardly any pure white at all in them. Often the darkest part of the cloud is right next to the whitest edge.

So what should I do to finish the painting? Suggest a shoreline..... add a soft but more distinct horizon..... put a boat in the water or a duck swimming..... stop and leave it like it is???

"SUNRISE" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Arches 8 x 8"

TAPE BATIK

For some reason, this tape batik process is really hot right now. It's taken several years to perfect it after realizing that a whole painting could be painted using regular masking tape to block out shapes that are finished. It's almost like using miskit to protect shapes from future paint application, but tearing tape to fit a shape is trickier than painting miskit on with a brush. And more tedious. The tedious part is why I never liked teaching the process - too much whining. But for whatever reason, artists are really wanting to learn how to create this batik-like look. And there's no whining!!! YES! This older couple were on a train ride, and it was delightful to watch them interact. I think she knew what he was thinking before he even thought it and vice versa. They were beautiful.

Tape-batiking a face with the sharp edge that tape creates offers some special challenges with this process. The hat was my favorite part to paint and it turned out wonderfully, too. Some people have said that they like the square in the painting (I do,) and a few find it distracting. What do you think?

"IRISH EYES" Transparent Watercolor on Crescent Board 30 x 20"

ART SHOWS

Entering and attending art shows seem to remain low on my priority list, but a couple of weeks ago, a good friend insisted I enter a show. This painting along with 'Liguid Gold' is in that show at 'The Evergreen' on Galbraith Rd. in Cincinnati. It's an all-watermedia exhibit featuring many works by members of the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society. If you're in the area, please do stop by to see it - located across from Drake Hospital. The paintings are hung throughout the main buildings. The surface of this painting is on a wooden door covered with a mixture of joint compound and acrylic medium. Using my 'tape batik' method, several layers of multi colored glazes were applied over several layers of the saved 'taped' shapes. A lot of touch up was done when the tape was removed, so the taping process is not as evident as it usually is. The advantage of painting on a door is that no frame is needed at all. The painting was sealed with several coats of varnish and hung.

One of our local TV stations, WCPO Channel 9, ran a feature on the show in one of their newscasts this weekend, too, and LIGUID GOLD was shown on the newscast. Sweet!

Someday, maybe I'll understand why entering shows just isn't my cup of tea .....headed out to the garden right now. Must plant three viburnums before my Thursday morning class gets here. It will be a good class today! Have a great day.

"ORTA ARCHES" Transparent Fluid Acrylics 43 x 24"

YUPO AND FLUID ACRYLIC WATERCOLORS

The batik-look in this painting is the result of painting over bits and pieces of masking tape which have been torn or cut then pressed over the existing paint to preserve those areas. It's on the slick YUPO surface that's been accurately described as 'like painting on glass.' A new product that seems to be identical to it is now manufactured in France, called Lana Vanguard, and is available for sale now in Europe. This was painted with fluid acrylics on the YUPO. In a couple of hours, my plane leaves for Dallas, Texas, where I'll be teaching a five day workshop. Our focus will be to explore the exciting possibilities of painting experimentally on YUPO, and I know that we will have a lot of fun. Check back later for posts about what's happening at the Artists' Showplace workshop.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" Fluid Acrylic on YUPO 40 x 26"