Amanda VanEver - The Art of Paint Pouring: Swipe, Swirl & Spin: 50+ tips, techniques, and step-by-step exercises for creating colorful fluid art

CANVAS I use canvas or wood for most of the techniques demonstrated in this book. Canvas can be found online and in any craft store.

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

WOOD In addition to canvas, I also enjoy painting on wood surfaces. I find wood surfaces online, in craft stores, and at home-improvement stores. I like wood surfaces for their sturdiness and the large variety of shapes and sizes that they come in. You can use basic shapes like circles or squares, or find special shapes ranging from holiday-themed pieces to letters and numbers.

I use acrylic paints. There are many brands to choose from; you can use whatever is available in your area, at craft stores, and online.

I LIKE TO USE ACRYLIC PAINTS, BUT OTHER MEDIUMS, INCLUDING ACRYLIC INKS AND GEL STAINS, CAN BE USED AS WELL. A LOT OF MY LEARNING COMES THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR. TRY VARIOUS PAINTS AND MEDIUMS TO SEE HOW THEY TURN OUT.

Paint tubes and jars feature a lot of useful information. Each brand has its own method or representation of brand name, color name, color swatch, batch number, paint amount, opacity, and lightfastness.

OPACITY The opacity of a paint determines how much coverage that paint will provide. The more transparent the paint, the less it covers. Each brand labels its paint according to opacity, and you can use this information when choosing colors to use in your paint pouring.

Pouring mediums, which can be found online and in craft stores, are added to paint to create a thinner, more fluid paint used for poured artwork. Self-leveling and helpful for creating even coverage on your canvas, they can also reduce the appearance of brushstrokes if you use a paintbrush or palette knife in your work. In addition, they can make the paint take longer to dry, which extends the amount of time you have to work with your fluid art.

Mixing too much water with your paint can cause the acrylic bonds to break, and over time, your painting may crack or flake, ruining your art. Pouring mediums keep those acrylic bonds intact.

In this book, I use a variety of pouring mediums so that you can see examples of the available mediums and how each one dries.

PAINT CONDITIONERS OR PAINT EXTENDERS

Paint conditioners or paint extenders can be found in home-improvement stores. They are mostly used with house paint, but they can also be added to acrylics to create the right consistency for pouring without breaking the paint bonds. Like pouring mediums, paint extenders help create a smooth, level finish while extending the amount of time you have to work with your paint.

GLUE Craft and home-improvement stores carry a variety of glue types that can be used instead of or in addition to other pouring mediums.

YOU CAN USE DIFFERENT RATIOS OF POURING MEDIUM, GLUE, AND WATER TO CREATE THE THICKNESS THAT YOU PREFER FOR PAINT POURING.