I love pouring. It is the most satisfying medium I’ve worked with in a long time. The total surprise of what the outcome will be, is what I like best. Oh, and don’t forget about instant gratification. That is almost better than, well…you know.
Like many of you, I’ve done hundreds of paintings and not many sales. They hang on every wall in my home, are stacked on plant shelves, piled on the floor against a table, assembled on drying racks in my bedroom and loaded en masse on boards in the garage (ran out of adjectives). I’ve been getting overwhelmed with pour paintings.
You know these are not my home, right?
Supplies I used
I’ve tried selling them at craft fairs, have a few displayed in a restaurant, donated many to charities and have given some away, hoping to spark interest in my work—all the while dreaming of a future sale.
There are a few I really love and honestly don’t want to part with, unless someone were to offer me $5… ‘cause I am that desperate to make a sale.
Others are mediocre and would make a halfway decent painting if I hand painted something on top of the pour. And even more are just awful and I am tempted to throw them away. But…being the practical woman that I am, I save them because I know eventually I’ll come up with a creative use for them. No, seriously, I will. Look, I can quit anytime, I don’t need help.
Today is that day. I took out my huge bin of skins and went through them, looking for beautiful color combinations I could use to make some surfboards. I saw someone else do this on the Facebook Group—Acrylic Pouring and wanted to try it myself.
So as you can see, it wasn’t a masterpiece, but I did have fun. It actually got my creative juices going again and I am eager to get back to making some art. This has also piqued my interest in seeing what other pours I can embellish. Rather than churning out one step by step long video, I decided to just show you my final products.
Before and after of something that caught my eye and made me think of a bird of prey.
Forgot to take a ‘before’ photo of this one. The original pour was what you see in the top half. I hand painted the black areas and then added skins to what is supposed to be the water in the bottom section. This is definitely a learning process, I’d do it differently next time.
This was not a pour, but I did cut out a cat and apply it to a canvas that I had painted black.
I hope this inspires you to think of creative ways to use your skins by applying them to pour paintings you have lying about. I would love to see what you come up with because as I’ve said, I need to embellish quite a few and would love to borrow (steal) your ideas. Oh, and if anyone has an extra $5 of disposable income, hit me up, I’d be happy to relieve you of it!
I’m also in the market for some tips on how you sell these! And I know you do because every 10th post is “Just sold this one” or “These three sold as a set.” While I’m thrilled for you, I’m green with envy.
Born in France, Patricia now calls Palm Coast, Florida, home, where she runs Oceans Apart Studios. She’s had the pleasure of raising two daughters and nineteen medical foster children. Now she specializes in watercolor, acrylic pouring, and custom jewelry taken from the run off of her paintings. Her pieces aim to capture the differences that make each woman uniquely beautiful. Check them out on Etsy.