These spots tend to happen more often on the outside edges of a pour because that is where the oil is most likely to tilt of the top of the paint puddle and because that is where the paint on top is going to be thinnest.
Painting On Top of Acrylic Pour For Beautiful Embellished Artwork
Are you looking for a new way to add depth and texture to your acrylic paintings? Have you considered painting on top of an acrylic pour? This technique involves pouring layers of acrylic paint onto a canvas and then manipulating the paint to create unique patterns and designs. Once the pour has dried, you can add additional layers of paint on top to create a finished piece.
One of the benefits of painting on top of an acrylic pour is the added dimension it provides. The layers of paint in the pour create a background surface that can be enhanced with additional layers of paint. This technique also allows for a lot of experimentation and creativity, as the pour itself can be manipulated in many different ways to create a variety of effects. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced painter, painting on top of an acrylic pour can be a fun and rewarding way to add interest to your work. The end result is a surreal dream world of your own creation.
In this article, we will look at how to paint on acrylic pour to create a beautiful piece of artwork for your home or office.
How Do I Begin Painting On Top of an Acrylic Pour?
First, you need to ensure that you have an acrylic pour painting background completed and that this background surface is clean and protected before you start painting over it.
Creating the Background
To start painting on top of an acrylic pour, you obviously must already have a finished, dried Acrylic Pour painting in the colors you want to use as the background for your artwork.
You can create an acrylic pour background using any technique you want. Here are 11 Acrylic Pouring Techniques for Beginners that you can try. A little further down this post I will also give you some ideas for creating some acrylic pouring backgrounds.
Choosing the right background for your project should be at the top of your priority list. You want to use colors and patterns that complement the embellishments that will be drawn on top so you can have a cohesive piece.
You can experiment with different color schemes and different techniques to assist you to create the style you desire for your background after you feel comfortable working with the resources you are utilizing. Keep in mind to enjoy yourself and the process!
Before you start painting on top of an acrylic pour, it is essential to prepare the surface properly. Preparing the surface will ensure that your painting adheres well, that it doesn’t crack, and lasts longer. Here are the steps you need to follow to prepare the surface for painting:
Cleaning the Canvas
The first step in preparing the surface is to clean the canvas. You need to remove any dust, dirt, or debris that might be on the surface. Here’s how you can clean your canvas:
- Wipe the surface with a damp cloth to remove any dust or debris.
- Let the canvas dry completely before moving on to the next step.
Preparing the Surface
The pour painting background you created has to be properly sealed with an isolation coat before you start painting over it to make sure that your artwork lasts longer and it doesn’t crack when painting over it.
An solation coat is essentially a coat of acrylic spray varnish, mod podge, or gel medium, placed between the dried acrylic pour painting and the liquid varnish or any other element that is added on top of the acrylic pour painting. It creates the barrier between the pour painting and the elements you add on top.
If you are using an acrylic spray varnish, then just apply the varnish as listed in the instructions of the product.
If you are using Modpodge, you can just apply it straight from the bottle with the help of a sponge or brush.
If you want to use gel medium, then mix 2 parts of gel medium with 1 part water. Then apply a thin layer of this mix onto your painting surface using a brush or a sponge.
Let your isolation coat dry completely before you start painting over it.
Materials for Painting on Top of Acrylic Pour
You can technically use anything you’d like to paint over your acrylic pours, however, most artists use a variety of colorful acrylic markers or just regular acrylic paint and a brush.
Markers are used to create and draw shapes on the acrylic pour.
Use brushes and brush paints to add color and designs to an acrylic pour painting.
What is Acrylic Expression Pouring?
Acrylic pouring is a fantastic fluid painting technique used to create art. It is accomplished by pouring acrylic high pigmented paints mixed with conditioners designed to increase the flow and lower the paint viscosity of heavy body acrylics. I premix my colors in batches and pour them directly onto a stretched canvas.
Adding silicon oils to acrylic paints allows hundreds of abstract bubbles to develop and become “cells”. The oils float to the top due to different densities and buoyancy of the paints and create unique patterns and abstract designs. I love how this method of painting creates unique abstract designs close up and completely different from far away.
I’ve taken basic acrylic pouring and invented my own unique way to create original art using this medium. I call this new technique “expressionist pouring”. The name combines two well known techniques of painting: I use acrylic pouring as a medium to create expressionistic paintings.
I pour my paints slowly and carefully while using various techniques and adaptations with different values of control. My favorite method of expressionistic pouring is using spoons to SCOOP the fluid acrylics onto the canvas.
My works are poured in 1-3 layers, depending on the content and difficulty. Drying time between layers usually take up to three days; layers allow me to build up my pours and create finished pieces with intricate pours in top of one another.
Why do Oils in Acrylic Pours Cause Bare Spots?
Oil additives are used in acrylic pours to help cells form. These cells are created when the lighter and less dense oils rise through the layers of paints and pull some of the colors with them creating multicolor blobs on the surface of the painting.
The problems start to happen on the outside of a pour where the paints are getting thinner as you have tilted off more paint. The oils gather on top of the puddles of paint. When you are tilting the paint flows over each other as you see in the picture below.
Ultimately the oil on top falls off the side of the puddle and meets the canvas before the paint does. The paint on top is then thinned as the paint is tilted off the canvas.
The oil that has touched the canvas sticks to the canvas and as the paint on top of it gets thinner it repels the paint away from the drop of oil. This causes there to be no paint on top of the oil and because the oil is transparent you see all the way down to the bare canvas.
These spots tend to happen more often on the outside edges of a pour because that is where the oil is most likely to tilt of the top of the paint puddle and because that is where the paint on top is going to be thinnest.
Hello, I’m David. I am a Computer Technologist by trade and I have always envied artistic people. For years I have been enchanted with all the amazing acrylic paint pours I see on social media. Come to find out, even a left-brained nerd like myself can create beautiful artwork with fluid acrylic pouring. I created this website to chronicle all the things I’ve learned on my pouring journey.
