Thanks for joining me! I hope you find something here that helps you as we learn new things together.
I have an idea for my first post to be about my adventure with acrylic paint pours. Right now they are all the rage on u-tube and Pinterest. I have watched about 50 different pours and techniques that people use. I like the flip cup method the best but I have tried several different ways also. I think every one has heard about the pinterest fails, I have had a few u-tube fails. It is funny that my very first attempt was probably one of my best. The next few help me to understanding the term ‘repainting’. I love it when you watch people on the videos they make it look so effortless, it is really not that easy. To me the prep work and getting things prepared before you even pour the paint is the part that needs to be shown in a 30 minute stand alone video. The first video should be about 30 minutes on how to prepare all the paints and flotrol and water, then the next video should follow with how to pour it in the cup and flip it and swirl on canvas. The actual doing is the easy 10 minute part. LOL!
I have found that when you mix the flotrol, paint and water it does have to be mixed correctly to allow the paint to stick to the canvas. I tried to just guesstimate the proper amount on the first few I did (probably why I had to repaint). I thought, I have painted before so it can just make it look like theirs. Not true. The mixture works best when you use actual measure cups and mix with 50% flotrol, 30% paint and 20% water. I have premixed up a few colors that I use a lot and just close the bottles when I am done and they will be ok to use the next pour. Just be sure to remix them very well. Some of the paints that are used seem thicker that others. If the paint seems thick after mixing, I will add a little bit more of the floral and a tiny bit of water. If you add just the water it seems to get to thin.
The next thing that has helped me is to make sure to prep the canvas. I can not stress this enough. I have skimped on this part and the canvas shows thru the paint because of the lack of coverage. It make the whole painting look bad. So please pour extra white or black depending on the color painting your doing. Put a thin coat on the whole canvas even the side and corners. When you are ready to start, mix each color paint with the formula 50% floral, 30% paint, 20% water in individual cups. I use the small little bathroom size cups to mix these. You will not need to much of each color for smaller canvas. I will do more colors for larger canvas and still mix this size cup just more of them. Mix each color well, making sure to get all paint from bottom and sides of the cup. Get a larger cup to get thing started. This is the process I was talking about that takes the longest. All this pre work and mixing and measuring and picking the colors takes a long time but it is necessary to make great art.
Take the larger cup and slowly pour about 1/3 of each small cup into the larger cup decide the order you want so the colors look good next to each other. I always start with the color I have put on the canvas as my cover. There are several ways to do this part. You can slightly tilt the large cup to one side and pour in on the side and let them run down the inside of cup on the side or you can pour them directly in the middle, keeping a circle in the middle with each color or you can pour each one in a swirling pattern to allow the colors to overlap each other. The way you pour it in will effect the look of each pour to some degree. I have done it all three ways and I prefer to pour them into the center of cup each time. Play around and experiment to find your favorite way. Once the first 1/3 is poured in repeat in the same order 2 more times. On the last time make sure to get all the paint from the cups. After they are all in the large cup let it sit for a minute. Then pick up the cup and take the canvas and put it onto of the top of the cup and flip the cup and canvas at the small time to keep the paint in the cup. Gently sit them on the table keeping the cup secured to the top of the canvas so no paint leaks out from under the cup. Let it sit for a minute, use this time to put a layer or ring of the base color mixture around the outside edge of the cup. This is to help the paint to move easily and allow it to run evenly over the edges to cover the sides.
Now quickly pick up the cup. I sit it aside just in case I need to add to the edges later. Now lightly torch over the top. Do not get to close to the paint and do not hold in one place. Keep moving over the top and only for a swipe or two. You don’t need to do too much, less is more. Pick up the canvas just enough to be able to tilt to move the paint. This is a very slight movement, if you move it too much too fast the paint will move and run off that side and it makes it hard to get it back to other side off the canvas. I usually go slightly to the two farthest side first (meaning if it is a 16×20 do the 20 sides first). Do not try to go all the way to one side and then go back. Go to the left a little bit then to the right and the back to left, continue and every few times I will go up and down to cover the whole canvas. You can also do small slow circles to move the paint around. I get a little discouraged sometimes because I see something that I love in the paint and it ends up getting mixed up or spread out, that is why you should go slowly with this to try to keep the beautiful ‘happy little things’ that happen. As you get to the edges try not to touch them too much but if you notice small places that doesn’t have paint you can touch the paint that has ran off on the table and then touch the canvas edges to fill in these places. Do not rub these places, just touch them with the paint picked up and let the paint from your finger cover that spot. When you have total coverage on the canvas the you can lightly torch over the top one more time. Leave it alone and let it dry. It can take any where from overnight to 2 days to dry. If you have a small fan to put near it this can help speed up the dry time. Make sure that it is not blowing directly on the paint because the air can move the paint around. After it is dry you can seal the top with an clear acrylic spray if you want but it is not necessary.
I hope this has helped you in some way.
Happy painting!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Shelia’s world today 