SOUTHINGTON — The standard BYOB paint night has been revamped this year at Art Studio of Connecticut with new black light paint.

“People seem to love it,” said Stephanie Hongo, studio manager and instructor. “If you put it under black light it comes to life, it’s a little bit brighter.”

Hongo demonstrated a sunset scene painting before an event at the West Street studio on Tuesday. 

 “It sort of doubles as a second image,” she said of the effect.

Colored phosphorescent powder is added to white acrylic paint, which then glows under black light. The result in regular light is a pastel hue, while the black light changes the colors to neon.

The studio, which opened less than a year ago, first introduced the black light paint events around the holidays as a special thank you to customers.

Hongo said the idea came about while brainstorming creative art activities for the studio.

Participants must be at least 21 years old to participate. White or neon clothing and glow sticks are encouraged.

Instructors like Hongo dress up in outfits and body paint to glow under six black lights in the studio room for a party vibe, complete with electronic dance music.

The paintings take about two hours, depending on the canvas size and the image. The application of the paint to the canvas is similar to acrylic paint.

The last paint night focused on a camp fire scene, which was painted to look like the fire was glowing on the canvas. 

“The nice thing about what we’re doing is because it is different it does sort of open up all these different opportunities for new sorts of creative fun things to do,” Hongo said.

The studio is considering events like black light slime making for kids and black light-themed birthday parties.

The next black light paint event will be on March 8, with another one expected at the end of March.

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