An Experiment You Can Do Too!

First, I apologize for being a bit late with my blog. It is Summer which means I have 30 new employees and 14 Summer Reading programs starting across Newfoundland and Labrador, so I’m extremely busy at work. I was hoping to be able to have a blog every Wednesday but with my schedule it’s not possible. These days I’m shooting for one a week at least! I hope!

A little while ago, I thought I would take a break from my usual painting routine and experiment with a new painting technique called Fluid Art – or to some an Acrylic Pour. I was pretty happy with how my first pieces turned out!  It was a bit of a messy business but it was so much fun to try and I think anyone can do it. So, I thought for my blog today I’d share how I created these great little pieces of art using this method and how I adapted the method so that it was kid friendly.

An acrylic pour is simply what it sounds like – pouring acrylic paint to create a piece of art. It requires a mixture of liquids – fluid medium – so that the paint will flow across the canvas (or other surface).

My favourite two pieces from my first experiment with this technique are below. I just love them!

Here’s how I did it!

First I selected the colours I wanted to have in my piece.  I am always mindful that colours do mix together and too much mixing creates what has been termed ‘mud’, so I only chose a few colours that I felt would complement each other. In these I used red, white, gold and a little black! I used my regular brand of paint – Stephenson’s Professional Acrylics; however you can purchase liquid paints or use other acrylic paints for this type of art.

While there are many ways to create this type of art, I found a recipe online which allowed me to use what I had on hand at home. I added 1 tablespoon of the paint colours I chose to a small plastic cup (one cup for each colour you use). Then I added an equal amount (1 tablespoon) of Elmer’s school glue and rubbing alcohol (pouring medium).  This mixture was stirred and was about the same consistency of pancake mix. Since some paints are denser than others, I also added a little water to get the right consistency to some of the colours. It is important to stir well making sure there are no lumps. Once I finished mixing each colour, I then added a drop of WD 40 (which is not mixed through).  After all the colours are mixed, I poured the contents of each of the separate cups into ONE large cup (called a dirty pour). These were not stirred. I then flipped over the large cup onto the canvas. Before flipping, I prepared the canvas by placing it over a container to catch the overflow. I placed the canvas on a regular bakers cooling rack over an aluminum roaster. I allowed the flipped cup to rest for a little bit and then I lifted the cup so that the paint mixture flowed across the canvas creating patterns and mixing together, changing the colours as it flowed. In some cases I had to lift the edges of the canvas and tilt it to make sure the whole canvas was covered. Once my canvas was covered I used a hair dryer at about 6 inches away to add some heat which caused a reaction with the paint and the additives creating little pockets of “cells”. I then left it to dry for approximately 24 hours. Once dried, the canvas was sprayed with a matt medium varnish for protection.

I was so happy with my little experiment I decided to modify my recipe to use with my grandson. Instead of using WD 40 I used a hair product that would do the same job – Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Miraculous Oil.  I also used craft paint from the Dollarama along with the Elmer’s glue and I used water instead of alcohol. My grandson and his friends really had a blast making their own pieces of art. As you can see it is quite messy!

Below are the finished products made by the kids! They are all pretty neat! What do you think? Would you like to try this? There are lots of Youtube tutorials on the Internet to help you! My favouite so far of this type of art (actually I like a lot of her work) is by Stephanie Bergeron from Deliberately Creative who doesn’t use additives in her work! Check her out!

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Artfully yours!
Margie