**Update**
I heard from the Yasutomo Mineral Paper manufacturers and the scoop on why it’s not advised for oil paint is that the painting will inexplicably wrinkle within days. So far mine hasn’t but know that it’s a possibility. I’m still loving it for sketches!
Original post:
Painting on linen, canvas, and wood is what I normally do but every once in a while, I like to play with other surfaces for my paints.
These are some of the experiments that I’ve done using plastic supports. The 3 on the left are mineral paper, the two figures upper right are on screen positive film and the bottom 2 on the right are on Yupo.
I don’t go searching for odd supports, but I never turn them down when they come my way.
The mineral paper was in my local art shop and had a great selling feature
Mineral paper is made of rock dust and a small percentage of plastic. It’s not for use with oils (I’ve sent the company a note to find out why and will let you know when I hear back) but I’m not thinking of these as saleable works, so I don’t mind. These sketches are experiments: explorations in palettes, brushes, and mediums, and they’re a low-pressure way to warm up at the start of the studio day. The paper is cheap; I don’t have to prime it; and it takes paint nicely with a strange mixture of slick and grab.
The screen positive film is used in ink jet printers and was given to me by a photographer who purchased it and didn’t like it. It has a coating on it that reacts to the solvent in my oil medium by blooming and is not the least bit appropriate for oils, but I enjoy it anyway. It has a slow, dry surface that gives interesting dry marks. You really have to pile on the paint to get things moving.
I gave sheets of the stuff to my students in a recent workshop and they loved the translucent surface, producing some stunning, playful works on it. Knowing that it was not archival actually freed them to let loose and take risks in their work.
Yupo is a lovely white surface made of polypropylene that takes paint nicely and allows for lots of manipulation. I’ve used it for monotypes (the portrait) and paintings and I like how slick it is under alternative tools. A squeegee or credit card can really move the paint around. Yupo is expensive but is advertised as appropriate for use with oils. It can, apparently, yellow over time with sun or bright fluorescent light exposure. The pieces above have been on my shelf under normal indoor lighting for three years and are still bright white.
I’ve also painted on Duralar (the matte kind has better adhesion), Mylar, and vellum and found that each responds differently under the brush. All were great fun! You can research their archival properties for your medium, and see plenty of cool work being done on them in Youtube videos.
I encourage every painter to experiment with surfaces - especially non-archival ones. They have a way of knocking down your inhibitions and letting you get straight to the pure joy of making marks. It feels like being a kid again:)
Happy painting!
The mineral paper examples really popped! I love Duralar with my acrylics.