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Lumiere & Neopaque Acrlyic Paints
Author: Tyra L. Smith
(Manufacturer: Rupert, Gibbon & Spider/Jacquard Products http://www.jacquardproducts.com/)
These are a moderately thick (kinda like the face cream granny used to smear on her face at night before bed..)..VERY sparkly...quick drying...acrylic paints. Since they ARE acrylics, they dry on almost every surface I've used them on..which includes but not limited to...shrink plastic, 3-d vinyl, wood, matte cardstock, glossy cardstock, vellums, polymer clay, paper clay...my face..the dog's nose...and Angel's hand (I painted a little heart tatoo on her hand). Did I mention they are pretty permanent too? Don't drop them on your cloths...they don't come out. Not that I would KNOW...but well...
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. The magenta color...looks quite nice sort of "feathered" thru your hair. I think they are very cool paints and well worth the price they ask for them.
These paints are thick...thicker than what you might be used to. They are about the consistency of thick hand cream. However, the thickness gives it an advantage in some applications. They are waterbased, so you can water them down to make them thinner, maybe like for a wash. They are also quite opaque. The Lumieres are sparkly when dry, and the neopaques dry matte. I've used Lumiere's and Neopaques with great success on a black surface, they hold their color beautifully.
These paints are highly pigmented artist acrylics, a multi surface paint. They do dry quickly. They are permanent and fairly lightfast. You can extend the wet time of the paints by mixing in a "flow extender". Flow extenders are readily available, and cheap, at about any store that carries acrylic paints. These paints are permanent, if you get them on your cloths, they will stain them. Forewarned is forearmed.
Now...you need to make friends with your paints. They will work with a wide range of techniques. I've used them successfully with Direct to Paper, sponging, splattering, detail painting, stippling, etc. They also work nicely, and air dry quickly, on a wide range of surfaces, which make them quite versatile. I've used these paints on wood, glass,ceramics, cardstocks (both matte and glossy), vellum, tags, vinyl cling, 3-d vinyl, shrink plastic, transparencies/acetate, fabrics (they seem to be fairly permanent on fabrics too, as my work jeans can attest to!), krystalvue, acrylic surfaces, etc etc etc. Great for both porous and non-porous surfaces alike.
You can also stamp with your lumieres and neopaques. I take a cosmetic sponge (one of those wedgie looking foam sponges) and wet it with flow extender, squeezing out the excess. Next I dip the wet sponge in the lid of one of the paints, tap it on scrap paper to even out the paint coverage on the sponge, then I sponge the paint onto my stamp, then stamp on my cardstock. (or whatever surface I'm using at the time) Let it set a minute to dry while you go clean the stamp. Don't let the paint dry on the stamp. A good wash with warm water and an old toothbrush is perfect. Once dry, the stamped image is very permanent. Also, the Ranger Cut 'n Dry Foam Pad is great to use as an inkpad for these paints.
I've also used the lumieres and neopaques in the same manner with the Colorbox Stylus kit.
You can easily mix the colors to create custom colors. If you mix a tiny bit of the "super sparkle lumiere" into any neopaque color, it becomes sparkly. You can also mix any lumiere color into any neopauqe color for sparkle. They do not muddy when mixed. For a unique look, mix powdered pigments into the paint.
The paints will also stay wet long enough that you can "sprinkle" items on top of it and they will "stick" when dry. I've used ultra fine glitter on top of the paint, lightly sprinkled on for a twinkling effect. Small, clear, no hole glass beads can also be sprinkled on top of the wet paint for a reflective look which is quite nice.
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