Yupo painting

I have been playing with Yupo lately, a synthetic paper that acts really differently from regular paper. Apparently artists have strong reactions to it, either loving what happens, or hating the lack of control. Well i think i love it! The paint does some crazy things, but it's so fluid and vibrant. It almost feels like cheating, like the painting is painting itself. The only thing I'm not so sure about is that, after looking at others' yupo paintings, is that they all have a similar quality to them, they all look a little the same, which, i don't know, takes away from the uniqueness of each person's work.

The other problem is that the paint is just sitting on top of the paper, so a bit of water can wash it all away again. So i bought some spray varnish which is making me nervous because it is apparently highly toxic and flammable. :(

Here are my yupos so far.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51063088/purple-cupcake-art-original-watercolor

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50991328/martini-with-olives-art-original (SOLD)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50918268/blue-hydrangea-flower-art-original (SOLD)

I just don't know

I just don't know about all this promoting stuff. Feels like I'm shouting into a void. Though I know I just started, I know I don't want to put MORE time and effort into promoting than I have. But I am happy to share what I've been doing. With myself.

I just got some mats in so I can present and package my prints more nicely. And I love my new paper cutter!

I just listed my first macaron painting in a mat. (These are French macaroons, the newest supposedly trendy dessert though I have never eaten one, and apparently they are impossible to

make yourself, unlike cupcakes.)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50117631/macarons-original-watercolor-painting

Also last night I painted a donut I am very happy with. From far away, I think it looks real! Here is a crappy cell phone photo:

Look at it from the other side of the room and tell me what you think.

Pretty kitty

I do not want to do animal paintings, and i do not want to be a cat lady artist (not that there's anything wrong with that). But I did finally paint a portrait of my cat for the first time. I think painting the Hitler mustache was my favorite part.

Whole lotta prints

My prints are finally arriving and being posted. I think I have realized that I do not need to do giclee fine art prints right now, and that many artists don't. They are expensive if you are sending them out to be done! Photo prints are much more affordable. Lesson learned. Gonna be looking into getting some bigger ones done in the future.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/49770123/margarita-cupcake-print-3x5

http://www.etsy.com/listing/49771670/cosmo-cocktail-watercolor-print-2x3

Penguins!

Whew, this was a lot of work, setting up the measurements and getting the printing right. I need to get better at this graphic design stuff. But I have my first birthday card!

I love this painting, because I love penguins AND cupcakes. This was an actual cupcake I ate from Party Favors in Brookline, MA. I get a lot of inspiration and sugar rushes from them. Also, I am currently the mayor of Party Favors on Foursquare.

The original now hangs in my baby niece Imogen's room.

Another fast one

Put this one up today: http://www.etsy.com/listing/49152106/pink-cupcake-original-watercolor-5x7

Another fast one. These are really quite different from what I've been doing in the past, working off cupcake photographs, striving for realism. These are just done out of my head, now that I feel like I know the shape of a cupcake, and now I just want to play with my colors!

I am very excited that I will soon have notecards featuring my art for sale!

Now I'm an artist!

This is the inaugural post for my art site, intended to provide more access to the art and prints at my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jojolarue?section_id=7087421

Not much there yet but hopefully there will be.