Rooster Painting Watercolor on Yupo Paper

It's the first day of Spring for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Spring is the season when I think of Mother Hens with new broods of little baby chicks and a rooster watching over them vigilantly. I love the sight of a colorful roo strutting about a barnyard. I don't have a rooster for my hens (yet), but a neighboring farm always has some.

Since it's a lovely time of year to paint a colorful roo, I decided to do just that and try the painting in watercolor on my new favorite - Yupo paper. Yupo is a synthetic paper that is smooth as glass. The watercolors never sink in as they do on cotton paper, but slide all around on its surface forming puddles here and there until dry. Which means lots of fun waiting to see how things will look.

Keep reading to see how the painting was created...

A funny thing about Yupo is that pencil marks cannot be erased. So I sketch the outline using a brush and paint and forgo the pencil altogether. (click any image to see larger versions):

 

Except for drying time, it's pretty fast to do a painting. And lovely as long as you use a light touch and are not too fussy about what the paints do. They really have a mind of their own (which is what makes it so much fun!). Here I've filled in the body of my roo with mixes of burnt sienna, Quinacridone Coral and Quinacrodone Gold (another new favorite).

Shading and details are next and can be challenging. The first strokes over the dried under painting go on just fine. If I stroke the same spot again, all paint is removed. But a third stroke will put paint back on the paper.

Here I'm shading the feet:

I've finished the tail using Winsor Blue, Quinacridone Coral and Burnt Sienna:

Painting the wattles and comb with Quin. Coral:

Finally some grass for him to stand on. I mix the green using the blues and golds that are already in the painting. He's a pretty fellow, isn't he?

Rooster Original Watercolor Painting 11x11 inches

Thanks for stopping by to check out my rooster painting. This painting is sold.


Have you tried painting with watercolor on Yupo? How do you like it?

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I'm happy to take custom orders. Contact me for a custom painting of your pet, home, garden, grandkids, favorite vacation spot or whatever your heart desires.
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