Metallic paint and gold leaf in Easel by Zaweba

Some paints are about light rather than colour. Metallic paint glints, interference paint shifts as you move, fluorescent paint glows. Easel by Zaweba has a group of these special optical paints, along with some unexpected stains from the kitchen and the old craft of gilding with metal leaf.

The optical paints

Metallic paints contain particles that reflect light like metal. They are used for gold, silver, copper and bronze effects, for decorative borders, lettering and jewellery in a portrait.

Interference paints change colour depending on the angle you look from. In the real world they look almost clear on white and come alive over dark grounds, so try them over a dark underlayer.

Iridescent paints have a pearly, rainbow sheen, like the inside of a shell. They suit soap bubbles, insects, fish scales and fantasy subjects.

Fluorescent paints are the brightest colours of all, the ones that seem to glow. Use them for small accents, street art and poster style work.

Coffee, tea and wine

Easel also includes coffee, tea and wine as stains. Artists have painted with all three for centuries, and each gives a warm, natural colour that no tube quite matches. Coffee makes rich browns, tea a soft amber, wine a muted purple red.

They work well for loose, atmospheric sketches, vintage looking backgrounds and illustrations meant to feel handmade. Try a tea stained background on watercolour paper before drawing over it with walnut ink or a fineliner.

Gilding with size and leaf

Gilding is the craft of laying thin metal leaf on a surface. In real life you paint on an adhesive called size, wait until it is tacky, then lay the leaf over it. The leaf sticks only where the size is. Gilding in Easel uses the same two parts, size and metal leaf.

That means you paint the shape you want in size, then apply the leaf. Halos in icon painting, illuminated capitals in calligraphy and decorative backgrounds are all classic uses. There is even a gold leaf preset among Easel's built-in presets to start from.

A workflow for a gilded piece

Here is one way to put these together. Choose a gessoed panel or a smooth board. Sketch the design lightly. Paint size where you want gold, such as a halo or a border, and apply the leaf. Paint the rest of the picture in egg tempera, gouache or acrylic. Finish with small touches of metallic or iridescent paint where you want extra sparkle.

Easel's movable light helps here. Paint height becomes a surface lit by a light you can move, so try changing the light direction and height to judge how the piece looks. Flat light turns relief off when you want to judge colour alone.

Keeping it tasteful

The danger with special paints is using too many at once. A picture with metallic, fluorescent and iridescent everywhere looks noisy. Pick one effect and give it a job. A gold halo, a fluorescent tag, a pearly bubble.

Contrast does a lot of the work. Metallic and interference colours shine more next to dark, matt areas, so plan for those. Stains, on the other hand, look best when you keep them loose. With that balance, Easel by Zaweba lets you add a touch of light and luxury to a picture without a single sheet of real gold.