There are four types of Daniel Smith Watercolors that don’t get a lot of use – mostly because it’s not obvious how or why to use them, or which colors to select! Me included. I had swatched out the ones on the dot card into my swatchbook, but as you’ll see in the video, I didn’t really trust tiny swatches to tell me much about the paints. (Scroll down for a gallery of swatches of the luminescent colors.
I googled to find out the differences between the different luminescent paints; John (the top cheese at DS) had explained it to me but my mind had shut down. LOL. So if this starts to tax your brain, don’t feel alone! He wrote up some of this info HERE – big credit to him for writing it down so I could read words and think through them! These are his descriptions:
- Iridescent: Reflection – particle of light hits paint/pigment matrix and bounces back. Much like a mirror.
- Interference: Refraction – particle of light enters the paint/pigment matrix and scatters light.
- Pearlescent: adds opalescence – like an opal or pearl – to the color it’s mixed or glazed with.*I think of this more as glitter, myself. Except it doesn’t rub off like glitter…yay for that, right?
- Duochrome: one pigment that bounces between two colors.
In the video below, you’ll see my Whiskey Painters mini palette with the colors (all below) – I cover a ton of info in a short time:
- The types of luminescents (Iridescent, Interference, Pearlescent, Duochrome)
- Black watercolor paper (to purchase or how to make it)
- Paint-outs, which show off the effects better than little swatches
- Fine art applications on several of my water-themed paintings
- Card Making application to test colors and make cards too
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Subjects to consider adding luminescent watercolor touches:
- birds’ feathers
- insects
- fish
- seashells
- flowers
- snail’s trail
- spider’s web
- silvery or golden moon
- clouds aglow at sunset
- rainbows
- snow and ice
- glint of water reflections.
- metals like pewter, copper, silver, and gold.
- fairies, dragons, mermaids and other fantasy figures.
I hope to paint some of these subjects deliberately in the next few months and play with more of these colors, to see more of what they do. If you’d like to keep an eye on my nutty watercolor adventure, pop over to my Instagram. In the meantime, the paintings seen in this video….
Cards
I tested out the colors that are in my little Whiskey Painter palette – but this would be an excellent test of the colors on the dot card if you have one. (The luminescents are only on the large dot card, I believe.) You can see which colors create effects you’ll like. Oh, by the way, write down which colors are which, I kinda just randomly put them all over and have no idea what’s what. LOL. Do as I say, not as I do!
Swatches of the Luminescents
As I said before, these little swatches don’t help a ton, but they might at least give you a general idea of what you’re getting when you try a color!
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Supplies
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- Daniel Smith 66 color Dot Card
- Daniel Smith Luminescent colors I own:
- The Luminescents I have:
- Stonehenge Black Watercolor Paper
- OR apply some grounds on your favorite regular watercolor paper:
- Arches Cold Press Paper: EH – BLICK
- DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Grounds, Mars Black
- Ranger Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool
- 30-Pocket Pages – 10 pk, Essentials by Ellen
- Silver Brush Black Velvet Round #8 EH – BLICK – AMZ
- Natural hair watercolor brushes:
- Winsor Newton Kolinsky Sable Series 7 Round #10
- Winsor Newton Kolinsky Sable Series 7 Round #8
- Da Vinci Maestro Kolinsky Sable Round 14
- Da Vinci Series 17 Maestro Long Needle, Size 9
Wow, what a great luminescent watercolour tutorial Sandy. Your painting is stunning and the cards gorgeous. Thank you so much.
Thanks for taking the time to do this post – those pics are great
Thanks for sharing this fascinating video, Sandy. I never realized there are so many kinds of shimmer in watercolors. I’ve learned so much from your descriptions/definitions and actual work with these paints.
Thanks for this wonderful explanation of what all those terms mean when it comes to paint. I’m a dabbler, need to take your water color class, but I’ve played around with different sets, even a pearlescent set that I didn’t really like the results, because I did the whole painting in it and didn’t just add shimmer on top. I greatly appreciate all of your video’s, you have blessed us with your talent in so many ways, thanks for all that you do.
So much information. Thank you .
Thank you so much for all this invaluable info – a gem of a post with amazing photography of those swathes.
This is VERY helpful! I’d been wondering about all these “different” paints that Daniel Smith offers. I probably won’t buy them all today, but now I know where to go for just the right ones if I want to do some special effects.