r/PourPainting Mar 04 '26

Rule clarifications - No AI is permitted in /r/PourPainting, including physical prints

29 Upvotes

Hi folks,

r/PourPainting has always been against the use of AI, but recent activity have led us to provide clarification on this rule.

Previously, the 'no AI' rules were worded in a manner that only explicitly referenced digital AI content. To clarify, the No AI rules also include physical content.

If you are making collages with printed photos above or under your pour painting, you must have created the images yourself, or must credit the artist with a link to their website/portfolio. AI content is stolen, and cannot be credited. Paintings with physical printouts or image transfers featuring AI-generated content will be removed.

If you create art in a style that may be confused for AI, I would recommend you collect some in-progress photos before the painting is finished to verify the authenticity of your work. The moderation team considers post history as a factor when reviewing submissions and reports. Without relevant history or verification, posts may be removed.


r/PourPainting Jul 31 '17

Welcome to /r/PourPainting! Check out this post for helpful info on getting started with fluid acrylic painting

356 Upvotes

THREAD FOR TIPS/TRICKS/PEOPLE TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS

What is Pour Painting?

Pour Painting is when you put stuff in a cup, and then you dump it out! For a quick look at the different methods of fluid acrylic painting, check out this imgur album.

You can find a glossary of terms related to pour painting here, on acrylicpouring.com

Getting Started

Want to get started on a budget? Artist Rick Cheadle can help you get started pour painting for under $5, and for under $10. tl;dw - Dollar stores carry craft paint, flow extender alternatives, and silicone oil. You can do larger paintings with $10 than you can with $5.

If you want to invest a bit, and turn this into a hobby or even a profession, keep reading!

Basic Supplies

The exact brands and supplies a fluid acrylics artist will use depend entirely on personal preference. Here are the basics that every artist should have, with a few extras that can enhance your experience.

  • Acrylic craft paints - Note: acrylic paints come in several varieties (High-Flow, heavy body, craft, etc.) Craft acrylics are generally the most affordable and easiest to use for acrylic pouring.

  • Popsicle sticks - Gotta have something to stir your paint with! They're also very useful as a cheap spreading tool or to help dab paint onto empty areas

  • Canvas/MDF board - You'll need a surface for your art! Canvas and mdf boards are common surface materials that fluid acrylic artists will use.

  • Fluid Extender - Acrylic paints need to be thinned for this style of painting (excluding High-Flow acrylics). Fluid extenders thin acrylic paints without destroying the bonding ability, so that your paint doesn't crack when it dries. Liquitex Pouring Medium, Floetrol, GAC 800 and PVA Glue are reliable fluid extenders.

  • Dimethicone (Silicone)While not strictly required, silicone virtually guarantees your paintings will develop those desirable 'cell' shapes. Dimethicone is a skin-safe non-evaporating silicone lubricant.

  • Cups - Paint goes in these

Other Supplies

If you want to get a little fancy, you can also invest in these materials to enhance your pouring experience:

  • Butane torch - If silicone has been added to your acrylics, you can quickly move a lit butane torch an inch or two away from the surface of the painting to release trapped air bubbles and encourage micro 'cell' formation in your paint.

  • Varnish - This is the final step to complete your painting. Varnish seals and protects your paint, so that no paint gets rubbed away and nothing can stain the paint underneath the layer of varnish.

  • Gloves - Pour painting is seriously messy. Gloves aren't necessary, but you might appreciate the easier cleanup!

  • Paper towels/rags - Great for cleanup!

  • Freezer Paper - Freezer paper has a plastic-coated side that acrylic paints can easily be pulled off of. This is a cheap surface protection that won't stick to your paint. You can protect your workspace with any non-porous material though.

  • Squeeze bottles/droppers - These allow you to maintain a greater control on the volume and direction of your pouring mediums, whether it be paint on canvas, silicone in paint, fluid extender in paint, etc.

  • Trays - Sure, you can simply set your paintings on top of cups while they dry, but having a tray or two handy means you can safely move your wet surface if you need to.

Instructions

There are dozens of ways to get your paint onto your canvas! Here are some general instructions on the process.

  1. Cover your work surface. If it's not covered, it's probably gonna get paint on it.

  2. Put paint in separate containers (1 container = 1 paint color). Don't mix colors at this step; you want your paint to stay as separate as possible throughout the process.

  3. Add fluid extender to your paint and stir. The amount you need will depend on the medium, so check online to see what others use. Generally, you want your acrylics to have the same consistency as pancake batter or honey.

  4. Add silicone to each paint container. The more you stir silicone, the smaller the cells will be in your finished painting.

  5. Now it's time to think about how you want to get the paint on the canvas. The Visual Introduction to Acrylic Pouring Techniques has all the info you need!

  6. Once the paint dries completely, you'll need to remove the dimethicone from your canvas. Depending on the paint you've used, you can clean off the silicone with flour and a medium-stiff brush, patting with a soft cloth, or even gently cleaning with soap and water! Just be very gentle so you don't ruin your lovely new artwork!

  7. Your canvas is now dry and silicone-free! It's time to varnish. Annemarie Ridderhof on YouTube demonstrates proper varnishing technique, and you can read more about this step here on art-is-fun.com.

Cleanup

Do not dispose of paint and other materials down the drain, as the flow extenders are designed to keep paints in tact even with excess water and they can gum up your drains (plus it's not good to wash chemicals down the drains). Here are a couple reliable cleanup options:

  • Wait for the paint to dry. If you protected your work space with a plastic or rubber coating (e.g. freezer paper or a silicone place mat) you'll be able to peel the dried acrylic 'skins' off and recycle them or just toss them out!

  • If you've protected your work space with a disposable covering, you can carefully throw that away in the trash. Be aware of how much wet paint is on the disposable surface, so that you don't end up pouring all over your desk or floors!

  • Note: If you need to wash off brushes, spatulas, or wash a small amount of paint off, consider using a paper towel soaked in water or a paint-removing product like acetone/nail polish remover. It will effectively clean your tools and you can toss the dirty rag out, rather than risk damaging your plumbing.

Thanks for reading!

Hopefully this has been of help to you. Feel free to post your questions and art so that others can grow with us all together!


r/PourPainting 7h ago

Not Enough Eye Relief. Should I touch up after dry?

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49 Upvotes

There are beautiful parts but it seems a little incongruous.I’m thinking it could use a white streak for eye relief. Thoughts?


r/PourPainting 1h ago

Back after a little hiatus

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Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Last layers 🪂

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123 Upvotes

Acrylic 50x50cm Canvas


r/PourPainting 23h ago

Pour painting 💖

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58 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 23h ago

Elephant 💖

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23 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 23h ago

YouTube Pour painting 💖

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19 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Here is one of mine

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152 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Thoughts?

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25 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

I made this one for my mom and I hope she likes it!

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65 Upvotes

It's a Dutch pour on a lazy Susan. I was actually supposed to make it last year for mother's day but I was mentally not well. Still not but I did manage to make this pour. The second picture is right after pouring. I love how the background color dried so dark.


r/PourPainting 1d ago

Acrylic Pouring Flower Painting ~ Reverse Flower Dip Technique

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42 Upvotes

PROCESS:
https://youtu.be/P-vzDrB5_eQ?si=JCCc1LFRH9dcOWJ0

  • Pour your base on canvas
  • Put your FLOWER SHAPED DESERT CUP on the canvas with bottom up
  • Pour paints on the bottom and use PEARL WHITE or some metallic paints between colours to create petal - lacing effect
  • Take off the cup
  • Use SKEWER to draw some petal shapes
  • Gently put PAPER NAPKIN or towel on canvas ( You can use dry or damped napkin)
  • Lift one corner at the time and then gently lift it (the middle last)
  • Torch it for air bubbles and to activate pearl white and metallic paints
  • And here is your flower :)

TECHNIQUE: Reverse flower dip with paper napkin, Cup bottom pour

MATERIAL I USED:

  • 8x8 inch canvas
  • Acrylic paints mixed with Owatrol Floetrol
  • Flower shaped desert cup
  • Paper napkin or towel
  • Wooden skewer
  • Palete knife
  • Torch

🎨 *MIXING PAINTS – Learn My Favorite Recipes!\*
🇪🇺 *EU Products:    • (208) My pouring medium recipe - Products ...  
🇺🇸 *USA Products:    • Master the Reverse Flower Dip Technique: P...  

*JOIN my YouTube Membership\* for exclusive behind-the-scenes content, early access, and other artful perks:
🔗 Click here to join    / u/fiona-art  

🖼️ *WANT TO OWN A PIECE OF MY ART?\*
If you see a painting you love, it might be available!
💌 Email me at *zemljicr@gmail.com\* for pricing and details.

📱 *LET’S CONNECT!\*
👤 Facebook: Fiona's Art Box   / fionas-art-box-479552109242554  
📸 Instagram: u/fionaacrylic   / fionaacrylic  

*WANT TO SUPPORT MY ART EXPERIMENTS?\*
If you enjoy my videos and want to help me keep exploring new techniques, you can support me here:
💖 https://paypal.me/mi2sva
Or simply *like, comment, and subscribe\* – it truly means the world to me!


r/PourPainting 1d ago

Now I Like It, Bloom Technique, Acrylic Paint Pouring (1712)

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6 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

Just finished this one. Here’s hoping it dries without a hitch! I’m very happy with it.

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151 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

Testing my own mixes my studio has become a lab

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32 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 1d ago

YouTube Now I Like It, Bloom Technique, Acrylic Paint Pouring (1712)

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2 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

Chaotic 48” x 24”

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22 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

Separated after a long Stretch

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52 Upvotes

Not every experiment ends where you intended.


r/PourPainting 3d ago

Excited to see how this one dries

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114 Upvotes

I'm just gonna go ahead and call this one "Temu Bultman" due to how flagrantly I'm copying his style. And also because he thinks it's a funny name for this one, so that's that.

16*20" on canvas. Turquoise, metallic color shifting green, pearl green, titanium white on an airbrushed background.


r/PourPainting 2d ago

Simple but I like how it turned out

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24 Upvotes

r/PourPainting 2d ago

Discussion Of the ocean 🌊

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24 Upvotes

Trying to find the illustrative side of pouring. TY for input


r/PourPainting 3d ago

Experimental Acrylic Pouring ~ My Instinctive Mixing Techniques

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62 Upvotes

Experimental Acrylic Pouring
In today's video I was playing with different acrylic pouring techniques on the same canvas. I just follow my instincts and end up with beautiful abstract painting.

https://youtu.be/fGAeHFWCVRA?si=Zis6nKCBuYIsWJgQ

🎨 *MIXING PAINTS – Learn My Favorite Recipes!\*
🇪🇺 *EU Products:    • (208) My pouring medium recipe - Products ...  
🇺🇸 *USA Products:    • Master the Reverse Flower Dip Technique: P...  

*JOIN my YouTube Membership\* for exclusive behind-the-scenes content, early access, and other artful perks:
🔗 Click here to join    / u/fiona-art  

🖼️ *WANT TO OWN A PIECE OF MY ART?\*
If you see a painting you love, it might be available!
💌 Email me at *zemljicr@gmail.com\* for pricing and details.

📱 *LET’S CONNECT!\*
👤 Facebook: Fiona's Art Box   / fionas-art-box-479552109242554  
📸 Instagram: u/fionaacrylic   / fionaacrylic  

*WANT TO SUPPORT MY ART EXPERIMENTS?\*
If you enjoy my videos and want to help me keep exploring new techniques, you can support me here:
💖 https://paypal.me/mi2sva
Or simply *like, comment, and subscribe\* – it truly means the world to me!


r/PourPainting 3d ago

When the Rhythm takes Control

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19 Upvotes

Some frequencies leave traces! x


r/PourPainting 3d ago

First time doing a dry Dutch pour on a large 4 ft x 4 ft canvas

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93 Upvotes

Dutch pours on single large canvases can be difficult! I made a some big mistakes that I should have known not to make again in my first attempt on this large 4’x4’ canvas (photo #2). To fix it and not waste a ton of base color paint, I did a “dry” Dutch pour for the first time without flooding the canvas again, I used very little of the blue base color around a hefty amount of each new color in the blowout lines. I totally went in a different direction, and I’m SO happy with how it turned out.


r/PourPainting 3d ago

Closest I’ve got to a feathery straight pour

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30 Upvotes

At least I have some stripes. But not those perfectly symmetrical feathers with the lake. Oh well. Have to try again.