New Series: Dreamy Acrylic Pour (Research & Lessons)

I'm starting a new series. A friend asked if I could do a print for him and well, a big one (18 x 22")

He saw one of my acrylic pours and wanted it big. Well the original size I typically use for acrylic pours is less than 12x12". I have one on my wall that's 14x18", but that's an anomaly.

These critters use a lot of  paint. 

And I haven't done a pour in a while. So, I need to get back into the flow (sorry, puns are free). 
Thus, a new series on dreams as actualized by acrylic pouring.

Remember, this technique is experimental, meaning you can't always (or ever) predict the outcome from any part of what you do along the way. But I need to create a specific effect, and create it in a "big" form (18x22"). So a series is a great way to jump into this project I think. 

I decided to video record each pour so I could go back and see what I did along the way and what kind of impact it may have had on the final. And also evaluate other techniques for their impact as well. Spoiler: this has turned out to be really helpful!

So - to start, video: Cells in a pool

This is a flip cup experiment. After flipping the layered cup, poured white paint around it like a cloud of containment. Pulling the cup off, got some great color movement. The reds and yellow/gold was dominant. 

But soon, you could tell there weren’t going to be a lot of smaller cells from this initial display. 

Lesson 1:  spent too much time trying to clean out the cup for every drop. This really didn’t end up doing much for the end result. I learned this lesson in full with the other pours of the day. 

“Stop Fussing” starts at the start of the exercise.

Lesson 2: waited too long to apply a torch to the paint pool. the solid red and purple were pretty, but not the result wanted. I wonder if I had put more energy into those areas earlier, would they have developed better? 

1. torch effect?

2. add white to those areas

3. swiping earlier

Swiping? that was under-used here. 

As I see once I did add the torch, toward the end, cells popped up. But perhaps a little too late?

I’m seeing that I only have a short window of time to play with the layered paints. (Is that really true?) 

Lesson 3: The boundaries of color and white ended up giving me the most “dreamy” quality that I’m looking for. But to remember, the color has to displace the white to an extent. Best if the white is laid over the color. If poured over, how to account for the thickness of the white over a sheet of color? Is a swipe needed? 

I like the effect of pulling/pushing the paint boundaries by tilting. Not sure how much this really impacts the final. Warning: this video is over 8 minutes. I'd skip it and go on to the next post. But that's me. (LOL)

Colors used:

Talens Amsterdam (these are so far my favorites for this technique)

Liquitex Basic

What happened to pt 1? Part 1 is just me loading up the paints into the cup. I got a phone call just as I finished, so I stopped the camcorder. When I went back to look at it, it’s quite boring and not much to learn. 

Lesson from that: layering with white seems to impact positively the cells later. No white between layers: the colors are more blendy. 

questions:

oil paint pouring

oil & acrylic pouring

adding a drying retarder to the acrylic - impact on cells, lacing, etc. 

I wonder if you sprayed a color over a section how that would influence the results (ink, paint)

`How would this work with Atelier Chroma Interactive (stays “open” longer; not plastic-y says the description)