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New Friends, New Horizons

3/19/2017

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There's A LOT going on all of a sudden. I feel a strange new attention being paid to pour art, on more than one level. There’s a crackling energy in the air, producing an all new high in the number of people who practice the art of acrylic pour. There is also an uptrend in interest by the general public to learn this “fun”, “magical”, and almost instantly gratifying way of artful expression. There has also been a recent explosion of “pour” videos on YouTube to support this.

I’ve always been artistic. I’ve always had to have some kind of artistic outlet in progress, from crocheting to pyrography but I didn't settle into my favorite medium (acrylic pouring) until I entered my 40's…and the love affair began. I consider myself a student of the art. Although I began selling my pieces almost 10 years ago, the truth is… there are a bazillion ways to achieve a pour, and there’s always something new to try out, so it’s a constant learning process. My primary focus, until now, has been in acrylic soft paints and acrylic inks mixed with Pouring Medium. I would prime my canvas/wood panel and pour a piece layer by layer. Each layer would generally be what I call a “dirty-one-color” pour. This is… Pouring medium, in a cup, add your color to each cup… with minimal mixing. This method leaves vibrant areas and clear areas. As you progress through each separate pour (and a week or more curing before next pour) each layer progresses and fills in. It adds a neat depth to each piece. Here is an example…


“Candy Skies” ~ 2/2016
Acrylic inks and pouring medium on wood panel
26 1/2”x 30” (60.5 cm x 72 cm)
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Now, all of a sudden, people are asking ME questions. “What kind of paint did you use?”, “How much paint do you add to each cup?”…. “How come my painting cracked while it dried?”. I keep thinking…”but I’m just a student!”... And then I find that, hey!... I actually know the answers to some of these questions! It’s kind of overwhelming, but I’m having a blast. And my new venture into making videos of pours? This was spurred on by my discovery of Annemarie Ridderhof videos on YouTube. If you’ve seen any of her videos then you know that she generally just records the actual act of pouring… instead of taping herself doing a pour. It’s like she made it okay for me to just tape the pour, while not having to have myself in the picture… which is the main reason I’ve never tried it before. My first try came out a bit longer than I expected. I even catch myself jumping forward to see the end result. But, I’m hoping the “boring stuff” in the middle may be important to someone who’s maybe newer to the process. The torching, the covering of corners and edges… it’s all a part of the process, and an important part of how it’s done. I also want to bring up the biggest truth about acrylic pouring art… It’s 90% prep and 10% magic. There is a LOT of “boring” before the reveal. But for some of us… that little 10% of magic is all the motivation we need to start to organize and prep for the next pour.
So, if you are here because you like my art, because you want to learn more about acrylic pouring , or because you're FRamily and feel a need to follow out of loyalty, THANK YOU. You're support means everything to me.

XOXO

Kim

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Just Unthawing

3/13/2017

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So! It’s been a while. The past couple of months it’s been like the North Pole where I live. Ok, I exaggerate. I will just say that I’ve never seen a winter like it here in my life. With those temperatures it’s been hard to come out to the studio. Can’t burn because the base wood temps just cool down my burning tips. Couldn’t pour paint because… well, temps. Now everything is soggy and wet and gray…BUT…it’s warmer. So, back to the studio I go. I have continued learning my new craft over the winter… pyrography (that always makes me giggle, it was “woodburning” in my day). I am currently working on one large piece, and do smaller/easier pieces on the side. Here is a video of my progress to date on the large piece. It’s a table insert done on hickory wood, which is VERY hard. Maybe too hard a wood for someone as new as I am, but it’s begun and I WILL finish it.

Last week I ended up with a bad case of the stomach flu. While in bed for 3 days what else is one to do, but end up binge watching Netflix or streaming videos on YouTube? I generally opt for YouTube. I always find so much inspiration there.

 I must preface the coming story and say that while I’ve been pouring acrylics for 8-9 years now…. There have been a LOT of advancements. When I pour I use pouring medium and acrylic paints or acrylic inks. It’s a thick pour process, done in layers. There are different techniques that I use with that, but you’ve got the general idea. I still cruise YouTube, for inspirations in color choices or new techniques to try. Every once in a while I would see a new video here and there… usually by Michele Theberge. What I didn’t know was that in the past little bit, there has been an explosion in acrylic pour as an art medium on YouTube. And leading the charge is Annemarie Ridderhof. I watched and re-watched her videos for three days. Everything that she does is familiar to me… except that she uses one ingredient that I’ve never tried… silicone. When mixed with acrylic paints (then poured and sometimes “swiped”) the paints bloom into beautifully colored and contained cells. I’ve had cells pop up in my works before (and have always LOVED them) but you can’t MAKE them happen... or can you? When you mix silicone correctly with acrylics and water you can. I’m now so excited to try a new step in my painting process that I’m just bursting! It’s the Acrylic Pour Jones. Anyone who’s poured can tell you it’s real. Lol. Thankfully, Annemarie has started an amazing group on FB, and I am now in contact with people, all over the world, who are as addicted to “pouring” as I am. Here are a couple of postcards of (parts) of a painting that I did, a while back, that had a small amount of cell action in different areas…

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The torch and the silicone have been ordered.
And, Away we go!

Kim XOXO


PS ~ If you enjoy watching the process of fluid art, then please check out some of Annemarie's videos on her YouTube channel (you never know, you may become an Acrylic Pour Addict as well):
https://www.youtube.com/user/woodypoo . 

These are the kinds of cells that Annemarie Ridderhof gets.....

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