New Friends, New Horizons

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)

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