Amanda VanEver - The Art of Paint Pouring: Tips, Techniques, and Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating Colorful Poured Art in Acrylic

Many surfaces can be used in paint pouring. For the main techniques demonstrated in this book, Ive used canvas and wood surfaces.

CANVAS Canvas was the first surface I painted on. I practiced on basic, economically friendly canvases before trying out higher-quality and professional-grade canvases.

Canvases are sold online and in craft stores and come in different shapes, from squares and rectangles to ovals, circles, half-circles, triangles, and hexagons. I look online when I want a more unusual shape.

Canvases are available with gesso or primer preapplied, so they can be painted on immediately. Professional-grade canvases are sturdy and hold up well to the amount of paint required in fluid art.

IF YOUR CANVAS SAGS IN THE MIDDLE, SPRITZ THE BACK WITH WATER AND LET IT DRY TO TIGHTEN UP

WOOD I find my wood surfaces online, in craft stores, and in home-improvement stores.

I love wood for its versatility. You can buy precut shapes, or you may cut your own. You are not limited by a premade shape or size as with a canvas frame.

Paint pouring is done with acrylic paints and acrylic inks. There are many brands to choose from, but you can use whatever is available in your area. Craft stores carry a wide selection of paint choices; however, if you have trouble finding certain brands or colors, online stores can help you expand your search.

When choosing paint, you will find a lot of information on each tube or jar. Every brand has its own method or representation of brand name, color name, color swatch, batch number, amount in the tube or jar, opacity, and lightfastness. Its helpful to know what the terms opacity and lightfastness mean so that can you select the best type of paint for your poured artwork.

Your intended use for your painting (whether youre just practicing or making a piece to sell) will determine the quality of paint that you want to use. If you are practicing, you can use less expensive craft or student-grade paints. If you are working on a more professional piece, you may want to use artist-grade paints so that your colors will stay bold and vibrant.

OPACITY A paints opacity refers to how much coverage it provides. The more transparent the paint, the less coverage it will give you.

Pouring mediums are added to create a thinner, more fluid paint for pouring art. Mixing too much water into your paint can cause the acrylic bonds to break, and over time your painting can crack or flake, ruining your art.

Pouring mediums keep those acrylic bonds intact. There are many brands available, and for a more cost-friendly resource, you can even use glue or decoupage sealer to extend your paint.

ADDITIVES

One element of poured artwork is cells, or the bubbles and patterns you see. To help form cells, you can use liquid silicone or dimethicone. Many household products containing these ingredients can be found online and in grocery, hardware, and big-box stores. I get good results using hair serums that contain dimethicone. Make sure that silicone or dimethicone is one of the top two or three items on the list of ingredients in whatever product you use for this purpose. For more on creating cells, see .

OTHER ESSENTIALS

Other items that I use on a regular basis include:

Cups for mixing and pouring paint