Fluid Art Mastery: Abstract Flow Art Secrets Revealed

My Mixology:

Regular Mix (archival) 1/2 Tablespoon of soft bodied paint to 1/2 Cup of Pouring Medium, mix well then Add water to reach desired consistency. Then a spray of silicone just prior to pouring.

Budget Mix (non-archival) -1 part acrylic paint to 1 part PVA (Elmer's School Glue), mix well then

Add water to reach desired consistency. Then a spray of silicone just prior to pouring.

Fine Art Mix Recipes with Heavy Body and High Flow Acrylics

Mixing Ratio Essentials

The consistency of all of your paints is the most essential element in assuring a successful pour.  The ways of achieving the ideal consistency varies quite a bit from one artist to another.  You may find that another artist's “recipe” suits you better.   By all means search until you’re happy and get the results you are looking for.

In this book, I will show you how I personally achieve the proper fluidity that gives consistent results  for me, for students in my classes, and countless other paint-pouring enthusiasts that I hear from daily.  I recently released a video of an experiment where I spent, basically, ten dollars at a dollar store, came home, utilized my “mixology” and had amazing results.  Give my “budget” mix a chance. It is easy to do and it doesn’t cost much money.    

A Word About Cell Creation

One of the most frequent questions I receive is “How do I make cells?”

My longstanding opinion is that it's all about the fluidity of each individual color and how they react with each other. This is what I have found to be fundamental in cell creation.

But! Acrylic paint colors and their density relation are also important. When I am creating a pour I am thinking in terms of "How do I make the light layers break away from the darker colors and help them rise up and through to create "cells"  (think D.A. Sequeiros)

If you have the consistencies correct and you understand the paints density and how they react with each other, it's a beautiful thing.

Silicone and alcohol do make a difference but they are not a requirement for cell creation. 

The chart on the next page is a helpful guide I use for reference.

The paints in this chart are the acrylic paints that come in tubes, not the high flow type of paints. All brands have varying densities so I recommend experimenting and making your own chart based on the paints that you use. This is a non-scientific guide so there is no guarantee of it’s accuracy.

Dirty Pour

Layers of paints poured on top of each other in the same cup makes a "dirty pour" cup. I try to always include white in every pour and I usually begin my paint layering in the dirty pour cup with Zinc or Titanium White. I do this because white is the heaviest paint and it sinks to the bottom once the cup has been flipped on the canvas. This causes many interesting effects including lacing, webbing and cells. Familiarizing yourself with paints transparency and opacity is also helpful when deciding on what order to pour your paints into the dirty pour cup.

This is a technique I sometimes use prior to lifting a flip cup off the canvas. Basically I flip the cup onto the canvas, with the canvas sitting on the rack I simply slide the cup around the surface of the canvas making sure I get close to all four corners. My thought with this is that it will help with the flow of the paint upon lifting the cup.  

Flip Cup

The flip cup is prepared exactly like a dirty pour in terms of mixing and layering the paints into one dirty pour. The flip cup technique is more of a description of how you get the paint on the surface of your canvas. In short, you flip it over.

While holding the dirty pour cup (which is sitting on your work-space) with your left hand, pick up the canvas with your right hand and place the canvas face down over the cup opening. Then carefully (while holding the cup tightly against the canvas, flip them over to where now the canvas is on the work-space and the cup and the cup is sitting atop the canvas. I usually let the cup sit on the canvas for 20-30 seconds and allow the dirty pour contents to settle. Then with one motion I remove the cup from the canvas and all the paint pours out and onto the canvas. At this point I move and tilt  the canvas around and get full canvas coverage. Once the top is covered I touch up the sides of the canvas with the paint run off. Once the canvas is covered I touch up the sides with the paint run off. Once I have complete coverage and I’m happy with the composition of the painting, I will introduce heat by using a chef’s torch or a heat gun. The heat is what helps generate cellular activity in the work. The oils from the additives react with the heat and create “cells”. Always use caution when heating up your art.  

Flip cup with variations - 

The “Preserve” Flip Cup

Basically the Preserve flip cup is prepared exactly the same as a flip cup pour but instead of emptying all of the paint on the canvas you use a quick motion when lifting to ensure saving some of the dirty pour mix at the bottom of the cup so you can later cover corners and edges. 

Sometimes your flip cup doesn't turn out as well as you hoped. Well - Pour over it! Watch video for demo (This requires utilizing the "reserve flip cup" technique if you want to use the same colors as your flip cup pour)

Puddle Pour

Puddle pours are a layering color(s) on the canvas in one or more puddles that allow the paint to flow out and or into each other. When there is enough paint on the surface the canvas can be tipped and the colors will disperse and create designs and unique color combinations throughout the canvas depending on the degree of tilting. A variation of this technique is a puddle pour with void fill (a puddle pour with an added pour covering the blank spots of the canvas) Once the canvas is covered I touch up the sides with the paint run off. Once I have complete coverage and I’m happy with the composition of the painting, I will introduce heat by using a chef’s torch or a heat gun. The heat is what helps generate cellular activity in the work. The oils from the additives react with the heat and create “cells”. Always use caution when heating up your art. Please follow all of the safety recommendations discussed earlier in the book.

Open Cylinder

This method employs a bottomless cup. Artist Andy Drop was the first I seen using this method. The idea here is to do a self contained dirty pour that doesn’t actually have to be poured (does that even make sense?) The cup acts as a vessel that keeps the paints inside allowing for a lot of unique possibilities and color combos once the cup is lifted from the canvas. I like this type of pour on small canvases but I mostly use this method on extra large canvases when I need more precise color placement. As with the previous techniques, Once the canvas is covered I touch up the sides with the paint run off. Once I have complete coverage and I’m happy with the composition of the painting, I will introduce heat by using a chef’s torch or a heat gun. The heat is what helps generate cellular activity in the work. The oils from the additives react with the heat and create “cells”. Always use caution when heating up your art. Please follow all of the safety recommendations discussed earlier in the book.

Ribbon Pour

I like to use this technique at the end of the paint pouring session when I have several colors leftover from the days pours. Sometimes I’ve used as many as 12 colors in a ribbon pour! Depending on how much total paint I have and what size canvas I am using, I pour the mix directly on the canvas or sometimes I pour a thin layer of Zinc White or Titanium White down first. When pouring the paint I try to be loose pour in a free flowing motion, I try making a taffy or ribbon appearance with the paints. When doing these types of pours keep the tipping of the canvas to a minimum. 

Swipe Technique

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 I pick 3-5 colors for the background colors. Mix them according to my “mixology” and put 1-2 squirts of silicone in each color. I pour the 3-5 colors on the canvas in a striped pattern occasionally crossing over each other but not too much. At this point I tip the canvas to spread all the paints out over the canvas. Once I have the canvas covered in my background colors I introduce the swipe-over color. I use either white or black to do the swipe over. I make sure that the swiping color is slightly thicker than the other paints. I do not add silicone to the swiping colors. I always start at the end that I like the least. I pour a strip of paint from corner to corner approx. 1-3 inches wide depending on size of canvas or another guide is cover 10%- 20% of one end of the canvas. Then I take heavy card stock or a 3 ml laminating sheet or something similar and begin swiping the white paint over the initial paints that were poured. I sometimes add more white and repeat the process throughout the whole canvas until I get the look I’m trying to achieve. Doing these swiping motions should generate many cells when done correctly. Getting a feel for the swipe is the key. You want to gently skim the heavy card stock or a 3 ml laminating sheet or something similar lightly over the paints. This takes practice but it is worth the time to get this right.

Swipe with knock down knife

Sometimes a pour doesn't goes as planned, sometimes the colors run together and make “mud” or the colors  aren’t quite right or I’m just not feeling it.. Well that’s the time I break out the Knock Down Knife. For this technique I base my swiping color on what colors I will be swiping over.

Example: If the colors are bright and cheerful I will swipe with Black paint.. If the colors are drab or muted I will swipe with white paint. I always think in terms of balance in my paintings. So, the way it works is: I pick my least favorite end of the canvas. I lay out my swiping paint (white, black or any color I decide on) I pour it directly on the poured canvas that I am swiping over from corner to corner. The amount of paint is  approximately 1”- 3” in width depending on the size of the canvas - Then I take the knock down knife and with a light touch, skim the top of the paint I just poured and pull it down the length of the canvas. This takes a lot of practice to get it right but once you get it down you’ll love it.. In fact I have students that only use the swiping technique.  

 Helpful Tip - Mix the swiping color a little thinner than the other colors

Multi-Swipe Technique

 The way I usually do these types of swipes are as follows; I pick 3-5 colors for the background colors. Mix them according to my “mixology” and put  1-2 squirts of silicone in each color. I pour the 3-5 colors all over the canvas in a random fashion occasionally crossing over each other but not too much. At this point I tip the canvas to spread all the paints out over the canvas. Once I have the canvas covered in my background colors I introduce the swipe-over color. I use either white or black to do the swipe over. I do not add silicone to either of these colors. I always start at the end that I like the least. I pour a strip of paint from corner to corner approx. 1-3 inches wide depending on size of canvas. Then I take an art spatula or trowell and begin swiping the white paint over the initial paints that were poured. I sometimes add more white and repeat the process throughout the whole canvas until I get the look I’m trying to achieve. Doing these swiping motions should generate many cells when done correctly. Getting a feel for the swipe is the key. You want to gently skim the spatula lightly over the paints. This takes practice but it is worth the time to get this right.. I have saved many bad pours by utilizing this technique  

Dip and Swipe

Using the run-off paint from previous pours by dipping the canvas into the collected run-off paint, then using the swiping tool of your choice - Perform one or multiple swipes until desired result is achieved.

Using the run-off paint from previous pours by dipping the canvas into the collected run-off paint, then using a dirty pour cup or a single color cup. Pour directly on top of dipped canvas surface. From this point you can tip, tilt and manipulate the paint into desired look -  Then introduce the spatula and make designs as you see fit.

Air Blown

For this technique I pick out my colors of choice and either pour single colors all over the canvas or combine in a dirty cup. The way I choose colors for these types of pours is usually I’ll pick my favorite analogous color scheme (three adjacent colors on the color wheel) then base the paint that I blow on the complimentary color to those three colors.

An example would be: Base coat of yellow, yellow green and green poured all over and covering the canvas. Then using the complimentary color “red violet” I would pour puddles where ever I think it would look good keeping in mind basic design elements like composition and balance etc.

Once I have all of the colors poured onto the canvas surface, then I introduce air. I use a computer duster but a straw works or even an air compressor. The idea here is to blow air on to the canvas and manipulate the paints to create unique patterns and designs.

Negative Space Pour

Another cool technique is a negative space pour. A negative space pour is basically pouring a section of the canvas with color and leaving blank spots “negative space” within or around the composition. This creates a visually bold look.

Drying

I recommend drying your art on a level surface for 2-3 days before touching it. There are times that I speed up the dying process by setting the art outside in direct sunlight but that usually causes cracks in the paint and sometimes I don’t want that look. If you keep your art in an area that is room temperature to cool, has low humidity and doesn’t get messed with, it should dry with no issues.

*Helpful tip - I use a box and flip it over covering the art to keep dust and insects out of the paint while it’s drying

If you used any kind of oil in your paint pouring it is essential to remove it from the surface prior to sealing your work. To remove the oils from the surface you can use baby powder followed by a tack cloth.

I have listed what I have discovered over the years to be the pros and cons of varnishing your piece.

Brush On Varnish

Advantages:

• UV protection
• Stays clean longer
• Evens out the sheen of the work
• Protection from scratches and scuff marks
• BRUSH STROKES! In my opinion this is a major draw back. Brush strokes are   fine in some instances but think about it, a fluid painting is a piece of art that is done with no brushes.
• It is hard to get an even coat on large canvases.
• It can totally change the look of a piece an not always in a good way.
• No Brush Strokes!
• Stays clean longer
• Less mess/easy clean up
• Evens out the sheen of the work
• Easier to apply to large substrates
• Fumes require working outdoors or in well ventilated area
• Costs more money.

Disadvantages:

• BRUSH STROKES! In my opinion this is a major draw back. Brush strokes are   fine in some instances but think about it, a fluid painting is a piece of art that is done with no brushes.
• It is hard to get an even coat on large canvases.
• It can totally change the look of a piece an not always in a good way.

Spray On Varnish

Advantages:

• No Brush Strokes!
• Stays clean longer
• Less mess/easy clean up
• Evens out the sheen of the work
• Easier to apply to large substrates

Disadvantages:

• Fumes require working outdoors or in well ventilated area
• Costs more money.

  Dendritic Monoprinting

Place a piece of 8”x10” glass (thrift store picture frame glass will work) under wire basket that is used for holding your canvas. Do a couple paint pours making sure that the run-off paint lands on the glass. Once you have enough run-off paint on the glass to cover it with the paint. Brush the paint covering the glass in one even layer. Then with a same size piece of glass press it into the paint, apply enough pressure to form a slight seal but not too much pressure (you don’t want to break the glass). Now release the pressure and see the dendrites! Now carefully pry the two pieces of glass apart using a sharp knife.

Then take a piece of card stock paper or Yupo paper and lightly press into the paint of one of the glass pieces, carefully pull the paper off and now you have a dendritic monoprint !

Collect your run-off paint and make stuff! 

Mixed Media Collages

Mosaics

Jewelry

Magnets

 Sell Your Non-Archival Art….. Guilt Free

This is a simple formula that I used when I first started selling my art

Well you made the beautiful piece of art. Now how do you sell it? I followed these 5 steps to become a full-time artist.