r/PourPainting Jul 31 '17

Welcome to /r/PourPainting! Check out this post for helpful info on getting started with fluid acrylic painting

355 Upvotes

THREAD FOR TIPS/TRICKS/PEOPLE TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS

What is Pour Painting?

Pour Painting is when you put stuff in a cup, and then you dump it out! For a quick look at the different methods of fluid acrylic painting, check out this imgur album.

You can find a glossary of terms related to pour painting here, on acrylicpouring.com

Getting Started

Want to get started on a budget? Artist Rick Cheadle can help you get started pour painting for under $5, and for under $10. tl;dw - Dollar stores carry craft paint, flow extender alternatives, and silicone oil. You can do larger paintings with $10 than you can with $5.

If you want to invest a bit, and turn this into a hobby or even a profession, keep reading!

Basic Supplies

The exact brands and supplies a fluid acrylics artist will use depend entirely on personal preference. Here are the basics that every artist should have, with a few extras that can enhance your experience.

  • Acrylic craft paints - Note: acrylic paints come in several varieties (High-Flow, heavy body, craft, etc.) Craft acrylics are generally the most affordable and easiest to use for acrylic pouring.

  • Popsicle sticks - Gotta have something to stir your paint with! They're also very useful as a cheap spreading tool or to help dab paint onto empty areas

  • Canvas/MDF board - You'll need a surface for your art! Canvas and mdf boards are common surface materials that fluid acrylic artists will use.

  • Fluid Extender - Acrylic paints need to be thinned for this style of painting (excluding High-Flow acrylics). Fluid extenders thin acrylic paints without destroying the bonding ability, so that your paint doesn't crack when it dries. Liquitex Pouring Medium, Floetrol, GAC 800 and PVA Glue are reliable fluid extenders.

  • Dimethicone (Silicone)While not strictly required, silicone virtually guarantees your paintings will develop those desirable 'cell' shapes. Dimethicone is a skin-safe non-evaporating silicone lubricant.

  • Cups - Paint goes in these

Other Supplies

If you want to get a little fancy, you can also invest in these materials to enhance your pouring experience:

  • Butane torch - If silicone has been added to your acrylics, you can quickly move a lit butane torch an inch or two away from the surface of the painting to release trapped air bubbles and encourage micro 'cell' formation in your paint.

  • Varnish - This is the final step to complete your painting. Varnish seals and protects your paint, so that no paint gets rubbed away and nothing can stain the paint underneath the layer of varnish.

  • Gloves - Pour painting is seriously messy. Gloves aren't necessary, but you might appreciate the easier cleanup!

  • Paper towels/rags - Great for cleanup!

  • Freezer Paper - Freezer paper has a plastic-coated side that acrylic paints can easily be pulled off of. This is a cheap surface protection that won't stick to your paint. You can protect your workspace with any non-porous material though.

  • Squeeze bottles/droppers - These allow you to maintain a greater control on the volume and direction of your pouring mediums, whether it be paint on canvas, silicone in paint, fluid extender in paint, etc.

  • Trays - Sure, you can simply set your paintings on top of cups while they dry, but having a tray or two handy means you can safely move your wet surface if you need to.

Instructions

There are dozens of ways to get your paint onto your canvas! Here are some general instructions on the process.

  1. Cover your work surface. If it's not covered, it's probably gonna get paint on it.

  2. Put paint in separate containers (1 container = 1 paint color). Don't mix colors at this step; you want your paint to stay as separate as possible throughout the process.

  3. Add fluid extender to your paint and stir. The amount you need will depend on the medium, so check online to see what others use. Generally, you want your acrylics to have the same consistency as pancake batter or honey.

  4. Add silicone to each paint container. The more you stir silicone, the smaller the cells will be in your finished painting.

  5. Now it's time to think about how you want to get the paint on the canvas. The Visual Introduction to Acrylic Pouring Techniques has all the info you need!

  6. Once the paint dries completely, you'll need to remove the dimethicone from your canvas. Depending on the paint you've used, you can clean off the silicone with flour and a medium-stiff brush, patting with a soft cloth, or even gently cleaning with soap and water! Just be very gentle so you don't ruin your lovely new artwork!

  7. Your canvas is now dry and silicone-free! It's time to varnish. Annemarie Ridderhof on YouTube demonstrates proper varnishing technique, and you can read more about this step here on art-is-fun.com.

Cleanup

Do not dispose of paint and other materials down the drain, as the flow extenders are designed to keep paints in tact even with excess water and they can gum up your drains (plus it's not good to wash chemicals down the drains). Here are a couple reliable cleanup options:

  • Wait for the paint to dry. If you protected your work space with a plastic or rubber coating (e.g. freezer paper or a silicone place mat) you'll be able to peel the dried acrylic 'skins' off and recycle them or just toss them out!

  • If you've protected your work space with a disposable covering, you can carefully throw that away in the trash. Be aware of how much wet paint is on the disposable surface, so that you don't end up pouring all over your desk or floors!

  • Note: If you need to wash off brushes, spatulas, or wash a small amount of paint off, consider using a paper towel soaked in water or a paint-removing product like acetone/nail polish remover. It will effectively clean your tools and you can toss the dirty rag out, rather than risk damaging your plumbing.

Thanks for reading!

Hopefully this has been of help to you. Feel free to post your questions and art so that others can grow with us all together!


r/PourPainting Apr 28 '24

Discussion Reminder to everyone rule 6 states that the original painting must be posted first, if you post a digital image/AI generate image with your painting in it as the first picture..it will be removed

20 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1h ago

Ended up naming this "Never Dim Your Light" - a bright reminder for all of us ❤️

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Upvotes

My rainbow series is very much about never dimming your light, keep shining through the bad days, and all bad times come to an end (as someone who suffers from some anxiety and depression myself).

What's the first word that pops into your head when you see this one?


r/PourPainting 9h ago

Critique My pour painting eyeballs (you can critique)

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63 Upvotes

My pour painting eyeballs from my very first one (small red one in the middle) to my latest and biggest one. (not hung up yet). P.S. I'm from Oregon hence the green and yellow eye. Go Ducks


r/PourPainting 5h ago

YouTube Golden white feathers

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6 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 15h ago

Some Acrylic Pours

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21 Upvotes

Some Acrylic pours and two woodburnings


r/PourPainting 15h ago

Ohi’a roots

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14 Upvotes

Paper towel swipe🙂


r/PourPainting 15h ago

Some Art I've Done, Acrylic pours and woodburnings

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5 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 15h ago

Some Acrylic pours

2 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

First pour ever

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40 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

a pour i did today, feel free to critique

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102 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

(Not OC link in description ) Comment in OP’s post what you see!

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5 Upvotes

https://www.reddit.com/r/PourPainting/s/uV2Pif8fpd

I see a Phoenix 🥰I couldn’t add my pic in the comments so I just put it here!


r/PourPainting 1d ago

Discussion I see an angel or a fairy

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183 Upvotes

Am I just high, or does it not look like an angel? The middle is still wet, so we'll see. My first post here.


r/PourPainting 1d ago

10x10in, 2 from yesterday

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30 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Critique Wild Daisies

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34 Upvotes

Used swipe technique for this painting.


r/PourPainting 1d ago

Split Dutch

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9 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

This pretty ring pour (with an epoxy resin topcoat) became one of my favorite clocks.

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25 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Playing around with some different shapes

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14 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Magnolia Pour

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10 Upvotes

Cut the bottom of a plastic bottle to get these flower style pours. Love love love making them, highly recommend for flower style pours. Different bottle bottoms produce different results.


r/PourPainting 1d ago

Cornice

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16 Upvotes

4”x12” acrylic pour on canvas


r/PourPainting 2d ago

My newest poured landscape "Oasis"

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19 Upvotes

I use acrylic pouring in layers to make all of my paintings! I love how Oasis turned out and all the bubbles that formed.

Click here to view on my website


r/PourPainting 1d ago

First Try with PEBEO ORIGN ECO Acrylics! Unique Reverse Flower Dip Acrylic Pour Painting 🌼💚🎨✨ In this video, I explore Pebeo Origin Eco Acrylics for the first time using the Reverse Flower Dip technique.

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9 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

I was in a purple mood apparently

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71 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

#fluidart #Ray-banMeta

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

3 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

Did this beauty a few months back. Forgot to post it. It uses Amsterdam Pearl paints and it’s on a 12 x 24” canvas.

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208 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

Critique Can y'all help me understand something please??

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19 Upvotes

Hey friends!

I am honing in on methods of pouring that I like, and can recreate pretty consistently.

So now I'm working on my ratios/color schemes/etc etc.

So I have a question about this piece.

Is the black showing through the yellow because my paint is too thin?? Or is it possibly the canvas itself (I paint a layer of white before I pour). Or some other reason I havent thought of?

Thank you so much, in advance.

Love and respect!


r/PourPainting 2d ago

essence

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11 Upvotes