Give It A Go
Have a go at creating your own acrylic pour art
How To Prepare
When it comes to acrylic and resin painting, I prefer to use boards for my work rather than canvas. I find that using canvas needs a little more preparation.
For instance, the acrylic and resin has a weight to it, and depending on the size of the canvas you're using, if you do not support the back when you pour the medium onto the canvas, it will pool into the middle.
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With boards, you need to ensure that it has been sealed and that there is no dampness in the wood prior to painting.
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If there is a dampness in the wood when you apply the acrylic and resin, it will cause a misting effect when it cures, and you will not get the glass like finish.
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I normally use a wood sealant, giving the board two coats, making sure that the sides of the board has also been coated thoroughly.
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If you are going to mix resin into your acrylic paints you will need to prepare and mix your resin. For this you will need a larger container as you will need to mix enough resin to cover the size of your board or canvas.
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There are a number of different artist resins in the market place, some of which have different ratio mixing instructions. Ensure you read the instructions prior to mixing your resin compounds.
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When mixing, make sure that you mix thoroughly and for at least 3 minutes.
When mixing your acrylic colours you can either use acrylic paint and/or acrylic inks, there is no definitive rule on what you use. However, what you do need to bear in mind, is that if you are using paint and inks together in a mix, because the inks are thinner than the paint, they will give cellular structures without having to add alcohol or resin blast.
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Once you have put your colours into your cups you can either thin down the acrylic with a thinning medium or you can add resin. This will depend on how you are going to finish your painting.
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If you are mixing resin into your paint/inks the flow will not be as fluid as if you were using acrylics with a thinning agent. There will still be a flow, but it could be at a slower pace when it disperses on your board/canvas.
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It is at this point you can decide whether you want to add alcohol or resin blast to all or some of your chosen colours. The amount of alcohol/resin blast you add, will dictate on how much of a cellular structure develops in your painting.
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Prior to starting your work, make sure you are in a dust free room. When you have finished your painting it is best practice to protect it from debris or dust. You can do this by making a plastic sheeted frame that covers your piece.
How To Do AÂ Dirty Pour
There are a number of ways of doing a dirty pour, and here I explain some of them.
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You will have already prepared your chosen colours with or without resin into their separate cups.
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You will now need a larger cup to put your pours into. Start by pouring some of the paint mixes into your large pot, one by one.
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Keep repeating this until you have enough to cover your board/canvas.
You will notice that as you pour each colour into the pot, they will start to intermingle.
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You now have to decide on how you are going to apply that dirty mix to your board/canvas.
There are a number of ways of doing this, you can just tilt the cup and pour the liquid randomly around the canvas. You can turn the cup upside down onto your board/canvas and then slowly drag the cup and contents around the board, lifting the cup slightly as you do so.
Another way is to turn the cup upside down on the board and leave it there for a number of minutes. Once it has been there for two or three minutes, lift it off. The contents will have thoroughly mixed together inside the cup prior to you lifting and so will give a different effect than if you had dragged the cup over the board, as the pour will be concentrated in one area.
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Experiment, try different methods, each pour will give you different effects, not only in the flows but also in the cell structure as you work the painting.
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Dirty pours are one way of applying paint to your board. There are other methods, you can apply colours separately, you can drag, use a heat gun, hair dryer, straws, string, to name but a few.
How To Finish
Depending on how you mixed your acrylic paints will depend on how you finish off your piece.
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If you have used acrylics without resin then you will need to finish it off by applying a layer of resin over the piece.
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If you have used resin with your paints, you will already have a gloss over your painting, however, you can, if you wish apply another coat.
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Once the painting is finished, it will take 24 hours to cure. During this time you will need to protect your painting from dust or debris. Fixing a frame over the painting with a plastic cover will protect it.