Acrylic Pour Painting Art Technique

Acrylic paint in 3-4 colors

Pouring medium (from a craft store) or white glue thinned with water as a substitute

Plastic cups for mixing

Canvas board or thick cardstock

Popsicle sticks for stirring

Drop cloth or trash bags to protect the surface — this is messy

In separate cups, mix each color of acrylic paint with pouring medium at about a 1:1 ratio. Stir thoroughly. The mixture should flow like warm honey.

Choose your layering order — contrasting colors look best. Pour each thinned color slowly into a single cup, one on top of another. Do not stir.

Place a canvas or thick cardstock face-down on top of the cup opening.

Hold the canvas firmly against the cup rim and flip both upside down together in one smooth motion.

Let the cup sit inverted on the canvas for about 30 seconds, then lift it slowly. The layered paint flows out and across the surface.

Tilt the canvas slowly in different directions to guide the paint toward all edges and corners.

Set the canvas on cups or a rack to dry. It takes 24 hours to fully cure. The paint will continue to shift slightly as it dries.

Protect everything. This technique creates a lot of overflow paint. Cover the table and floor completely.

The white glue substitute works surprisingly well. Mix white glue with water until it is thin, then mix with paint.

Less is more with tilting. Small, gentle tilts give you more control. Aggressive tilting sends all the color to one corner.

Every pour is unique. Even using the same colors in the same order produces different results. This unpredictability is what makes it exciting.

These paintings make incredible wall art. The marbled, flowing patterns look professional and gallery-ready.