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Create kaleidoscopic compositions with acrylic pouring paint. In recent years pouring paint has become quite popular, but the technique has actually been around since the 1930s, when Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros happened to discover the elaborate effects of pouring different shades of paint onto a wooden panel to produce what he termed “accidental painting.” Fluid dynamics are at work in the pouring of paint: When a pigment of greater density is poured atop a less-dense one, the two interact to mix and swirl—the more dense pigment tends to sink and the less dense one tends to rise. (The opposite pour, a less-dense paint over one of greater density, will not work.) Channel your inner Pollock and play around with pouring pigment over canvas. Investigate the possibilities by browsing our roundup of the best acrylic pouring paint sets below.
ARTNEWS RECOMMENDS
Golden Acrylic Gloss Color Pouring Set
Although you can pour acrylic paint straight out of the bottle, you run some risks. Golden’s pouring medium helps colors stay separate from one another (thus avoiding a big pile of brown) and prevents crazing, the lines and cracks that can appear when the top layer of paint dries more quickly than the paint underneath. This gloss pouring set includes 8 ounces of pouring medium that you can mix to your preference with five acrylic colors in 1-ounce bottles, usually enough for several pieces.
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Arteza Acrylic Pouring Paint Set
Arteza’s set of acrylic pouring paints works well on canvas, glass, paper, wood, tile, and stone. The kit includes 28 vibrant nontoxic colors in neon, metallic, pastel, and classic shades, including four bottles of Titanium White and two of Mars Black to customize all the others. There’s no need to prep the paint; each high-flow 2-ounce bottle has the medium already mixed in. All you have to do is shake well.
Buy: Arteza Acrylic Pouring Paint Set $49.99
ANOTHER GREAT CHOICE
Mont Marte Premium Pouring Acrylic Paint Set
Create a shimmery marbled composition with Mont Marte’s set of 4 metallic pouring paints. Suitable for use on canvas, wood, clay, glass, tile, and rocks, this pouring paint comes premixed and ready to use. The consistency is thin, which creates smooth and flat surfaces when dry. Each bottle contains 4 ounces of free-flowing, easy-to-pour paint.
Buy: Mont Marte Premium Pouring Acrylic Paint Set $14.99
TOP OF THE LINE
Pebeo Pouring Experiences Kit
Pebeo’s Pouring Experiences kit has everything a beginner needs to get started but includes premium-quality paints rather than the usual student grade. The 8 colors of premixed pouring paint, which include white and black, are glossy, transparent, and non-yellowing for bright, sharply defined layers. Each bottle contains 118 milliliters (4 ounces). Along with protective gear like gloves and a tarp, four canvas boards, and glitter, the kit includes a handy dropper bottle of silicone to create the striking cells of color that many artists love.
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Faber-Castell Do Art Paint Pour Studio Kit
Faber-Castell’s set is a great introduction to the art of paint pouring for younger artists ages 7 and up. Containing six painting boards in two sizes, five colors of paint in 40-milliliter (1.4-ounce) bottles, and even an apron and gloves to keep clothes and hands clean, this kit includes every last thing your child needs to get going. The included accoutrements of glitter, confetti, and stickers keep things interesting time after time.
