I have been given a gift of some Yupo paper this week, and have been playing with my alcohol inks. Yupo is a synthetic watercolour paper, made of polypropylene, it is smooth, matte and non-absorbent so perfect for alcohol inks.
I found a lady on YouTube who creates Dreamscapes with Yupo and alcohol inks. Her name is June Rollins, here are some of her artworks:
Guess what, no brushes needed! If you have alcohol inks, but no Yupo, you can try the techniques on Glossy paper instead, it works fine!
If you have no alcohol inks, why not try creating a similar Dreamscape scene using watercolour paints. Be brave with your colour choices.
Here are the two videos I found the most helpful:
A couple of other ideas I figured out:
use a straw to blow ink or the alcohol around
use a toothpick to apply ink or alcohol in fine lines
Here are my Yupo paper Dreamscapes. They are sized 15.5 x 11.5 cm (quarter of A4):
Colours I used: Sunset Orange, Butterscotch, Aqua, Mermaid, Stream, Lettuce, Wild Plum, Cranberry, Eggplant and the Metallic Mixatives Gold and Silver.
and this is my first practice go, done on glossy cardstock
You can see the difference the Yupo makes to the vibrancy of the inks. I still have another whole piece and a half of Yupo left to play with.
This month I am going to encourage you to put the brushes away! Let's experiment with different ways of getting colour onto journal pages.... with our fingers.
SAFETY NOTES:
Some art products contain toxic ingredients, always read the labels for safety warnings that recommend avoiding skin contact.
Always wash your hands well with warm water and lots of soap after your art session. Use a nail brush to ensure nothing is left around your nail beds.
If you have sensitive skin, wear latex gloves.
You can use a silicone-based barrier cream before getting your hands painty (e.g. Winsor & Newton Artguard or Avon Silicone Glove Hand Cream)
OIL PASTELS
Oil Pastels are probably my favourite medium to use with my hands. They don't create dust like chalk pastels do and even though there is a noticeable difference between the cheap ones and the expensive, for playing in an art journal the cheap ones are awesome! Grab a big $5 box from art section of a discount store and get colourful. I love how I can create seamless transitions from one colour to another. If your pastels aren't blending smoothly (sometimes happens with the cheap ones) dip your finger into a bit of baby oil will help. You can also use paper stumps and tortillions to blend smaller areas of colours.
Because they aren't a wet medium, you can use them over more delicate surfaces, like the book pages in the videos above. They are also opaque, so will cover anything that is underneath them. They can be layered on top of each other and then removed strategically to create patterns or an image (called the Subtraction Method). If you want to put something over the top of them, use acrylics or oil paint. Water-soluble mediums won't stick to oil pastels, and you can use this feature to your advantage:
