Craft Crush: Dylusions Paints

I purchased a jar of black Dylusions acrylic paint several months ago for one reason.  It was ‘writable’, meaning once dry it allowed me to write on top of it with pens and markers easily.  At the time, I thought black would be the only color I’d need, since I generally use gesso when I want a writable white surface.  Fast forward to today and this is what my Dylusions collection looks like.

I’m currently the proud owner of 11 delicious colors of the wonderful paint.  So what happened to my belief that black would be all I needed?  It had a lot to do with how much I love the Dylusions ink sprays and the vibrant colors they produce.  As much as I love them, unless I sealed them somehow, adding layers on top of them was tricky since they continue to react to moisture even after drying.  I can’t count the number of times I’d forget that fact and ruin a gorgeous background when adding items to my mixed media projects. I was frustrated.  I wanted the bright vibrant color but I also wanted to be able to add layers.

Enter Dylusions paint.  Besides all of the colors being extremely writable some other features I really love are:

• Fast drying. If you’re impatient like I am, you’ll love this feature
• Semi-opaque. Thismeans when applying just one layer whatever is underneath still shows through a bit.  Fantastic for layering techniques.  If you want a completely opaque look simply apply another layer of color once the first one is dry.
• Blendable when wet. You need to work quickly because they dry super-fast, but when wet they blend wonderfully.  Using a baby wipe helps extend the workable time.
• The colors match the vibrancy and intensity of the ink sprays. This one was super important for me, since you know I ♥ the ink spray colors.
• Waterproof when dry. This feature means no more ruining backgrounds when adding mixed media elements. Yay!
• Not too thick but not too thin either.  It doesn’t clump up but it also doesn’t drip off a brush if you choose to use one.
• A little goes a long way. These paints are so highly pigmented and just fluid enough that it allows you to use just a small amount to cover a large space.  Using a baby wipe and/or a foam blending tool seems to help it go even further for me.
• Writable! This is huge for art journaling.  When dry this paint will take any kind of ink without clogging up the tip.
• It comes in a wide mouth jar. For some people this might not be a plus, but I love being able to dip fingers, brushes, baby wipes and more into the paint.  I love the cover even more. It’s what I use instead of dipping directly into the jar.
• Did I mention the color? The rich, vibrant colors stay that way even when dry.

Since Dyan Reaveley, an art journal artist and the force behind Dylusions, created these paints they are really the perfect paints for art journaling. At CHA in January she unveiled six more of her gorgeous colors in paint form.  Even as a somewhat frugal crafter, I fully intend to own them all.

Have you tried Dylusions paints?  Did you like them?  Do you use them for something besides art journaling?  Share in the comments below.