Stylin'

I've been working a bit differently lately but have not made a conscious decision to do so. It sort of just happened! Does that mean I'm (finally) developing a style?

Take Lucky (below), for instance. His photo was posted as a challenge at the Let's Make Art site and I knew immediately that he should be painted on black paper using the hated pastel pencils. He only took a little over an hour and more or less drew himself! I love it when that happens but I wish I could remember how I did it when I finish! I just get into a painting and the world fades and when I return to the real world, there's a painting lying on my drawing table! Cool, huh?

"Lucky2"
pastel pencils on paper
copyright
Jan Gibson

The next painting also dictated it's own style, this time sort of whimsical. I don't claim this is a work of fine art but it's more in the illustrative style - certainly not a specialty of mine. My sister, Bev, took a photo of a goat when she was visiting in Mexico. I saw it when I was in Kansas City visiting and knew I had to paint it. Bev gave me the photo and this is the result. I just loved the expression on the goat's face! This is aceo/atc size so I wasn't able to get much detail but I hope the almost obnoxiously curious expression is captured!

"Bev's Goat"
watercolor with ink on paper
copyright
Jan Gibson

I was also experimenting a little more with the Yupo synthetic paper (see yesterday's blog entry) and have found that watercolor pencil works well on it. I drew on the paper with the pencil then dampened it. The color stayed where I put it down with the pencil & I wasn't able to move it around much with the damp brush so a little different technique may be called for here. I also plan to try the acrylic inks on it - I have a feeling those would work well and give a brilliant result.

I'll keep you posted on the results!

Yippee for Yupo!

Jeanette, from the Illustrated Life blog, was talking about trying Yupo, the plastic "paper" that many artists either love or hate. I got some samples of it many years ago and have grown to like it very much. I said I loved it in a comment on Jeanette's blog, but the truth is, I like it a lot, but it also frustrates me when trying to use it.

You really learn to be loose while painting on Yupo and that's very good for me since I'm rather a detail freak at times. Below are a couple of paintings done with watercolor on Yupo.

The first is from one of my own photos taken while visiting my sister in Colorado. This is not finished because I got tired of trying to get the shading on the rocks. I was fighting with the support instead of working with it and, in this instance, it won!

"Colorado Hillside"

copyright

Jan Gibson

The second painting is also watercolor on Yupo and was painted as a sort of tribute to my mother who had a green thumb. She could smile at a dried up looking cutting and it would become a healthy, beautiful plant. She loved flowers of any kind and my painting contains a variety just for her.

"My Mother's Garden"
copyright
Jan Gibson

Painting on Yupo is difficult because the paint beads up then sort of rolls around on the paper. You have to take a dab then let dry approach to painting on it. On the other hand, if you make a mistake or want to change something, the paint wipes away easily with a damp towel.

Yupo - try it, you just might like it!