The last thing we want to you to consider when working with a butane torch or heat gun is on your safety. Anytime you are using a product that creates heat or flame, we recommend you take some simple safety precautions.
Realistic depiction of fire in an acrylic painting
a church exploding into flames, blue sky with clouds, digital art
A house on fire. A man’s big crying face in the lower right corner of the screen.
color photo from the 80s, the shelling of a house in New York by Soviet soldiers, epic style, a bunch of explosions, realistic style
Firefighters responding to a house fire, painted by Thomas Kinkade, 4k, hyper detailed.
realistic painting of a house in vermont on fire
1 9 7 0 s movie still of a burning house in a pine forest, cinestill 8 0 0 t 3 5 mm, high quality. [more]
Beautiful surreal oil painting of a burning old red house, the flames turn into flying flower petals, by Sergei Aparin,
a beautiful hyperrealistic ultradetailed 3D render of a burning house, by brian sum and stephan m. [more]
a small barn engulfed in flames in the style of Monet
Firefighters responding to a house fire, painted by Thomas Kinkade, 4k, hyper detailed, trending on artstation.
realistic photo of jesse bodwell ’ s new house in vermont on fire
1 9 7 0 s movie still of a heavy burning house in a small french village, cinestill 8 0 0 t 3 5 mm, heavy grain, high quality, high detail, dramatic light, anamorphic, flares
house on fire, drawn in microsoft paint
a movie still from ‘A Goose Set my House on Fire’, 40mm tape, technicolour film, goose in foreground, housefire, letterboxing, widescreen
Why Use a Torch for Acrylic Pouring?
There are a few reasons why you might need a torch for acrylic pouring. A more robust answer to this question can also be here in our article Why Do You Torch Acrylic Pours? Best Torch for Acrylic Paint Pours
Pop Air Bubbles
The first, and probably most important reason, is to pop any bubbles that form. The nature of mixing paints in a liquid form and pouring them onto a surface creates situations where air gets trapped in the paint.
Many air bubbles will pop naturally as the paint dries. Some of them, however, will not and this will lead to small pinholes appearing in your painting. These will accumulate dust and debris over and in our opinion are not very attractive.
Create Cells
Another major reason to use a heating device is the break the surface tension of the paint and allow cells to form more readily. Cells are created when the different colors of paint rise and drop based on their individual weight and densities.
For a more in-depth explanation about cells in acrylic paint ours please refer to our article Acrylic Pour Cells: Everything You Need to Know.
If you are getting spots where you canvas shows through on your acrylic pour here are 3 Ways to Prevent Bare Spots on Your Acrylic Pour.
Different Types of Torches
You have a few different choices when it comes to heating sources for acrylic paint pouring including a butane torch, a stick torch, and a hot air gun. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks.
Butane Torch
The butane torch is by far the most common of the heating devices we see for fluid acrylic pouring. These are hand-held, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain.
- Gas Type – The most common gate type for crafting torches is butane. Butane is less toxic than propane and is more efficient. Not to mention burning butane only produces carbon dioxide instead of the more harmful carbon monoxide like propane.
- Igniter – This is the button that creates the spark to ignite the flame. This button should be easy to push but not too easy that it can accidentally ignite. Most of these buttons are the back of the device convenient to where your thumb would be.
- Flame Intensity – The higher-end torches allow you to select the level of the flame intensity (weak or strong). This is convenient when working on different size projects. Acrylic paint can scorch so don’t get any size of flame too close or leave it for too long.
- Handle – The handle is where you hold the torch. Most handles are small cylinders that have a butane tank inside. This should fit well in your hand, have enough grip to keep it secure, and feel comfortable. Having the other features conveniently located for one-hand use is also a plus.
- Stand – When you aren’t using your torch, we recommend you keep it upright so there is no chance of any gas leakage. A stand or a platform at the bottom of the torch handle is convenient for this purpose.
- Flame Area – Similar to the flame intensity, the area that the flame covers is very important. The valve on the end of the torch determines how much flame is produced along with the intensity level guide. Larger openings all the torches to cover more surface area and heat up the paint more quickly. This is very convenient for larger paintings.
- Safety – Almost all torches come with a safety switch that must be pressed or pushed before the gas can be released. This is the number one feature I would for in a torch. No one wants rogue gas or flame in their home or studio.
- Refill Ability – The last consideration is if the torch is refillable or not. Most torches can be refilled by turning the torch upside down and inserting a refill container into the opening at the bottom. Additional instructions on refilling should be provided with the torch.
When selecting your butane torch, you will want to check on how the torch works in each of these categories. A torch without a safety shouldn’t be considered while one with a flame intensity lever may or may not be a requirement.
Stick Torch
A stick torch is a handheld flame device commonly used to start a grill, fireplace, or candle. These are generally not refillable. These can be used in a pinch to pop bubbles but because the flame is so small and not very intense, they don’t work very well for acrylic pouring applications otherwise.
Hot Air Gun
Over the last few weeks, we have seen several acrylic pour artists on YouTube take up the use of a hot air gun for their fluid pour projects. You can definitely use a heat gun instead of a torch for acrylic pouring.
- Power – Many hot air guns come with a setting to choose the power, temperature, or wattage. This setting allows the user to change the amount of heat being produced by regulating the power/wattage. For acrylic pour artists, you do not want very much heat so a low setting like 300watts or 150 – 200’ Fahrenheit.
- Recommended Use Time – Many hot air guns have a limit to how long you should use them at any one time to make sure the tip and the heating elements don’t get too hot. Luckily for us pouring artists, we don’t usually use the heating devices for more than a few minutes.
- Blower Intensity – Some of the high-end guns allow you to control how hard the air is blowing through the heating device. This is very beneficial for paint pouring as we generally don’t want to push our paint around, only pop the bubbles and promote cell formations.
- On/Off Switch – Kind of a no brainer here but having an on/off button instead of needing to plug and unplug the device is almost a must.
Our recommendation is to find a heat gun that is low power, at least for a heating device, and that doesn’t blow too hard. We don’t want the blowing to move our paint. We really want it to help heat up the surface of the paint and to allow the oils and less dense paints to rise to the top and create cells.
Top Recommended Torches
We have broken our recommendations down into three categories; Small and Cheap, Large Screw On, and Mini Hot Air Gun.
Small and Cheap
Sondiko Butane Torch
This category is dedicated to those artists that want a simple and small torch. The Sondiko Butane Torch is a great option for the beginning acrylic paint pour artist. It is a comfortable hand size, has most of the features we mentioned above, and gets great reviews on Amazon.
Large Screw On
FunOwlet Screw On Butane Torch
For those of you looking for a little more flame or who work on bigger painting surfaces you’ll want a larger head on your torch. The best torch for acrylic pour painting on larger surfaces is the Butane Torch by FunOwlet.
Rather than refilling the torch from a canister, this torch screws directly on to the canister of butane. In addition, the torch heat is much larger and can heat a much greater surface area which can be a real time saver.
Mini Hot Air Gun
ZeopoCase Mini Hot Air Stick
The last of our torches for acrylic pouring isn’t really a torch. The ZeopoCase Mini Hot Air Gun is a small hand-held hot air gun, otherwise known as a heat pen, that has just the right amount of heat and air flow for fluid acrylic art.
This hot air device is generally used for embossing or to heat shrink wrap. It also comes with a 100% 12-month money-back guarantee so if you don’t like it, you are only out a little bit of your time. The one downside is it only has a 36” cable. For those of you that need a little longer chord to work with try the Abunro Heating Tool with its 6’6” cable.
Hue Bliss: Color & Art notes by Karen Gillis Taylor
Would you be surprised to realize there are so many ways an artist can paint fire? It has been an essential element for human use for thousands of years. Maybe that’s why these four elements of water, air, earth and fire touch a chord in our being, and why artists paint them. The tiny hint of flame is barely seen here in the center of G. van Honthorst’s The Matchmaker composition, yet it commands the focal point, illuminates the lady, and back lights the gentleman in the dark foreground.
St Joseph, Georges de la Tour, 1642
In the 1600’s, painting effects of candlelight became very popular. The La Tour painting named St. Joseph is also called Christ in the Carpenter’s Shop. Candle light mood is soft, warm and comforting.
The El, New York, 1894 (oil on canvas) by Childe Hassam,(1859-1935)
Gaslight is flame. In the late 1800’s, America was lighting up the night with gas street lights seen in this evening cityscape by painter Childe Hassam. He was an American Impressionist, very prolific at that, producing over 3000 paintings, and other media works in his lifetime. (Wow.) I relate to him, because he began his career as a children’s stories illustrator, like I did, and later painted cityscapes, like I do. After those similarities, he and I part ways. But I’m now interested to know more about him.
Chief Niwot’s Encampment at the Creek, Karen Gillis Taylor, detail, 2012, acrylic
Meanwhile, in the mid 1800’s, the Arapaho plains tribes built their campfires in Colorado. Fire was an important part of everyday life, and I enjoyed portraying this peaceful scene. The rosy colors in the upper left background echo the foreground campfire warmth. Is there another encampment just over the hill? What kind of fire might be back there?
Lava Flow, Karen Gillis Taylor, color sketch for abstract painting, 2013
It’s the modern era, and fire comes in many forms. In Colorado we know only too well of nature’s forest fires started by lightning in the dry seasons. This color sketch, Lava Flow, for a new abstract painting is about another side of nature, erupting volcanoes in the Pacific islands. Fire is like the other 3 elements an artist might contemplate as incredibly interesting subject matter to paint. It’s both comfortably warming and terribly frightening.
When we consider how the 4 powerful elements of nature humble we humans, it can be mind boggling. And also tremendously beautiful and fascinating.
This subject might be a good starting point for creating images of wonder and challenge. Which of the four elements do you find the most fascinating?
Candle in Espresso Cup, oil on board, Karen Gillis Taylor, 2005
Seeing my two very different painting approaches side by side brings to mind a question:
Should an artist paint in two different genres, the abstract and the realistic? Upcoming blog post is in the works…
