How to Paint on Black Velvet with Fluorescent Paint
Elvis has immortalized the black velvet painting and blue suede shoes. Alannah Myle's song "Black Velvet" was in part a reference to fan art that immortalized "The King" with fluorescent paint on a black velvet ground. You don't have to be an Elvis fanatic to make an impressive art piece that glows in the dark. Painting on black velvet is not difficult, but you may want to work under a black light to track your progress.
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Things You'll Need
- Silk- or cotton-based black velvet
- Stretcher bars
- Stretcher clamp
- Staple gun
- Staples
- Black light
- Paint brushes
Instructions
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1
Assemble your interlocking stretcher bars.
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2
Staple the top-center portion of your black velvet to the back of your stretcher bar with a staple gun. Use only silk- or cotton-based velvet, as synthetic velvet does not accept paint.
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3
Grasp the bottom-center portion of your velvet with your stretcher clamp. Pull it taut to the bottom back of the stretcher bar. Maintain tension in your velvet as you staple it in place. Repeat for all sides.
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4
Staple the velvet in place, working out from the center staples on each side in rotation. This distributes the tension to all sides. Tuck the corners under the velvet to hide the edges.
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5
Trace your image onto the black velvet with white pastel. Blow off the excess white dust before painting.
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6
Outline your tracing with thin lines of fluorescent paint. This will act as a guide when you begin painting under a black light.
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Turn on your black light. You can paint without using a black light, but some fluorescent paints are difficult to see in natural lighting. In addition, fluorescent lights will emit certain wavelengths of color under a black light, so your coloration will be more accurate.
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8
Paint from light to dark. Leave the darkest areas of your composition without pigment, as your black velvet ground will represent the deepest shadows in your painting. This is counterintuitive for artists who work on white canvases, so you may want to experiment with smaller canvases until you get used to painting on black velvet.
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9
Scumble your paint. Black velvet is a coarse ground, so do not expect to achieve the smooth, translucent layers you would on finely sanded canvas or paneling. Mix all of your pigments, with subtle transitions between, and apply in overlapping, granular layers as you progress.
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