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Eruption - a pour and swipe liquid painting tutorial

Eruption
Cyndi Lavin, 2017

A few months ago, I, like so many others, got bit by the liquid acrylic pour painting craze.  I watched many wonderful youtube videos and experimented several times before I got the mixture that worked for me...at least for what I wanted to accomplish.  My disclaimer...there is a product called Floetrol that some people are using in order to achieve larger and more stable cells in their pours.  I don't use it, so I end up with smaller lace-like effects, which I prefer.

To each his own!  This is how I did what we're going to call the "Pour and Swipe" method.



1. Gesso a masonite board and let it dry.  You may as well do several at one time, because you're for sure going to want to do more than one pour!

2. Place a prepared board inside an aluminum pan, raised up on small cups.  Make sure the surface is completely level.

3. Mix your paints.  There are dozens of formulas out there, but this is how I did it:

  • Small blob of heavy bodied paint in a small cup.
  • Equal amount of GAC 100 (a Golden product).  Stir well.
  • Add self-leveling medium or GAC 800 equal to or more than the total amount above.  Stir well
  • Water, added a small amount at a time and stirred in thoroughly until the mixture pours easily.  This is the hard part to know how much.
  • A shot or two of silicone.  Quick mix just before pouring.


4. The colors I used for this piece are Ultramarine blue, Phthalo blue, Pyrrole orange, and Titanium white.  Pour the first three in streaks all over the board.  Pour the white along one of the edges and scrape it over top of the other colors using an old credit card.


5. Tilt to move the colors around and adjust them as needed.  If not enough cells form in certain areas, use a lighter held very near the surface to encourage them to rise.  Don't worry...it won't catch fire.  Use some of the run-off paint to color the edges of the board.

6. You'll need to let it sit for a looooong time, at least overnight is best, in order to dry clear through the thick layers of paint.  Put a large bowl or other covering over it to protect from dust, cat hairs, curious fingers, etc!  If the surface isn't level, the painting will drift, so check it from time to time.

So that's it for the Pour and Swipe method!  I'll show you other techniques in the following weeks :-)

Pour and Tilt
Flip Cup

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Copyright 2017 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Comments

Robbie said…
This is so cool! I'm going to show our fiber group on MOnday...two of the ladies are into painting(s) and they may want to try this! Really a cool piece you did!!!