Manipulating an Acrylic Pour with Popsicle Sticks and Air

Hi everyone, I’m excited to do my first blog on this style of acrylic pour! 

Supplies I Used: 

• Apple Barrel paint
• Elmer’s Glue
• 8×10 canvas
• Treadmill Oil
• Blow dryer
• Straws
• Solo cups

I use mostly apple barrel paints, Elmer’s Glue any kind, treadmill silicone and water for my acrylic pours, I use all of these simply because I can pick them up locally,I don’t live near a big city so stores are limited. I also feel for learning—which I still am—why buy the most expensive products when these work for me? I also buy products at the dollar store like stir sticks, aluminum trays, plastic cups, baby wipes. I buy my canvases on discount or I use watercolor or yupo paper, and sometimes my husband will cut me MDF boards to the size I like.

I begin by picking my colors, I really don’t use any system I pick what my eye likes. Everyone has different tastes so go with what you like, I love blues, turquoise, and purples. For some reason I’m not a big fan of red like some people, but to each their own! I use a lot of white so my white is in a larger cup, a red plastic cup filled about a third with white paint half with glue, then add water! You want your white to be of a thicker consistency, not like milk, stir it ‘till your arm falls off! (Not really but close.) 

In smaller plastic cups I fill about one fourth of the cup with paint and maybe one third with glue, add water. These are slightly thicker but you want your paint to be able to move but stay together when they spread out on the canvas. Once you have all your paints mixed I add two drops of silicone per color, but no silicone in the white. Okay, let’s start pouring! In another cup I put about a quarter sized drop of color in the cup and keep adding color until that cup has five colors, not a lot of paint. 

Next, on an 8×10 canvas, start by pouring a half dollar sized amount in the center of the canvas. Then take your white paint and flood the canvas all around your center puddle. Then drag a popsicle stick from the center outwards to the edge of your canvas. Then cut a hole the size of a nickel on the bottom of a solo cup and place that over the blow dryer. It’s very important that you use a blow dryer with a cool setting.

Hold the cup in place, turn the blow dryer on low and the cool setting and start blowing outwards from the center. I usually start where the paint lines I made with my popsicle stick are and then start again from the center working outwards until I like the look. If you want to do more I also blow outwards with a straw to get a look I like. I feel not every area should be the same, I like unique pours. At the very end I lightly torch the canvas to help the cells pop. Don’t get too close or use the torch for too long or your paint will cook. Be very careful to make 100% sure your torch is out and placed in a safe area. 

Thank you so much for visiting the blog I hope you all have fun painting!