Paint Pouring

Have you ever watched any paint pour videos online? They are SO mesmerizing to watch. I’ve gotten sucked into watching them more times than I care to admit. What intrigues me most about it is that every pour is going to turn out differently, and it’s going to be beautiful every time. You just pick colors you like and see what happens!

When I first decided I wanted to try paint pouring myself, the cost of materials—specifically the pouring medium—stopped me from taking the leap. But then I started looking into it again, and I discovered that there’s a much cheaper alternative to the pouring medium I kept seeing at the craft store. It’s called Floetrol, and it works! The best place I’ve found to buy it is Lowes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Flood-Floetrol-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Conditioner-Actual-Net-Contents-128-Fluid-Oz/3376242

A whole gallon of it is by far the better deal, but it also comes in a 32oz bottle if you’d rather have that.

So far I’ve kept my paint pours pretty simple. I’ve used a mix of acrylic paints I already had, some disposable cups, some popsicle sticks for mixing, and of course canvases in various sizes. The smartest thing I did was cover my entire workspace with a plastic tablecloth. I’m usually a fan of reusing things, but I’m also in the habit of picking up tablecloths if I see them on clearance at Target or wherever. They really come in handy at times like this. Something else I would recommend is wearing gloves. This is a messy process, especially once you actually pour the paint.

Here’s how my first couple of attempts went. To set up my space, I covered the table with the tablecloth. I propped up my canvas with a cup under each corner.

I poured each color into a cup, and then added Floetrol to each one. Paint to Floetrol ratio should be 50:50. Then I took each of those cups and poured them one by one into the cup I’d be pouring from. Not one to waste materials when I can help it, I found a pour calculator to help me determine how much paint I’d need.

For my 16×20 canvas (about 3/4” thick), this calculator told me I needed 12.7oz of paint. So my goal was to use roughly 6.5oz of paint and 6.5oz of Floetrol. I’m sure I ended up using a little more than that because of the number of colors and I used and in the interest of keeping the calculations relatively simple.

Once I had all of the colors layered in the cup, I turned the canvas upside down and put it on top of the cup. Then, with one hand under the canvas and the other on the cup, I carefully turned it over. With the canvas back on top of the cups, I lifted the paint cup and let the paint start doing its thing.

This is where it gets really fun! As the paint moves over the canvas, you can start tilting it to make sure the paint runs off of all four edges. I’d start tilting it one way, and if I liked what the paint was doing, I might tilt it another direction before the paint was already to the edge. If you move it around enough, the paint will eventually run off all sides. Once it has, you can wipe off the excess along the bottom edges. I had a couple of bare spots, so I picked up a bit of excess paint from the tablecloth and dabbed it on the canvas. You can’t even tell where I did that.

One quick note about the second set of canvases I did: There are a few obvious lumps. I think it’s from some gold paint that I used. It was thick—thicker than I would have liked, and it didn’t mix as well with the Floetrol. Next time I won’t use that particular paint, and if I do see lumps I’ll try to pick them out with a toothpick or something. Once the paint dries there really isn’t anything you can do.

The hard part for me is letting paintings dry. So much waiting. Actually, it’s not that bad. But I get excited about these things.

They are so shiny and pretty when the paint is still wet.

After a day or so, the canvas was dry! I would still like to add a coat of varnish to protect the paint and bring back some of the shine. I keep dragging my feet on that for no good reason though.

Once I get my craft space set up, I’d like to do some more paint pours. I’d like to experiment with some acrylic pour strainers to see what kinds of designs I can get. I’ve even seen paint pours over objects—like plant pots, for example. I’ll be sure to share whatever else I come up with!