Let’s face it: there are a million, gajillion recipes for acrylic pouring. That might be an exaggeration, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it when you’re trying to find the “right” recipe and every single article and video says something different.
Why is that? Well, just like the age-old question of “what’s the best paint brand?”, the best recipe is subjective. That’s right; I hate to say it, but what’s best for me as an artist might not be what’s best for you. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but the good news is, there are a few base recipes you can build off of to find what works best for your particular style. You can find all of the articles we have about consistency right on our blog right here!
When the “Right Recipe” Doesn’t Work
Let’s say that you’ve watched a video and you’re ready to get going. You grab the same medium, the samepaint, and the same canvas that the artist had. You measure the medium and paint exactly the same as they did, and you’ve prepped the canvas the same way.
Except, when you pour, the painting looks nothing like the one in the video. The paint is muddy, the consistency isn’t quite right, etc. Nothing looks like you thought it would. Why?
There are a lot of reasons that something like this might happen. Your paint might be older, you may not have stirred as much or as little as the instructor did, or maybe you layered your paint slightly differently than they did. It happens. You can’t expect that your painting will turn out exactly the same as the instructor’s, because your environment and materials may be slightly different…which makes a huge difference.
Don’t Give up, Just Keep Pouring
That doesn’t mean that you aren’t meant to paint! It just means you need to try again. Acrylic pouring looks easy, but it’s really not a matter of just mixing paints and dumping them out; it does take research and practice. My first pours turned out great, but that ended up being a gigantic dose of beginner’s luck– my subsequent experiments were, let’s say, less than ideal. After a few months of research into different mediums and experimenting within my budget, I finally developed a recipe that seemed to work consistently for me by building off of what I had seen from other artists.
What I’m trying to say is, don’t throw in the towel just because a video says that it’s a foolproof recipe, and it doesn’t work for you. Think of it this way; if you were to find a recipe that you liked for a lasagna online and you made it, but it didn’t taste exactly the way you wanted it to, would you resign to never making or eating lasagna again? No! You would figure out why it didn’t taste quite right, and you’d try again.
Final Thoughts
We are all individual artists with a great deal of unique creativity, and that can’t always be neatly packaged into easy-to-follow recipes and instructions. Check out reliable resources like the ones we have on our blog and build your recipe according to your budget and techniques.
Sara Wagner is an author and artist from Upstate New York. She is the owner of Studio Blackwater and can typically be found covered in paint, cats, or her two young daughters. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram as @studioblackwater.
Hi, I consider myself a beginner for 2 years now! I have one nit-picking issue that I just refuse to give up on, even though it never works out. I bought an acrylic clutch, about 7″ x5″ Well I added decals on it & a friend said “wow if u could somehow get those decals to not be able to be scraped off, in other words, epoxy resin came right to my mind, & the outcome has been atrocious. The epoxy resins keep drying wrong, I try to level the clutch, it runs down the side, thats only PART of the issues. My question is, if I want the resin off to start over, is that possible by adding a little to “re-wet” it? I have been using an exacto knife but afraid I will scratch the clutch eventually. ANY suggestions of help will be appreciated! Karen
Hi Karen – I’m by, no means an expert myself but I do know that resin won’t “re-wet.” If you have a heat gun & heat the resin, it will get a little softer for you to cut. You can also lightly sand it, wipe it off well & add another coat of resin. The sanding is just to add a little teeth for the other layer of resin to stick to just like you’d do with adding another coat of paint. Hope that helps – Good luck!
Hi I live in the UK and I have been doing paint pouring for a few months , and have now found out that I should varnish or resin my work,which is the best resin I can use that is supplied in the UK? I use Liquitex pouring medium and is leaves such a smooth finish and shine do I still need to cover it with something?