By ShowMeStepByStepPublished Updated
Based on a video by Kristen // k.becca.
Acrylic pouring looks like it needs a shelf of specialist supplies. It does not. Kristen from KBecca mixes her own pouring medium from white glue and water, and uses ordinary craft paint from whatever brand is on sale.
The one number worth remembering is the consistency: buttermilk. Thinner and the colours vanish into each other, thicker and they will not move when you tilt the panel. Everything else about a pour is deliberately out of your control, which is most of the fun.
10 steps · about 10 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Acrylic pouring is messy by design, so protect the surface first with a bin bag, drop cloth or old newspaper.
Sit a shallow tray underneath the work as well. It catches the run-off and makes packing away far quicker.
Tip
Trays come in packs of two cheaply. Worth it if you do not have a dedicated space for this.
Ordinary craft acrylic is all you need. Folk Art, Americana, Apple Barrel and Craft Smart all pour well.
There is no meaningful difference in the results, so buy on price and pick colours you actually like together.
Rather than buying a dedicated pouring medium, mix your own from white school glue and water.
It behaves the same for a fraction of the cost, which matters because a pour uses a surprising amount of it.
Tip
Distilled water is the purist choice, but tap water works fine unless you want the piece to last decades.
Fill your bottle to the 4 ounce mark with glue, then top it up to the 8 ounce mark with water.
Cap it and shake until there are no streaks. Make more than you think you need - every colour draws on it.
Pour each colour into its own cup and stir the medium in with a wooden craft stick.
Popsicle sticks, wooden skewers or plastic spoons all do the same job, so use whatever you have.
Keep adding medium until the paint runs like buttermilk off the stick.
It usually lands close to a one-to-one ratio of paint to medium, but go by how it flows rather than the measurement.
Tip
This is the step that decides whether the pour works. Too thick and nothing moves when you tilt.
Set your canvas panel on four shot glasses, one at each corner, inside the tray.
Lifting it clear lets the paint run off all four edges instead of pooling underneath and gluing the panel down.
Pour the colours straight onto the panel. There are as many pouring patterns as there are painters - stripes, puddles, a dirty pour from one cup.
For a first attempt just lay the colours on beside each other and see what happens.
Lift the panel and tip it so the paint starts travelling. Work it toward each corner in turn until the whole surface is covered.
You never fully control a pour. You steer it, and the paint does the rest.
Tip
Paint runs off the edges quickly once you start tilting, so keep the tray underneath and do not chase every gap.
Spray isopropyl alcohol over any bubbles you can see. It pops them and leaves extra texture where it hits the wet paint.
If you would rather not have that effect, spray the alcohol into the air above the piece instead and let it settle.
Keep going
How to Paint a Lighthouse in Acrylics
Liquitex
Liquitex BASICS Acrylic Paint Set (24 tubes)
Artist-grade pigment at student pricing, buttery enough to blend and thick enough to hold a stroke. The set most acrylic painters start on.
Benicci
Benicci 16-Piece Artist Brush Set
Every shape you actually reach for (round, flat, filbert, liner, fan) in nylon that keeps its point and does not shed. Comes with a palette knife and case.
FIXSMITH
FIXSMITH 8" x 10" Stretched Canvas (12-pack)
Pre-primed cotton canvases in a bulk pack so you can just start painting. The low-stakes surface for practicing before the big piece.
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Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.What can you use instead of a bought pouring medium?
Answer: White school glue and water
It behaves the same as the bought stuff at a fraction of the cost.
2.What is the glue-to-water ratio for the homemade medium?
Answer: Four parts glue to four parts water
Fill the bottle to 4 ounces with glue, then top up to the 8 ounce mark.
3.How should the thinned paint flow off the stick?
Answer: Like buttermilk
Go by how it flows rather than by the measured ratio.
4.Why raise the panel on shot glasses?
Answer: So paint runs off all four edges
Paint pooling underneath glues the panel down to the tray.
5.What does spraying isopropyl alcohol on a wet pour do?
Answer: Pops bubbles and leaves texture
Spray it into the air above instead if you would rather skip the cell effect.
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