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A Swipe Can Save a Poured Painting

What can you do if you don’t love your paint pouring at the moment?  Give it a few swipes to get that color moving and shifting.  Just swishing a palette knife, or anything you’ve got handy, can shift the color and pattern on the canvas, just like it did for me in the middle of this play.

Watch A Swipe Can Save a Poured Painting on YouTube.

Using condiment squeeze bottles allows you to strategically place paint. What’s in those bottles?  A mixture of acrylic paint and Floetrol, which acts as the pouring medium.  When filling  a bottle I will mix it in a jar or large cup first, then add it to the squeeze bottle.

What ratio or recipe do I use?  In all the pouring mediums I’ve experimented with, I found the same recipe makes me happy.  Anywhere from 3/4 to 1 1/4 cup pouring medium to 2 ounces of paint  (less paint if using an artist grade paint) gives me the same results when pouring. You can see how to mix it up and well as everything else you need to know to make your first pour in this video.

What can you do if you’re not in love with how a pour looks?  Do something else to it to get that color shifting and changing, like using a palette knife to swipe.  I swiped here and there to turn it into a canvas I loved.

Next time you’re pouring a painting, if you find you don’t like how it’s looking, give the paint a swipe and see what happens!

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and it helps keep the free tutorials coming!


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  • Corrine ,

    Great idea to use the condiments squirts of the turquoise color….makes the magic happen right away. xox

  • Margaret price ,

    Love your videos Carolyn. Thank you.

  • Carole Morrison ,

    Nicely done, Carolyn!! Great tips……great outcome!!!

  • Amanda J Read ,

    I really LOVE this piece- it is filled with ancient organic visions and a reminder of Victorian past when lace was the most decorative of adornments for clothing including lacy gloves. I can see your world of enjoyable chaos and colour within its confines and I can wallow in its luxury. I also see a bath bomb coming to mind- but one that really coats your whole body with the painterly pattern on canvas. I have seen cars and bikes coated this way in a bath of colourful luxury and its called a “wrap”
    You give me so many visions and pictures in my mind with just one of your own creation.

    Lovely creation oh my goodness………….Respect Mandy

  • Kathleen Rusche ,

    I see people adding a swipe with white medium on the palette knife, which then disappears and opens like large cells. Do you know what medium they are putting on the palette knife to create this affect? Thanks so much!