Trying out the Acrylic Pouring Technique

I have been wanting to do acrylic pouring technique for such a long time. I have watched so many videos and tutorials and actually bought all the things necessary for this a while ago but somehow kept putting it off.. One afternoon when I was wandering around the house thinking about what I could possibly make, I decided to have a little play with my paints and finally try out the acrylic pouring technique!

I posted on my Instagram stories the process and got a really great response so decided to do a little post on this!

I started with a small blank canvas.  First thing to do is to make sure the surface you are working on is covered (as it gets very messy) and is level! If the surface is not level your paint will simply pour over.

Decide what colours you want to use, you can use as many (or as little) as you want.  I used 5 in total – 1 lighter shade of blue, 1 turquoise, 1 dark blue, 1 white and 1 silver.  Mix each colour in a separate plastic cup and add some water to thin the paint. Then add the pouring medium and silicone oil.  Remember I was experimenting at this stage. I added pouring medium to two cups (any) and silicone oil to the other 3 cups. {note after the project: silicone oil will help you create the cells, I was a little cautious at first but next time will be adding more oil}

Next step is to add the paints into a separate cup. Keep pouring various layers of different colours in the cup until you are satisfied you will have enough to cover the canvas. Don’t worry as you can always add extra once you have poured the paint on.

 


Take your blank canvas, turn it upside down and place the cup with paint under the canvas and tip both over without lifting the cup off.  Keep the cup upside down for a few seconds, to allow the paint to come down.

Then quickly lift the cup off and let the paint move around.  Then move the canvas to allow the paint to ‘travel’ in different directions to create a pattern. If you are not happy with colours or simply haven’t got enough paint, add more paint and keep moving the canvas to allow the paint to pour over. Get creative and just have fun with the paint and the mess!!

Once you are happy with your painting, use the torch and go over the paint, this will help you to form the cells in the paint!

Then leave the paint to dry for about 24 hours.

Once dry I used acrylic paint sealer in gloss. I think I am hooked and no doubt will be trying out this technique on other materials and projects. Let me know what you think! Have you ever tried this?

 

 

 

Products used (or equivalent) – affiliate links

UK/Isle of Mansilicone oil, Liquitex Professional Pouring Effects Medium, Liquitex acrylic paint, canvas, plastic cups, craft sticks, torch, level

USAsilicone oil, Liquitex Professional Pouring Effects Medium, Liquitex acrylic paint, canvas, plastic cups, craft sticks, torch, level

 

9 thoughts on “Trying out the Acrylic Pouring Technique

  1. Can you please explain what you mean by using a torch to create the cells? What kind or torch and what do you do with it? And what do you mean by “cells”? Thank you. I really want to try this. The painting looks beautiful.

    1. Hi Karen, thank you very much. I used a simple kitchen torch it creates heat by doesn’t have an airflow (unlike heat gun or hair dryer) so it will not disturb the paint and move it around .. the cells are basically created when the paint splits from the oil when you apply the heat and creates literally that – beautiful cells .. hope this helps ! It’s a lot of fun let me know if you need any more help !

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