Tricky Artwork for April Fool's Day

Happy April Fool's Day! Today I'm sharing with you art that glows in the dark and tricks you by changing with light. These two small Dot Series paintings look completely different in daylight and then in the dark under a black light. 

Shown are two acrylic paintings on cradled wood panel measuring 8" x 10" x .8". These small original artworks are part of my Dot Series Paintings that I've been creating for several years. You can read more about this series in this blog post Dot Series Paintings: Color & Meditation. 

Recently I read about phosphorescent acrylic paint, which glows in the dark under black light. A few artists I know in different cities have experimented with this glowing paint to create amazing effects. Because the Dot Series paintings are all about color and movement I thought it would be interesting and fun to try phosphorescent acrylic paint in my own artwork.

Acrylic painting is fairly new for me. Until just over a year ago, I hadn't worked with acrylic since high school and had been working mostly in oil and watercolor paint. I don't remember hearing about phosphorescent paint as a possibility back in high school! 

Taking the Plunge with New Art Materials

Each Dot Series takes me a minimum of several months, sometimes over a year to complete. So I was very hesitant and scared to try out a new painting material that could change for the worse and even possibly ruin such time-consuming, labour-intensive artwork. After many weeks of deliberation, I finally decided to try out phosphorescent paint and here is the result.

Artwork That's Different in Day vs. Night 

In daylight these two small paintings have purple, pink, white and yellow brushstrokes. I slowly layered the colors with acrylic paint and glazes in many painting sessions over time.

At the end and after much hesitation, I added a few layers of brushstrokes of phosphorescent paint. At night under black light the paintings have deep purples and glow in the dark brushstrokes in bright white.  

I’m loving how different these artworks look in the dark under black light...

What do you think about art that glows in the dark? 

The kids think it’s fun... I'd like to try large paintings with phosphorescent paint for Halloween. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed seeing these tricky paintings on April Fool's Day. 

Happy April Fool's Day! You can read more about my colorful abstract brushstroke series in this blog post Dot Series Paintings: Color & Meditation.