Use Them on Canvas, Fabric, Wood, Paper, Styrofoam, and Other Surfaces

Lumiere metallic paints can be described as “Light body metallic acrylic paints”. They are permanent and lightfast. Lumiere paints are available in a rainbow of gorgeous colors, and they are popular with artists and crafters who work in a variety of media.

Lumiere metallic paints are manufactured by Jacquard Products / Rupert Gibbon and Spider. They are made in the USA.

Suitable Surfaces for Painting With Lumiere Metallic Paints:

You can paint on a variety of surfaces with Lumiere metallic paints. This versatility is an attractive characteristic for budget-conscious artists and crafters. In my opinion, Lumiere paints are a better investment than many other brands of paint are, due to their versatility. Since you can use these paints on wood, paper, canvas, styrofoam, and fabric, you will find plenty of uses for them.

Uses For Lumiere Metallic Paints:

Fine art: paintings on canvas

Collage art, mixed media and altered art projects

Stenciling

Screening

Marbling

Stamping (for best results, use foam stamps or other stamps that are recommended for use with paints)

Decorating T-shirts and wearable art

Fabric painting

Home decor projects

Wood crafts

Art journals

Handmade books

Scrapbooking

Art trading cards (ATCs and ACEOs)

You can probably think of other uses for them too. (Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments area! Thanks!)

Mixing Lumiere Metallic Paints With Other Paints:

I enjoy creating mixed media art projects, and I am not afraid to mix paints. I have tried mixing Lumiere with some of the other paints in my paintbox, and have been pleased with the results. I have successfully mixed Lumiere paints with other brands of acrylic paint, and also with gouache paints, Dr. PH Martins Radiant Concentrated Watercolors, Luma dyes, and 7Gypsies Colorwash. I was motivated to create these mixtures because I was interested in having a broader range of colors than I could get by just mixing the colors of Lumiere that I had on hand.

Mixing Lumiere with other paints does reduce the shiny metallic effect. The more the Lumiere is diluted, the less shiny the overall result is. In most cases my end results were still quite shimmery and metallic.

Please note that I have no idea whether these mixtures will prove to be archival-quality and permanent or not. Only time will tell. If your goal is to create an archival-quality work of art or scrapbook page, you’ll probably want to avoid mixing the paints.

Using Lumiere on Fabrics:

I first purchased Lumiere metallic paints because I wanted to use them for painting on fabric. These paints can be used on nearly any fabric. The limiting factor is whether or not the fabric can be pressed with an iron, because these paints do need to be heat set in order for them to be permanent on fabric. Lumiere works well with cotton, poly-cotton, canvas, silk, denim, leather, and lots of other fabrics.

I’ve used Lumiere on quite a few different fabrics, and have been pleased with the results. The hand of the fabric does change slightly after having been painted; it gets a bit stiffer, but it still remains flexible and wearable. There are fabric paints out there that affect the hand of the fabric less than Lumiere, but I haven’t yet found a better metallic paint than Lumiere for painting on fabric. Overall, Lumiere is a fantastic find, and I think fabric painters will be really happy with it.

When used on fabric or canvas, Lumiere metallic paints can be washed or dry cleaned.

Available Packaging for Lumiere Metallic Paints:

If you’ve never tried Lumiere metallic paints, you might want to start by purchasing the “Exciter Pack“, which contains 9 different one-half ounce bottles of Lumiere in Halo Pink Gold, Halo Blue Gold, Halo Violet Gold, Metallic Russet, Metallic Sunset Gold, Metallic Pewter, Pearlescent Turquoise, Pearlescent Emerald, and Pearlescent Magenta.

My first Lumiere paint purchase was the Exciter Pack, and I was thrilled with it. It allowed me to test out a variety of different colors to see which ones I liked. When I started running out of some colors from the first Lumiere Exciter Pack, I purchased a second Exciter Pack.

For artists and crafters who need larger bottles of paint, Lumiere also comes packaged in 2.25 ounce jars and 8 oz jars. When I started running out of some of the colors in the second Exciter Pack, I decided to go ahead and start purchasing the 2.25 ounce bottles of Lumiere.

If you create large paintings and you create each project using only Lumiere, an Exciter Pack won’t last you all that long. If you stick to creating smaller projects like art trading cards and mini paintings, one Exciter Pack will probably last you quite awhile. My first Lumiere projects were mostly textile designs, wearable art projects, small paintings and art trading cards. I eventually used up all the paint in both the Exciter Packs I purchased. In hindsight, I think they were a fantastic value for the money spent. I sold enough of my art projects to more than recoup the cost of the paints. I have found that my customers just love the shimmer and shine that Lumiere adds to my original artworks.

The one downside to Lumiere paint that I’m aware of: It doesn’t photograph well. In most photographs, you can’t tell that the colors are metallic. This is only a downside if you have a compelling reason to photograph your artwork — for example, if you sell your art online.

In the past, I sold bunches of art pieces made using these paints despite that minor handicap — always with a note mentioning that the paint colors I used were metallics. I got lots of pleasantly surprised emails from customers who apparently overlooked the note attached to my listings.

My Favorite Lumiere Paint Colors:

My favorite colors of Lumiere paint are Pearlescent Magenta, Halo Blue Gold, Metallic Sunset Gold, and Metallic Bronze.

Paintings, Art, and Craft Projects Featuring Lumiere Metallic Paints:

Here are some examples showing the possibilities for what can be achieved with Lumiere metallic Paints:

See a birthday card featuring shimmery metallic accents created by Lumiere metallic paints.

Check out a party invitation you can accent with Lumiere metallic paints.

Click here to see a bohemian swirl collage art piece. This collage features small spin art paintings that I painted with Lumiere metallic paints.

Conclusion:

I am thrilled to recommend Lumiere metallic paints to other artists and crafters.

Where to Buy Lumiere Metallic Paints by Jacquard Products

• Click here to shop for Lumiere metallic paints at Dick Blick.

Related Resources

• Click here to learn more about painting.
• Click here to find more of our suggestions for must-have art and craft supplies.
• Click here to find collage art project ideas

By Amy Solovay

This page was last updated on 8-9-2021.