Shimmery Watercolors

On my trip to Astoria last month, I purchased a set of the Fine Tec Pearlescent watercolors. You know how it is, new materials calls for lots of experimentation and play. Sharing my knowledge is one of the things I enjoy doing here.

I love pearly watercolors, the shimmer they add to a regular painting, stamped image or even a drawing.  When you first get pearly-shimmery colors in your hands they are like most other new art products - you want to use them all, all the time, all at once! Like making a collage for the first time, you want to put your entire stash on the one canvas. Then it looks like your stash threw up.

As with nearly all art materials, quality matters. For my experiments I compared the Fine Tec, Kuretake Gansai Tambi metallic paints, and Creative Expressions shimmery paints.

Fine Tec paints soften up easily and are thick and smooth when applying them. The Kuretake are next, not as creamy but still go on smoothly. The Creative Expressions paints require more soaking time to soften and then stirring to pick up the mica and pigment together. The Fine Tec paints required no stirring, Kuretake minimal.

The sample swatching I put down on grey toned mixed media paper shows the creaminess of the Fine Tec and the wateriness of the Creative Expressions. Perhaps I should have given the Creative Expressions paints a bit more time to soften up.

My Twinkling H2Os have hidden themselves away in my craft room, so I did not include them in this review. If I find them, it will be updated. My memory of them is that they are excellent, especially once they are allowed to wake a bit with water.

My conclusion: first always use what you have on hand. Then buy the best you can when the time comes. I feel that if you want superior mica-based paints the Fine Tec watercolors are top of the line.

I did try out the Daniel Smith Iridescent gold and blue, they do not really compare well. Pan mica paints seem to be creamier and thicker.

Uses: Add a layer of shimmer to butterfly wings, or bug backs. Even bird feathers or flower petals can benefit from a bit of bling. Use the pearl colors sparingly. Too much does not a master piece make!.

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