We’ve had an expensive year and we agreed not to buy each other Christmas presents this year. Hubby was a sweetheart and broke the rules and he did buy me some paints from our local equivalent of the Dollar Store, so I thought it would be the ideal opportunity to try some acrylic pouring techniques on a budget.
Quick Links
For your convenience, here are store links to items we mentioned in this article.
If you are new to the idea of acrylic pouring, or on a restricted budget, you might want to just give it a try with some cheaper materials before splashing out on something more expensive. You might find that you try it and don’t like it (I don’t think that will happen!) so let’s see how we can start out learning with some basic and affordable paints and supplies to get started.
Supplies for acrylic pouring on a budget:
Paints – dollar store craft paints are fine to get started
Pouring Medium – PVA glue works fine for practice and learning
Surfaces – economy canvases or ceramic tiles (economy canvases here)
An additive for cells (optional) – you probably already have something at home that might work
Cups/pots/sticks– old yogurt pots, glass jars, coffee stirrers etc
Clean and tidy supplies – plastic for your work surface and some paper towels
Video Walk Through: Acrylic Pouring on A Budget
So you don’t need much to get started. You might already have much of what you need around the home. If you fancy giving it a try, just to see if you like it, then grab some cheap paints and supplies and jump right in. Your first few pours will probably not be the best art you’ve ever seen, but keep at it. It can take a few tries to get the paint consistency right, but then suddenly the magic will happen and you’ll be amazed at how much fun this can be!
Here are just a few quick photos of my budget pour using the economy paints with PVA as a pouring medium, on a ceramic tile.
After being told in high school that she was so bad at art that she should switch to another subject, Deby didn’t paint again for 35 years. Then a stroke released a new wave of creativity and she began exploring with dot painting, abstract and eventually acrylic pouring, and at last the joy of working with color returned. You don’t need ‘talent’ to be an acrylic pouring artist – just enthusiasm, some basic instruction, and a willingness to try, fail and try again. Paint along with her and learn from her many mistakes, and you’ll soon make great art together.