GCWS Member Meeting - August 2023

At this meeting, members met at ARTclectic Gallery and enjoyed an video-conferenced artist demonstration by Ryan Fox, an award-winning watercolorist and Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society. Ryan fascinated our members and guests for an hour and a half by creating a beautiful painting of a Puffin bird on Yupo paper before our eyes!

Yupo has an extra smooth surface and can be very challenging to work with.  For those who haven't heard of Yupo, it's basically a synthetic paper with a smooth, non-absorbent surface. Painting on it is almost like painting on plastic or glass. Instead of soaking into the fibers of the paper, the paint just 'floats' on top of the surface.  The great thing about this is that you can wipe paint away to get back to the white of the paper. It also makes great textures and dripping effects.

Ryan demonstrated several techniques for making the most of Yupo paper. He showed us how to use a hair dryer to create interesting effects. After dropping down various wet colors randomly, he blew the wet colors in various directions to create a marblized pattern.  To add layers to existing layers, he advised sealing the paint using an archival varnish (e.g. Krylon) at intermediary points in the painting process to prevent lifting off bottom layers.  He showed how easy it was to lift all color off the paper with a brush or by simply using a paper towel! He also demontrated the use of old credit cards and an atomizer to create further effects.

He advised against framing with glass or plexiglass.  He finishes his painting by spraying it with Krylon archival varnish (spray lightly, 3 - 4 times). He will then attach the painting to foamcore and frame it as usual or mount it on a wooden board with a gel medium.

It was a fascinating presentation and we can't thank Ryan enough for sharing his Yupo paper expertise!