And just how do you paint these coins?
Yes, that is the question I hear most often. I think mostly because many people have not seen jewelry like this before. Without giving away any trade secrets (hmmm...I am kidding here), I will try to show you what it takes to paint one of my coins. Might be more than you would expect...
The first and most important step is to pick a coin with a beautiful design. The prettiest colors on an ugly coin, is still an ugly coin! Fortunately, there are many beautiful coins to choose from. I clean the coin carefully, and then paint the background color. Many coins have very tiny details, so I use a magnifying glass, when I need to. I let it dry or "cure" until hard, and then apply the second color, if there is one. I have found that doing one color at a time gets better results, without risking "bleeding" colors. To answer the frequent question of how I get the detail so exact, there is only 1 obvious answer...practice! practice! and practice!
When the painting is finished, I complete the front with a thick clearcoat to give the appearance of a thick glass surface, much like the look of traditional enamelling. To complete the item, I also clearcoat the back and add either a pendant or earring bail for hanging. When I first started painting the coins, I asked a number of women friends, and they all voted for a clear back on the coin.... then they could see it was actually a coin.
So over 3-4 days, all these steps are completed. My biggest thrill still is completing the piece and marveling at the end results. It feels like magic!
