This site is owned and operated by Marc Spagnuolo. ArtWithMarc.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site also participates in affiliate programs with DickBlick, Arteza, Skillshare, ShareASale, Adobe, Ecwid, and many other sites as well. ArtWithMarc.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.
Common Acrylic Pouring Problems You May Encounter
When you first start doing your acrylic pouring, there are a number of common problems you are likely to encounter with your pours. I very quickly learned about cracking and crazing. The importance of getting your mixtures right and some of the things that can happen when you don’t. Let us take a look at the many acrylic pour problems I have already encountered and see if we can figure out some ways to avoid them.
Ensure You Have a Level Surface
Many of my first pours started off looking great. Then as they dried I would come back later to find that all the paint has pooled to one side or another or flowed off the canvas at one specific point.
This causes an effect like what you see in this picture where you get a pinched side. This is very clearly caused by not making sure my canvas was level. The right side was just a bit lower than it needed to be. To solve this, you can easily download a level application for your smartphone and use that to help make sure the canvas is level. This is what I do. Sometimes this can be awkward to do using your phone though so it may be better to just get a small level that you can rest easily on the canvas.
I probably will get something like one of these to add to my acrylic pouring tools soon. Plus it can then be used to make sure my paintings are level when I hang them.
Related Articles:
- How To Do an Acrylic Pour
- Acrylic Paint Pouring Techniques To Try
- Blue and Red don’t ALWAYS Make Purple! (How To Mix Purple)
- What Makes a Good Abstract Painting? The Principles of Art
- The Things You Can Wash Acrylic Paint Off Of (A Quick Guide)
What is crazing in acrylic pouring?
If you’ve been working your way through my content you may have seen me mention crazing a few times now. But… what is crazing when it comes to acrylic pouring?
Here you see an example of crazing. It can be pretty disappointing to see what appears to be a great pour at first only to come back and check on it in the drying process and see these valleys and dips starting to form in the paint.
Crazing is these valley formations you get when the paint is drying and the polymers begin to break. This can be caused by a bad mix with your pouring medium or possibly even the medium itself.
It can also happen when the paint on top is drying faster than the paint underneath it. Causing the top layer to stretch and rip as the layers beneath begin to dry.
You can even get crazing when you’re glazing your piece. That’s fun to say, crazing when your glazing…
Anyways, in this piece here you can see numerous mistakes. This one is another example of how my canvas wasn’t level causing the paint to flow off the bottom right corner.
Despite that, I wanted to try adding a glaze to it. I figured since it was already messed up I would use it for my first attempt at glazing. Which turned out to be a good idea cause I got crazing in my glazing! Haha
It is a little difficult to see from this angle but there are all kinds of unwanted artifacts in this piece.
There is cracking AND crazing. My canvas was uneven. The way some of the paint runs together and stretches out indicates my mixtures weren’t right AND I didn’t use enough paint.
Ok, enough digression, back to crazing. Basically, if you are getting crazing from your pours just know they result from one of two things. Either your paint mixture was too thin or you had too much paint on the canvas.
So you will want to experiment with your mixtures and the amount of paint you’re leaving on the canvas as well.
Getting that Goldilocks factor in your paint mixtures and the amount of paint you use to cover your canvas is key.
When it comes to crazing when you’re glazing, I’m not sure yet but I think that may have been a result of using too much glaze at once. I haven’t quite mastered the finishing processes yet and will need to do a very thorough article on it.
The Problem With Using Thumb Tacks
I saw one of the artists I follow on YouTube using tacks in the back of his framed canvas to keep his painting off the table. I thought “oh that’s a great idea, let me try that”.
There are a couple of problems with this method I have been having that you should be aware of before you go and try it too.
First off, it is hard to ensure they are all pushed in the same amount allowing the canvas to be level. You’ve now seen in the pictures above what sort of problems that can cause.
Not ideal or great if your goal is similar to mine in that you want to get high-quality results.
Second, I have had them fall out before while tipping the canvas back and forth and trying to let the paint spread across the canvas.
Needless to say, this causes a real problem at the moment on what to do with the canvas to ensure you don’t lose whatever is going on with the paint while you try to find something to prop it up on.
The last time this happened to me I had to pull all of the pins out while trying to maintain the cool effects I was getting with the paint. Then I had to set up another drip tray with medicine cups flipped upside down to place the canvas onto.
Luckily I was able to make it happen and not totally ruin the work.
Understanding Basic Color Theory
When you first start pouring you will want to look up some basic color theory.
Learn about complementary colors. Learn about analogous colors.
Here are a few examples of complementary colors to get you started.
This will help you choose good color combinations and avoid a muddy outcome.
Another great tool to use as well is the website Coolors.co. It is great for generating random color schemes that work well together.
While this tool is really most useful for my digital artists out there it can help give you some ideas of some colors to go with as well. Especially if you are having trouble deciding.
Let Your Pour Dry Completely
I have made the mistake of trying to move my painting before it is totally dry more than once.
This is a good way to end up with a fingerprint in the painting or something getting messed up.
After reading up on cracking and crazing I’m sure moving the painting before the paint is dry can contribute to potentially generating these unwanted effects.
It is also important to let your painting properly dry and cure before you apply any sort of finishing coat to it. This might be one reason why my glazing didn’t come out right on that painting above.
I may not have waited long enough for all of the potential moisture in the paint to evaporate completely.
Hey there! Thanks for reading my article! I’m Marc the creator of this website. I’m a growing artist and web creator seeking to share what I’m learning in the hopes that it helps someone out there like you. I hope you found this information useful. If you’re interested in learning more about me and my story click on my name or on my picture!
Related Articles
For a while now I have been wanting to dive into all the various acrylic paint pouring techniques there are out there to try. There are so many that I haven’t explored yet! When we are talking.
Learning how to do an acrylic pour can be a great way for any beginner to make great art pieces right out the gate! Getting great results can take a bit of trial and error but I’m going to help.
About Marc
Hey there! I’m Marc. Welcome to my site! I’m a developing artist constantly looking to push the boundaries of my skills and documenting the process as I go. My goal with this site is to share what I learn as I learn it so that others out there can grow with me. Ultimately I’m focused on learning what I have begun to call the three M’s of the art world. Those are how to Make, Market, and Monetize your artwork. If you explore this site you’ll notice I’ve covered a variety of art styles and disciplines over the years. I’ve recently decided that I need to hone in my focus on doing only abstract art for a while. So going forward from here I will create a ton of content on how to Make, Market, and Monetize specifically abstract art. Perhaps once I establish myself as an abstract artist we will expand and branch out from there.
Click Here For More About Me
Acrylic Pouring Frames
Acrylic Pouring is a unique fluid painting technique commonly used to create one of a kind, eye-catching works of art. Not only are the outcomes truly one of a kind, but the process is also therapeutic, as well as relaxing.
The best part? This painting technique is simple, making it a fun craft for the entire family!
What Exactly is Acrylic Pouring?
Acrylic Pouring, as mentioned above, is a fluid pouring painting technique. In this unique painting style, you mix many different colored acrylic paints with a pouring medium and place each color into one cup. Once the desired colors are inside of the cup, you pour the cup of paints onto the surface of the frame being painted.
After pouring the paint, tilting the frame will disperse the colors onto any bare areas. Tilting the frame will give you a substantial amount of control as to where the different colors spread out.
One of the many reasons this technique is adored by so many is that you do not have to be an overly artistic person or a professional artist to achieve a stunning masterpiece. Absolutely anyone is fully capable of performing a successful Acrylic Pour paint job.
What is a Pouring Medium?
A pouring medium is a substance that is added to acrylic paints to thin them out, thus allowing the paints to flow out smoothly and freely. Pouring mediums not only dilute your paint but also work as a binder. Mediums also help the paints act more uniformly, causing the paints to be less likely to mix.
Another fantastic benefit of using a pouring medium is that after the drying process is complete, the medium will protect the painted frame’s appearance. Mediums help the paints avoid any paint cracking, fading, or separating. These mediums come in both glossy and matte/standard finishes.
Essentially pouring mediums allow you to turn any acrylic paint into a pourable, fluid art paint. They also allow your end piece of art to last for an extensive period of time.
What is Used as a Pouring Medium?
It may feel a bit overwhelming when trying to choose the correct pouring medium for your new project since there’s an abundance of options available. The choice will inevitably come down to how experienced you are in this field, as well as your budget.
If you are an average or a beginner artist, using the product “Floetrol” is the best option. Floetrol comes in a variety of different volumes and comes ready to be mixed into paints.
For professional artists that would like to achieve a perfect and well-rounded medium, using Liquitex Pouring Medium or Floetrol is the best choice.
Another option would be using “Elmer’s Glue-All” mixed with distilled water. When creating your own pouring medium, we recommend using a 50/50 solution to achieve the best final results.
When using multiple brands of paint, the consistency of each painting may differ slightly. The general rule for mixing a medium with acrylic paints is half medium and half paint. However, in certain types or different paint brands, you may need a bit more or a bit less. Once the paints have developed a nice, creamy texture that isn’t excessively runny, they are ready to be poured.
What Brand of Paint Should be Used?
The most important aspect of achieving an Acrylic Pour is having the correct consistency for each painting. Many art supplies stores have acrylic paints specifically for the Acrylic Pour technique that is already premixed with a pouring medium. The use of premixed paints is highly recommended since they do not utilize an additional pouring medium. Not having to add in a pouring medium will inevitably save you time and money.
If adding in a pouring medium is not an issue for you, using the Apple Barrel brand paints may be the best option. Apple Barrel paints are highly pigmented and are extremely cost-friendly.
How Many Colors Should be Used?
If this is your first Acrylic Pour attempt, using 3 different colors and white paint is recommended to ensure the best results. This amount of paints should be enough to allow you to achieve a beautiful, unique appearance without creating an overcrowded effect.
When first attempting an Acrylic Pour, you should avoid the use of the color black. Black paints tend to be overpowering and are notorious for bleeding into the other colors utilized.
How Should I Setup the Area to Perform an Acrylic Pour?
Acrylic Pouring can be a messy project, so you will need to protect the area you’re going to be painting on. When setting up the painting area, it’s important to place a barrier between the surface and the frame. The surface chosen should be level, as well as located in a dust-free environment.
Wax paper works as a phenomenal barrier when performing an Acrylic Pour. This is because after the spilled paint has dried on the wax paper, you are then able to easily pull the dried paint off in sheets, which may be used for other DIY crafts. When setting up, be sure to cover more surface than the frame will utilize. By covering a more significant area, you will be assured that the surface being painted upon will remain safe and clean.
How Long Does the Drying Process Take?
Many different factors can impact how long your new, immaculate frame will need to dry fully. Typically the frame will dry within 24 hours but may take up to 48 hours.
The factors that will determine the amount of time needed for the frame to fully dry include: the levels of humidity, the medium of painting ratio, the amount of paint applied, as well as the type of paints that were used.
Once finished performing the pour, choosing an ideal place for your new masterpiece to dry is incredibly important. Choose a dark, cool and dry environment as this will ensure an even, as well as fast drying process.
In conclusion, Acrylic Pouring is a simple, relaxing technique that allows absolutely anyone to create one of a kind artwork. When beginning the Acrylic Pour process, you will want to be sure that you are fully prepared and have taken the necessary precautions. By following these simple steps, you can ensure that the process will be smooth and successful.
Fast shipping, expert support, and 20 years of experience. Feel free to call us with any questions at (419) 461-0710.
