Yupo

Yupo sheets are definitely a surface I’d like to try, especially when you see the wonderful results in these examples by loveitaly. In them, the pigment moves freely on the painted areas creating wonderful effects:
 


What is Yupo in more detail?

This special material, rather than a traditional paper sheet is a durable stain-resistant non-absorbent synthetic (polypropilene) material that holds ink and watercolor with precision. Its smooth surface also resists tearing and buckling and it remains perfectly flat.

Colors applied on Yupo paper are brilliant and they lift off completely. It is an extremely forgiving sheet! As a watercolor paper it has the advantage of being non-absorbent so colors lie on top of its surface producing brilliant vibrant effects. Colors retain their true clarity and brilliance. Yupo requires no soaking stretching or taping flat. Best of all it allows you to wipe off unwanted sections of your painting and start again with a fresh surface, without damaging the surface, as it is often the case with the coating of watercolor paper.

2011 greetings

This is my digital postcard for the soon-to-come 2011. My best wishes for everybody!

Seasons

These are four pencil sketches salvaged from this year's agenda. A year that's (nearly) flown away, again! One for each season. A man with a hat in each picture.

These drawings and many more are on my Flickr page!

Animated organization

This imaginative ad in stop-motion animation, for Moleskine organizers made me smile:

Mail

This is the theme for the current week @ Illustration friday, and it has reminded me of this sketch in my agenda. This is a contrasted version of a pencil sketch (click to see it larger).

Charles Ritchie

Charles Ritchie (born in Kentucky, USA in 1954) shares some of his huge collection of journals, sketchbooks and diverse art creations. Finding inspiration in the artist’s home, using watercolor and graphite to investigate images in series, Ritchie’s journals have tracked his dreams and creative process steadily since 1977.

On close inspection, I doubt that the writing in some of the works (for example, do check out the drawings section, which can be enlarged to a comfortable size) can actually be re-read, but they are a part of the overall effect anyway.

Hippolyte's watercolor comics

In these days of completely digital workflows, it's rather uncommon to find comic books with their artwork drawn in watercolor. In one of these few examples, I have enjoyed the adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The master of Ballantrae by Hippolyte (sometimes known as Frank Meynet).

A portrait of Stevenson is included:

And here is a photo of the scottish writer with His Majesty King Kalakaua of Hawaii:

Das Pastoras' sketches

Das Pastoras (born Julio Martínez Pérez, 1962) is a galician - spanish comic artist whose preferred technique is watercolour. In his style one sees traces of Corben, Moebius and Liberatore.

He has a remarkable mastery at this technique, and also at drawing the human figure. No wonder, if you take a look at some of his sketchbooks, as posted in a recent article in his visual journal blog.

Picasso Mediterráneo

It is always a great pleasure to see some of Picasso's oeuvre. Today I've enjoyed a thematic retrospective of prints, called Picasso Mediterráneo. The works displayed, taken from different phases of his long career, show the always-present elements of the Mediterranean culture and life in Picasso's work, and his unique place between the spanish tradition and the modern revolution in art.

Different aspects of mediterranean culture are mirrored in these prints, with references to The Bible, Greeks and Romans, a celebration of Mythology, the arab world, the joy of living and celebration of the human body, the beach, the mediterranean fauna, landscapes and, of course, bullfighting.

This exhibition is currently shown at the Palau Solleric in Palma, until january, 9th,