My little island lifestyle doesn’t support a constant supply of fresh paints, but what I do like to do is recycle and make the most of what I have. I used to make a lot of soap and beauty products a few years back so I still have a lot of leftover supplies sat idle.
Having seen micas being used in resin to create the most stunning pours, I wondered if I could use them to ‘make’ a paint. Turns out yes and no, and it depends.
Not all the micas are water-soluble. Some just sit on top of the water and will not mix in no matter how hard I try. But some instantly dissolve into the water and make a great paint. I added a few drops of water to dissolve the mica and then topped up with Floetrol. I gave them all a pretty good stir.
The sparkle colors came out the nicest I think. Smooth, shiny and a good coverage paint. Some of the others did look a little bit gritty when dry. That could just be my fault, not mixing enough so I’ll give that another try and see how they turn out.
The liquid soap colorants were easy. A few drops in the Floetrol and I had a ‘paint’. They are very concentrated. My color chart is here, and I still have quite a few other liquid colors I can try yet.
This has certainly expanded my range of colors enormously. Now just to try them out in an actual pour and see how they perform. Watch this space for an update!
After being told in high school that she was so bad at art that she should switch to another subject, Deby didn’t paint again for 35 years. Then a stroke released a new wave of creativity and she began exploring with dot painting, abstract and eventually acrylic pouring, and at last the joy of working with color returned. You don’t need ‘talent’ to be an acrylic pouring artist – just enthusiasm, some basic instruction, and a willingness to try, fail and try again. Paint along with her and learn from her many mistakes, and you’ll soon make great art together.
Dear Debbie,
Mica are pigments not colorants and as such they don’t « dissolve ».
What you tend to see is more about mica pigment size (lower size, best dispersion) AND surface properties (treated as hydrophobic or hydrophilic). If you are tempted to use an hydrophobic mica in acrylic medium this is possible and would require a tensio active (detergent) which will lower surface tension of the hydrophobic mica and the medium. I do believe that this will make interesting effects in dirty pouring !!!!!
I have arte pigments from Primary Elements and was wondering if this is cosmetic grade; not sure if i can use in soap making. Thanks for info.