November Exhibit Opens SoBo Gallery, Winter Garden

"Iris Dance"
Krys Pettit
Original Watercolor & Gold Metallic Acrylic on Yupo Paper

My watercolor painting, "Iris Dance" will be on exhibit at the Winter Garden Art Association SoBo Gallery in Historic Winter Garden, Florida beginning Thursday, November 3rd through December 31, 2016.
Come join me if you are in the area this Thursday, November 3rd, from 5:30 - 8 p.m. for the opening reception of "The Gift of Art."
The majority of the artwork is comfortably priced under $200.  This is a great opportunity to visit the gallery and purchase hand crafted, original and excellent artwork as gifts.This event is free and open to all. The exhibition runs the entire months of November & December, 2016.
Here are the particulars and address information-- and I hope you will be able to come to the reception and visit this unique and exceptional Central Florida gallery:

Winter Garden Art Association
SOBO Gallery 
127 South Boyd, Winter Garden, Florida 34787
(407) 347-7996
SoBo Gallery "The Gift of Art"

You'll find other samples of my art work on my website:
http://www.kryspettit.com/

Yupo? Don't Mind If I Do

"Remains of An Empire" Watercolor on Yupo Synthetic Paper

"Iris Dance" Watercolor on Yupo Synthetic Paper

"Canyon Dream"  Watercolor on Yupo Synthetic Paper

Artists for years have used things like panel, board, canvas, and paper on which to create their work. As a watercolor artist the traditional substrate I thought I was supposed to use was paper, specifically watercolor paper.  Watercolor paper is cold or hot press, and comes in weights like 140 pound and 300 pound.  It is designed to work with watercolor pigments and water, absorbing these and in many ways limiting the freedom to correct and just let the colors and thoughts flow when creating a painting. It's something I got to used to as a watercolor artist and I always dreaded the need to make a fix on paper.  And then came Yupo.

What the heck is Yupo?  If you look at the site Yupo Synthetic Paper, YUPO is"...100% recyclable, waterproof, tree-free Synthetic Paper with attributes and properties that make it the perfect solution for a variety of marketing, design, packaging and labeling needs..."  Which sounds fairly technical, ecologically great, a little daunting, and makes you wonder how it can be paper if its, well, plastic. No matter.  As an artist all I care about is how to apply brilliant colors to Yupo,  how I can try to control and manipulate it, and how in the end I basically have to let it do what it wants with my watercolor applications. Which is where the best fun and the best results happen.  Sometimes it's good to loose control if the results are good for you.  

Visit my website and take a look at some of my work -- and see if you can spy the pieces I have painted using Yupo.
Krys Pettit Original Artwork

Flowers on a Friday "Wild Iris"

"Wild Irises" Original watercolor on Yupo

Years ago I would reward myself with a bouquet of fresh flowers on a Friday.  It was a special gift for myself, a small indulgence that pleased me.  These days I rarely buy myself flowers but still I paint them.

I particularly loved painting these irises since I broke away from the conventional use of watercolor paper and worked with a plastic paper called Yupo.  Watercolor paper absorbs water and pigment. Yupo is a plastic support and the water and paper pool on the surface.  It's a tricky thing to work watercolor on Yupo but I love it.  And the results, like a bouquet of flowers, are a great reward for a week of hard work.  I added a gentle spatter of gold metallic acrylic paint which gave the image a certain elegance.

Bring a bouquet into your day today.  And I hope you enjoy mine.