Faerie Myst Paints
From: Tyra Cloud9@execpc.com - 5/16/00

These paints are a very high quality paint, more than worth the price of buying them.

First off, surface exploration. I have tried FM on several surfaces. They work beautifully and air dry on all brands of matte cardstock, vellums and most semi-glosses. Some colors of the FM are still a bit tacky after 24 hours when painted on the vellums, but a quick spritz of spray sealant clears this up nicely. I do not seal the FM projects I do, it's not necessary really..the only time I use the spray sealant is if the paint is a bit tacky after a few hours. (which doesn't happen often) I am quite sure FM would work beautifully on wood, paper clay, paper casting, handmade papers, regular paper, etc etc etc.

When painting on semi-gloss, the colors are muted, but still very beautiful. Same goes for working on vellums. You can easily build up to a darker hue by adding layers of color if you want. When you use matte cardstocks, the colors are nice and rich, appearing the same in hue as they are in the jars.

I created color swatch cards using black matte and white matte. The colors appear true on the white, with the exception of the interference colors which is to be expected. On black matte, the colors are retained, though very muted...and the interference colors are nothing short of spectacular on dark cardstocks.

FM are NOT slimey paints with a high glycerin content...they have a TINY bit of glycerin in them which allows the paint to gently pull away from an embossed line (NOT REPELL OFF IT)...but you don't feel the glycerin if you get it on your hands. FM is more of a high quality stampers brand of acrylic paints. Yes, there is shimmer in the paints. However the shimmer is very subtle, almost magical. The shimmer is NOT overpowering, it merely compliments the color of the paint and gives the viewer a "twinkle" when they look at pieces created with FM. I LOVE THIS.

FM is a very verastile paint. I've used it alone to create beautiful pieces. I've also used it in conjunction with other color mediums for yet more unique pieces. FM works beautifully with the following mediums (but not limited to ONLY them): Colored pencils, chalks, pastel pencils, other paints of about any type, powdered micas (PERFECT compliment for the Faerie Dust products!!!).

My hubby (Roy) recently created some pieces using FM. He found that you can easily and effectively "water down" the FM to create a wash...as you would with watercolors. The shimmer is evenly
suspended even in a wash..and is STILL on your piece when you paint the wash. He mixed it with Windsor/Newton acrylic paints, but they are very opaque so the shimmer was lost. To avoid loosing the shimmer, he painted first some areas with the acrylics, then went and highlighted with the FM on top of the acrylics.

BEAUTIFUL. Watercolors are more transluscent, so you don't loose the shimmer when you mix with watercolors. You can mix the FD with watercolors, or use it as a highlight on top of watercolors. Either way is beautiful. If you are using pastel pencils or chalks....spray the piece with workable fixative prior to applying FM on top. The combination of chalks and FM will yield a magical feel to your piece. I very much like having the option of using FM alone, or in conjunction with other products in my artwork.

Dry time...OK. FM does have a bit of an extended drying time. It will stay wet long enough for you to work wet-into-wet or emboss if you want. It air dries quick enough though that you aren't always worried about getting your hands in it and smearing it all over the place, and you can speed up the dry time with your heat gun if you like. But you WILL NOT be sitting hours and hours waiting for something to air dry, hoping it will air dry...<smile> The absorbent the surface is, the quicker it air dries.

FM brushes on very nicely..the flow of the paint off the brush to the cardstock is very smooth. Sometimes, when it's wet..it appears to leave brush strokes, but when it dries, the brush strokes are gone,
like they melted away. You can let your piece dry, then go back on top and paint more...you won't have defined lines of where wet paint went on top of dry paint. I did most of my "shading" by mixing the FM right on my cardstock as I worked it. First I lay down a light color (or even one of the interference colors), then while it's still wet, I come back on top with a darker hue..blend right on the cardstock. You can mix color of FM to create your own custom colors if you like too.

FM is sold by the palette, 13 colors per palette. There is a full 1/4 ounce of paint in each jar. A little bit of paint goes a LOOOOOONG ways. The palette is a small plastic holder with 13 individual cups. The jars of FM set into each indidual cup, and the jars can be removed if you prefer to not store them in the palettes. If you have Faerie Dust, they are the same plastic palettes that Faerie Dust comes in, only the individual jars of FM set in each little "cup" of the palette.

The palettes available are: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The Spring palette gives you your pastel colors plus 2 interference colors. The Summer palette gives you the mid range hues plus 3
interference colors. The Autumn palette gives you the basic colors plus one interference color. The Winter palette is a compliment to the autumn palette with basic colors, three interference colors and
one opal. Which palette to buy??? Well, I'd buy them all...all four palettes are available (that's 52 colors). However, if you budget doesn't allow for all 4 palettes, I would suggest you start with the Autumn palette and then the Spring Palette. I know you can also buy the colors individually.

I also found, quite by accident, that they are really good for DTP (direct to paper) techniques. I took one of my old CD's...put a little dollop of acrylic flow extender on it...took my ColorBox Stylus with one of the foam tips...dipped the foam tip in the lid (some of the paint always sticks to the top of lid, might as well use it) then tapped it in the flow extender on the CD..and then tapped tapped tapped away on whatever I was DTP'ing. The flow extender makes it stay wetter just long enough that it was able to easily and
quickly blend colors. Once I finished with one color..I cleaned my stylus foam tip in water...pressed it on a paper towel a few times to remove excess water..and started all over again. Don't forget to clean the foam tip as soon as you finish with a color.

You can also use a paintbrush and paint away with them. They are waterbased...so if you want them thinner than they are, mix some of the paint with water in a palette.

If you like to sponge..they work nicely for that as well. You can finger paint too. <grin> The magenta color...looks quite nice sort of "feathered" thru your hair...<grin> hehehehe. I think they are very cool paints and well worth the price they ask for them.

What do you do with them??? You PAINT with them!!!!! :-) Remember, it's JUST a watercolor in liquid form. These are VERY high quality professional watercolors, and they are also HIGHLY pigmented. Get yourself a plastic palette with wells in it..to hold the color. If you dip your brush into the jar and use the paint straight, you will have VERY bold dramatic colors. Or, take that little dropper in the jar and just TOUCH it to the bottom of a well (don't squeeze the dropper, this adds TOO much color unless you are working a HUGE are), add in water...now you have a MUCH lighter hue of the same color. The more liquid watercolor/pigment you add, the darker the color. You want shimmer???? Add a tiny bit of the Iridescent medium to the paint in a palette..mix..wallah..you got shimmer!!!! :-)

One HUGE advantage to using these watercolors is that they are rated pretty highly for colorfastness...they don't fade out as easily as other products will. Be sure you have good set of paintbrushes to use, good quality brushes DO make a difference!! Heck, as I think about it..you could probably even add in a drop of

the liquid watercolors to paper pulp when you are making papers. <smile>

You can even mix in pearl ex/powdered pearls/faerie dust into the watercolor mixture for very UNIQUE colors and wonderful shimmer. You REALLY need to get in touch with the "adverturous" part of your nature and play with this product. Mix it, smoosh it, sponge it, splash it....PLAY WITH IT !!!!!! Make a mess..it's GREAT fun!

Here's more info...

First off, the Dr. Martins watercolors really aren't "vibrant"..they are "HIGHLY PIGMENTED". Which means, in a nutshell..a little bit goes a LOOOOOOONG ways. You CAN get very soft and subtle shades with these liquid watercolors. Straight application, right out of the bottle, will give you the DARKEST hue of that color.

Now....let's say you want a light red OK? You take your red...now just TOUCH the bottom of that dropper in a plastic pallette well...don't squeeze it...just tap it...that will give you a tiny "speck" of red "pigment". Add water...THe more water you add, the lighter the hue. It's ALWAYS vibrant, no matter what the hue. If you want pink...that's white with a TINY bit of red...maybe a little water for a lighter hue of pink. If you put say, one full drop of it in a pallete, that's WAY Too much paint, unless you are doing one HECK of a large piece. Less IS more in this instance. If you bought one full set of the 1/2 ounce bottles of the Dr. Martin's Liquid Watercolors..this would be enough paint to last you a very VERY long time I hated watercolors ..until I got my hands on those Lyra Aqua color Watercolor Crayons and the Dr. Martin's Liquid Watercolors. The BEST tip I can give you, is that you NEED to allow yourself the freedom to experiment, without putting pressure on yourself to make a "perfect piece" every time. The more you use the watercolors, the better you get.

Also...you NEED NEED NEED to get yourself a bottle of that iridescent medium to mix into your watercolors for sparkle sometimes, here and there.

 

These are watercolors in liquid form. However that is not ALL they are.

 

You can think of them as a "colorant", something you use to add color to something else such as handmade paper pulp. Mix it into any acrylic glass varnish medium and it becomes an acrylic paint rather than a watercolor paint (more opaque). You want shimmer? Try iridescent tinting medium + Doc martin's liquid watercolors, or try pearl ex/powdered pearls/faerie dust + doc martin's liquid watercolors. You want a satiny look? Try pearlescent medium + doc martin's liquid watercolors.

 

More ideas: if you want the polished stone type of look...why not try doc martin's liquid watercolors + flow extender swirled, mixed, or whatever on a transparency. You can leave the transparency as is, or press/brayer it to cardstock (matte or glossy).

 

If you want VIBRANT and BOLD colors, paint straight out of the jar. If you want more muted and/or pastel colors, tap the bottom of the dropper into a palette, mix in water. The more water you use, the lighter the hue. Just remember, the liquid watercolors are HIGHLY pigmented, so a little goes a long ways.

 

If you want to stamp first, use a semi-permanent or watercolor ink pad, many brands of them on the market. Ranger Archival ink pads, memories ink pads, fabrico ink pads, and several brands of watercolor ink pads will work. Just make sure the ink is dry before you paint. Cardstock??? I prefer to work with Gilbert Oxford cover 80# (from Marco's Paper) but you can also use the standard types of watercolor paper available. I also use about any color of matte cardstock, as long as it is 80# - block cardstock prior to painting to decrease warp/buckling when painting. If it is still buckled a bit when dry, cut it out and glue to the top of another piece of cardstock, set a heavy book on top of it while it dries. You like vellums? Watercolor work on vellums too.

One easy technique is to use the cheaper white matte sticker paper...just stick the vellum to the sticker paper and watercolors work like a charm then! Paintbrushes?? I find sizes 0, 1, 2 and a

small flat one (about 1/4" wide) to be most useful.

 

Stipple, paint, sponge, splatter, splash, etc etc etc. No limits!!!

 

Do you need a spray sealant? Not really. Though do remember if you are mailing a watercolor piece to someone, it wouldn't hurt to seal it just so it doesn't accidentally get rained on in transit.

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Subject: Acrylic Paints
From : Carol Heppner - heppner@aol.com

If you add enough water, you can use them just like watercolors. No, they don't replace watercolors... they are a bit different... but can work that way too. Also, if you mix a bit with pre-made wall paper paste, you can make paste papers... Look in the Jan/Feb edition of Somerset Studio for the directions.. It's in the return to paper crafter's article.

I use my acrylic paints to stipple or sponge in backgrounds. I also use them with "chunky" stamps on boxes, wrapping paper, and for background paper. Delta (I think) makes a great gold paint called Gleam that I use a lot to accent polymer clay medallions. I also use acrylic paints as a base coat on wood items that I want to stamp.

I use clear crystal lacquer a lot. It adds texture. Use it over hearts, over colored leaves, collars on dogs/cats, birdhouse holes, on top of radiant pearls almost anything. I don't like the pearlescent colors, but the solid colors are great! The most unique thing I ever did with crystal lacquer was.....there is a button on my screen door handle with no key. If you push it to the side, you cannot open the door from outside - NO WAY! I had the experience of being locked out in the freezing cold with slippers and a house dress.....not fun...When I got back in, finally, the idea hit me - put some Crystal Lacquer over the button on the door so it won't slip to the other side. Works great!