The Birds Nest: Paint Pouring Techniques with Perfect Paints
Hey there, creative people! Becky Conley is back with another paint pouring project, and I'm thrilled to be sharing a brand new technique with you today! This 11" x 14" mixed media canvas is inspired by the serene imagery of Psalm 104:12, "The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches," which I've incorporated by printing it on transparency film and adding it to the top right corner. Get ready to experiment with a fresh approach to paint pouring as I guide you through the creation of this nature-inspired artwork. Let's get started!
SUPPLIES:
Perfect Paints Shimmering Matte Acrylics
49 and Market bird die cutouts
OTHER SUPPLIES: 11" x 14" canvas, blue and white misc. house paint, Floetrol, Acrylic Pour Oil, paper towels, water, PC/printer and transparency film, branches, skeleton leaves, ceramic leaves, sealant, tools and adhesives.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix EACH of the Perfect Paints Shimmering Matte Acrylics colors and the house paint with water and Floetrol to get the desired pouring consistency. Add 2 drops of Acrylic Pour Oil to the #1034 Barely There.
Pour a background "pillow" of light blue and white house paint onto the canvas. (Canvas should be raised up off the table surface by pins or cups.) You can spread it out however you want; with your hands, a tool or blow dryer. I recommend pouring completely over all edges and corners.
Find your "horizon" point, slightly below the center of the canvas and pour a thin line of each color of Perfect Paints Shimmering Matte Acrylics, (except #1004 Spring Green) saving the #1034 Barely There for last, as it contains the oil and should be on top of the others.
Dampen the edge of paper towel, about 2 inches. Lay the dampened edge of the paper towel over the line of Perfect Paints, allow it to sit a few seconds to "catch" the paint then pull and drag it up to the top and off the edge of the canvas.
One paper towel isn't wide enough for the whole canvas, so use another one, cut to size if desired, wet it and drag it across the area not dragged yet.
Pour another line of the Perfect Paints Shimmering Matte Acrylics exactly as before, with the #1034 Barely There last and do the same, but pull and drag the wet paper towel downward off the edge of the canvas.
You can see this entire process in this 18 minute video (Part 1). This only covers the background and the paper towel dragging.
Lay your main branch into the wet paint.
To create the painted leaves, pour a line of paint on top of a line of paint using both #1036 Northern Lights and #1004 Spring Green, this will be the center of the leaf. Lay a string of plastic beads along the line of paint with the end of the beads starting near the outer edge of the canvas heading toward the branch and pull it around backward to where it began and off the canvas. Lay a clean string of beads in the same place, this is the middle of your leaf. Pull the beads backward, going around the other side.
Make 3 leaves in the top left and 2 in the bottom right. Use a spatula and extra paint to create a line up the center of each leaf, extending it to meet the branch also.
You can see the process of making the leaves and pulling the strings of beads in this 18-minute Part 2 video.
(My background started drying and thickening, it was done playing. I was not 100% happy with the bottom leaves. I took that opportunity to embellish!)
LET DRY COMPLETELY FOR AT LEAST 72 HOURS BEFORE EMBELLISHING*
Apply the skeleton leaves and 49 and Market bird cut-outs with mod podge.
Adhere the ceramic leaves and branch with E-6000 or comparably strong adhesive. I painted half of each ceramic leaf with #1004 Spring Green Shimmering Matte Acrylic. (The ceramic leaves were shower hooks I took apart.)
Seal with varnish or epoxy.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are inspired to create something beautiful today.
Becky
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