Acrylic Pour
Art
My sister, Mary, is an artist who lives in Dallas, Texas. She is a much more precise artist than me. I am the ‘abstract’ artist. We grew up around art with our grandmother, who did china painting and other mediums. I was really surprised that my sister wanted to teach me how to do acrylic pours as it is very abstract for her. I really liked acrylic pouring but not as much as Alcohol Inks or Mixed Media art – but what fun acrylic pours are to do. Anyone can do an acrylic pour if they can hold a plastic bottle of acrylic paint, tilt their hand, and pour onto canvas. I love teaching acrylic pouring to see the instant results that students see as they are doing beautiful art!
My Sister Mary Teaching Acrylic Pour Class
WHAT IS ACRYLIC POURING?
Acrylic pouring is an art technique where artists pour fluid acrylic paints on a surface creating art that is abstract. Acrylic pouring is a “fluid art” as is alcohol ink. I will not get into instructions for acrylic pouring at this time, but I encourage you to watch videos on YouTube. There are some excellent teachers on YouTube:
These are a few of my favorite videos on YouTube:
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Tiktus Color Art
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Art by Susan King
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Wiggiz Art
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Carol’s Art Room
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Mixed Media Girl and
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My ModerntMet.
TIPS FOR DOING ACRYLIC POURS:
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Purchase acrylic paint and canvas at Walmart or Michaels at first. Use the coupons at Michaels. They often have sales on canvas and acrylic paints. I’ve been surprised that Walmart has a good selection. Do not purchase expensive paints until you figure out if you like to do the pours.
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It is very messy – wear old clothes, plastic gloves, on a well-covered surface – in a safe place to get messy!
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When you do a pour – keep it simple to several colors that are complementary to each other. Three to four colors at the most is all you need. Use white as one of your colors in your initial pours – it will make a difference in your results as you do not want to make “mud” or have your painting be too dark. You can purchase a ‘color wheel’ online for a few dollars in case you are not sure of complementary colors.
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Have a good supply of sponge brushes, purified water, small plastic beverage cups and wood craft sticks and small plastic squeeze bottles. I save yogurt cups to use in the acrylic pours, they are perfect size.
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Purchase at least a small supply of mixing medium at Lowes or Home Depot. The brand is Floetrol.
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Start with a dirty pour or a flip cup technique. Do the other techniques later. Start easy and be happy.
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Follow the directions on YouTube videos on how to mix your acrylic ink with the mixing medium. Later you can design your own.
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As you watch the various YouTube videos on Acrylic Pouring, make notes that you can use later. I have a notebook for each type of medium that I learn on YouTube.