Most people pour purely for their own pleasure and that is a wonderful thing. Some of us take things a little further and actually sell our paintings. If you think you will never get to the point of selling your art, beware. It may sneak up on you. I started out painting for my own pleasure but as my house started filling up with paintings I began giving them away to friends. As you know watching that ball of paint grow into a beautiful little universe can become addictive and you just want to make more—and more.
Supplies I Used:
- 12×12 inch canvas
- Vintage White from FolkArt
- Parchment from FolkArt
- Camel from FolkArt
- 3-in-1 Silicone
- Floetrol (2 parts paint to 1 part Floetrol)
An unexpected and nice thing happened after I gave several paintings away to friends who really seemed to love them—my friends wanted more pour paintings, too! But this time around, most of my friends insisted on paying me for the additional paintings. I was thrilled! I had no idea what to charge my friends since I would have done it for free, but I came up with a low, low price that would cover my expenses and leave me with a few bucks to go buy more supplies. Obviously this is no way to run a business. But some of us are pouring for fun so covering expenses while putting a smile on a friend’s face is profit enough.
Whatever you call it, priming the pump or planting seeds, I have found four nice things that have grown out of giving away art to my friends. One, it creates a stronger bond and gives me more of a connection with my friends. Two, when friends insist on paying me for a painting and I give them a super low price, they typically pay me more than I asked. So we are both happy! Three, when friends are happy with their new artwork, they tend to show it off to other people which creates more business. Four, happy friends tend to become happy clients that buy more paintings from you in the future.
Virtually every friend that I have done a painting for has come back and bought at least one more. This video is all about that. A year ago I struggled making a set of four very subtle paintings for my friend Joanie. After a few tries I was able to create the look she wanted. Now a year later she has asked me to do eight more paintings for her (two sets of four)! In the video I show how I do my best to recreate the old style she liked before I charge into an eight canvas project.
Spoiler alert: I sent her photos of the painting I created in the video and she loved it. Once I had her blessing is was easy to mix up the same color paints in larger quantities and pour the remaining seven canvases. Joanie paid me more money than I asked for and guess what I did with the money. I bought more canvases. It may not be the best business model but it is a lot of fun!
On the left is the original painting. On the right is the one mixed to match.
Steve Shaw is an artist and teacher living in Atlanta, Georgia. His days are spent in the classroom teaching his students the basics of art and self-expression. In the evenings and weekends, he paints. Steve has shown his work in several galleries in the Southeast and has illustrated three children’s books. Recently Steve has discovered acrylic pour painting and is putting all his other projects on hold while he journeys down this artistic road.
To see more, follow him on Instagram, visit his website, watch his videos on his YouTube Channel and purchase his paintings at Etsy.com.
Looks great. Love the neutral colors.
Steve…really enjoyed this and good to remember subtle is beautiful and soothing. How do you finish? Varnish? Resin?
This was definitely a different way to use colors but clients have their special taste and I was often thinking of a pastel approach in colors. I wonder what color her wall would be. But we will never find out. Great job though!
I can’t wait until I get my “she shed” to start working on my own ideas. It’s good to study until then as much as I can. Thank you for your course.
Liz Jorgensen
It looks like mother of pearl!! I love it so much, this is the best paint pour I’ve ever seen. I want to cover a jewelry box with this. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!