Has anyone here tried Dutch pour painting?

[UnleashMyPicasso]

I keep seeing this acrylic on canvas painting technique and really want to try it.

has anyone had a go? Were the results decent?

I've tried it. A lot. Still cant get the hang of it!

Yes, I have and I've sold quite a few of them.

Thank you both.

@Parroteets any top tips?
And @OldTinHat anything you would recommend me avoiding?

Lots and lots of tops. May I ask what you're specifically struggling with? There are a number of ways to do a fluid art painting, other techniques might be easier.

The consistency of your paint is most important but takes practice. Are you using water and paint only or a paint medium? Plus are you thinking about the colours you're using and whether they go together/compliment each other?

Erm, not trying it?!

Seriously, I'm obviously making a simple mistake somewhere but I've no idea where. I've watched loads of YouTube videos and am still none the wiser. Good luck though, always worth a try!

What paint are you using? Ie branded or house paint/emulsion?

Are you leaving white space or covering the whole canvas?

Branded and yes, white spaces.

Okay. So which technique are you using? Eg flood the canvas with white paint , add colour, add white paint and blow it over the colours?

Rinske Douna is very good and has heaps of video tutorials. The problem is that if you don't get the paint consistency right, it'll never work.

Personally I would start with dirty pours eg white paint on canvas then colours layered in a cup and poured into canvas. It's easier

I’ve ordered some stuff from Hobbycraft. I’ll take pics as I go and feedback progress!

I have a super ambitious plan for a tryptich for the spare room which is my crafting space.

I’m planning yellows, whites, umber and a dash of turquoise!

Are you using silicone oil to create cells?

And do you experienced types use a white base first. Then your colours?

That sounds superb. Don't buy the ready mixed paints unless you're going to spend a lot on branded ones. Ive never found them to be good

Okay - it is very hard to do!

they acrylic didn’t pour like I though, and the hairdryer didn’t smooth it much.

with lots of trial and error I got the following

Okay, your paint is far too thick. What are you mixing it with? What ratio are you using?

The base layer needs to be much thinner, it has flow. It's going to be messy, paint may splatter a bit. Your paint would not move, no hairdryer could ever push that around.

I would go back to basics and learn how to mix your paint otherwise you will never, ever achieved a decent result. Buy super cheap canvases, re-use where necessary and simply practice. You can just use water or try a medium.

Forget the Dutch pour for now. Learn to mix the paints and try a dirty pour. Many artists have paint mixing recipes , follow them and then try at least fifty + times.

The positive thing is that you will be able to achieve a great result once you practice and correct the paint recipes.

Also, I can't see a base layer on the three canvases, did you cover the canvases in white paint? Essentially you need to layer your three colours on top of the base layer. I would suggest straight lines , not circles as it's easier to blow out the paint.

Please don't give up because once you understand the technique you can produce some amazing wall art quite easily. I'm happy to answer questions if I can 🙂

Thank you so much @Parroteets

i did a white layer first of all. I started out not mixing my paints at all. Then I mixed with a wee bit of water, but by then my paint was far too thick!

great idea to scrape the canvas clean and try again.

I know this won't be popular but v cheap baby wipes are great to use when cleaning a canvas. I know they're not great for the environment.

Mix your colours as early as possible. Leave them to sit for a few hours if you can. They always work better.

I would suggest a pouring medium to mix with the colours and then no more than ten percent water. I would also use a few drops of silicone oil if you want cells

Check out this link to YouTube. There are many good paint pouring artists.

Thank you - and a medium is an actual product? Like. Is that what I’d put into google?

Oh I am sorry. So, you need to make the paint thin enough to pour without rendering it completely useless. If you just kept on adding water you'd do just that in the end.

Google 'pouring medium for acrylics' - Liquitex is great but expensive, people use PVA glue (I wouldn't at this stage if I were you), floetoral (spelt incorrectly possibly) is cheaper and great IMO.

You should follow a ratio, which ratio depends on the type of pour you're doing. For example, you could mix the colours as 60 percent paint, 30 pouring medium and 10 water. I use disposable plastic or paper cups to mix in. Always use less water than you think, you can add more if required.