Hello there, happy new year!
I hope you had a great Christmas and that you started 2020 re-energized and ready to work on new projects.
I certainly have, although my short break in Italy has left me craving more family time, but I always like to look forward to the next adventure instead of feeling sorry for them feeling so short.
I have worked on 2 projects since I got back, one of which has to remain a secret for now, the other one is the fairy house you see here, which I sculpted on a glass bottle and which I painted with Arteza acrylic paints. Arteza were very kind to send me their 60 piece box of acrylic colours and I couldn't wait to try them out and share with you what I thought of them.
I filmed the project in two parts: part one is all about the sculpting process of the house, whereas part II is all about the painting.
To sculpt the fairy house I used:
Glass bottle
Super Sculpey in Beige
FIMO Liquid
Round cutters
Silicone sculpting tools, big and small.
Craft knife
Dotting tools
Needle tool
Toothbrush
Tin foil
Blade
Scissors
Colours I used in my fairy house:
Mars Black
Titanium White
Mauve Pale
Magenta Light
Mid Yellow
Viridian Green
Burnt Umber
What I loved about the Arteza acrylic paints:
Detailed list of all the colours in the box
Information on colour transparency: When I started using acrylic paints years ago, I didn't know that some colours were transparent and I didn't understand why some where so sheer. I genuinely thought there was something wrong with mine. So I think is really helpful from Arteza to supply this information, especially for beginners who might not be aware of this effect.
Information on lightfastness: I didn't know what that was so I had to google it; so it's basically how resistant a colour is when exposed to light. Also very helpful information for both beginners and advanced artists.
Vibrant colours! I was amazed by how vibrant and pigmented the colours were. One of my favourite colours was the Mid Yellow which turned into a beautiful orange when blended with the magenta. I was amazed!
Wide colour range. I literally couldn't believe how many colours were in this box, some people may find this overwhelming or unnecessary, but again, for beginners who are not yet confident in mixing their own colours, I think it's extremely helpful! Plus, there are lots of shades of brown which are perfect for painting and shading food, be it miniature or on paper.
Not tacky: Polymer clayers will love this! I have been working with polymer clay since 2011 and have had a lot of experience painting it with acrylic paints. Now, sometimes acrylic paint can feel a little tacky when dry, even after days of painting it. That usually goes away after applying a coat of varnish though. In the case of Arteza's acrylic paints, the tacky feeling really wasn't there. It was maybe a little tacky to start with, but as I applied more layers it got less and less tacky and I can easily say that it is much less tacky than any other paint I have used.
Fast drying: I never time how fast acrylic paint dries on polymer clay, but I noticed it dries a little quicker than other paints. I didn't mind it, actually it aided my dry-brushing technique.
Consistency: I didn't find it to be too creamy or too runny, it was just right. Some big tubes of paint I have are a little dry or dense for my taste which makes the paint dry faster. Some are runnier, which makes the paint suitable for certain things.
Overall, I was really impressed with Arteza's acrylic paints and would love to see if they have single tubes of paint as I seem to go through certain colours a lot quicker than through others, which I suppose happens to every artist.
I would love to know if you ever tried Arteza's products and what you thought of them.
I really hope you enjoyed the videos and that you found the information helpful,
Thank you so much for reading and I'll catch you next time,
Love, Mai
PS: I just quickly want to say that even though Arteza sent me their paints, the opinions expressed here and on my videos are my own. I only share products I genuinely like and that I think you might like too.