Alcohol Inks on Yupo paper

There is quite the buzz in the crafting world about Yupo paper.  I heard it is a fun medium to use with alcohol inks so I was really looking forward to working with it. 

Before I got the paper I kept thinking it must similar to glossy paper cardstock, but it isn't.  Yupo paper is a synthetic, machine-made paper of 100% polypropylene. It was made for the printing industry, not the art supply industry, but artists discovered it is a fun surface to work with.  The slick surface is a matt finish and alcohol inks play very well on this paper. 

The best point I can say about this paper is to experiment with it.  I haven't tried any other medium on it but heard that you get interesting results with other inks, colored pencils, water colors, and acrylics. I also haven't tired any masking fluid with any of the alcohol inks projects yet but I think that would be the next step to try.

supplies used:  kraft sheet, palette tray, alcohol ink blending solution, 91% isopropyl alcohol, brushes, variety of alcohol inks, gloves, Ranger White Yupo 5" x 7" paper.

I found an article on Ranger Industries website with step-by-step instruction on painting red poppies.  I found this very helpful in getting to work with this medium.  I did try the alcohol ink blending pen they mentioned but it just didn't work well for me and I ended up using a fine brush instead. Here's my attempt and a link to the website.  http://rangerink.com/?ranger_project=alcohol-ink-flower-painting-by-sharen-ak-harris

Another technique was pouring ink over the paper and spritzing with blending solution or 91% alcohol and letting the inks run and move over the paper.  When the inks were almost dry I gave a light mist of the 91% alcohol to give the dot effects.  I like the movement of this print.

 

Finally tried my hand at painting a scene.  Since you can't control the ink on the paper like you would, say acrylics on canvas, the inks could either drive you crazy or be very freeing (depending on your mood of the day).   I put drops of the ink colors in a palette and dipped brushes in 91% alcohol sol, then in the ink before applying to the paper.  A fine brush just dipped in alcohol was used to remove ink to provide the path, clouds, etc.  To make the leaves I loaded up the brush and dropped drops on the paper.  It was fun to experiment with this painting process.