Painting on Yupo

Beginning Yupo

 This next painting will be done once on yupo and once on masa paper.

Yupo is made from polypropylene. It is very white and non porous, and has many uses. Before being discovered for the fine art market, it had many commercial uses, such as signs, wrist bracelets for hospitals, etc. It is fun to use with fluid acrylics, alcohol inks, Brush-O, and even printing. You can paint on both sides. Because yupo is nonporous, the paint sits on the top of the surface instead of sinking into the paper. It makes the colors appear more vibrant. It also takes some time to dry.

There are many techniques for painting yupo in watercolor. In this demo we'll use it for positive shapes and also removing paint to create shapes, using only a few basic techniques.

Before using a sheet of yupo, it is recommended that you clean it thoroughly either with warm soap and water or with wiping it down with alchohol. This removes grease and any marks from your hands when handling it. If the oils are not removed you will have a hard time getting the paint to adhere to the surface.

When tracing or drawing your picture, you can use a water color pencil. Regular pencil will not erase well, but if you don't mind the pencil showing, you can use pencil. If you want a pen and wash effect, you could also draw with a permanent marker.

Some   videos with painting tips for yupo:

Sunflower: a good 25 min video for just learning. I don't agree with some of the things she says (like using an eraser to lighten pencil marks), but overall a fun demo to try. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWNiybDBlOo

Mary Schumaker - 1 1/2 hours  But so worth watching! She shows dozens of ways to create textures with yupo. The first half is showing how to make textures. The second half is a demo. A little overwhelming at first, but super interesting if you want to pursue it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Oxl8XjCSE

This is my reference photo. It is an AI created photo from Unsplash.

I did two paintings of this elephant. The first is drawn with watercolor pencils, which dissolve as you apply paint and water, then direct painted, elephant first, then background. The second is drawn with permanent marker, like Sharpie, then paint the background first, then the elephant. 

I used French ultramarine blue, purple, and magenta to paint in the elephant ears first. I was not trying to do any details yet. I added darks where I saw darker values, especially around the face. Then I did the body. I let that dry, then painted in the face with lighter values. Looks pretty messy. I dried it all, then painted in some ochre in the background. I left mine lose looking, but you can use a sponge roller to smooth it out.

When all was dry, I used a small damp brush to lift or remove paint from the wrinkles in the trunk and ears. Then I used the small brush dipped in dark color to emphasize the lines in the wrinkles. You can also use a watercolor pencil for these fine details. 

Tip for drying: the more it air dries, the more effects will happen. You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process, but you may lose some textural happenings.

I used a credit card dipped in paint to create grasses. I used a dark watercolor pencil for the dark eyes.

Below left is the process of removing paint; on the left is after I added darks for creases in skin.

  

In the one drawn in ink, I did the background first. I used several blues with some ochre painted all over, then used the sponge roller to smooth it out. I used a damp paper towel to remove some of the paint from the elephant. With yupo you cannot glaze one color over another....the paint will either mix with the new color or just lift off. 

When the background was dry, I started painting the elephant, using burnt sienna, French ultramarine and some ochre. I tried to paint in the darker areas, but I know I will use water to

 lift out highlights, so I didn't have to be overly careful. 

When that was dry, I lifted out the wrinkles in ears and trunk with a small brush dipped in water. Then used watercolor pencil and a fine brush and dark paint to darken the creases. I put in the eye. Haven't done any ground yet.

Lifting out whites: 

Painting in darks: