Hello,
I'm trying to find something that will work as a pigment in the UVA range. Presumably, that means that this material will reflect in the 350-400 nm range.
I have found some materials that will be impractical. If I can trust what I read, one candidate is snow. Great! . . . until my art project is warmer than the melting temp of water. Next candidate: aluminum. Hmmmm. If I make an admixture of aluminum and, say, red paint, the aluminum will be covered (even if it's in powdered form) and therefore not useful as a reflectant.
Here's my motivation:
Some flowers are bright in the UVA range. If you notice, some flowers sem to "glow" more than their red or blue colors could account for. I would like to draw or paint flowers (and other objects) with such a glow.
Some people have recommended that I use "blacklight" dyes. That's not what I want -- I think. Blacklight dyes absorb UV and return green, orange, etc. Right? I want it to return UVA.
Yes, I'm serious.
If you think I'm off-base, and can accomplish my objective without UVA pigment, please educate me.
Thank you!
Ted Shoemaker
