Add a thick glossy layer over a painting without using toxic resins. Here are three options for deep pouring:
1. Pour multiple thin layers separately for a crystal clear and smooth deep pour. Choose to add duct tape walls around painting edges, otherwise allow the medium to spill over the sides. Pour gloss pouring medium and let it dry. Repeat the process until you’ve obtained the desired thickness. This method can be used with most pouring mediums without crevicing or cracking.
2. Fake wax effect with a deep pour (demonstrated below, using Golden’s GAC800).
3. Jump-start the deep pour with gels using Technique 31 (skipping the embedded object in Step 2). This produces a clear thick layer that looks like a deep pour, but uses gels for the depth, since gels do not crevice or crack. Visible bubbles will occur in the gel layer, creating an interesting textural element.
Substrate
A sturdy rigid primed painting surface cradled or with sides and painted with an image or color
Tools
Paintbrush or other application tool, duct tape
Products
A pourable acrylic medium of your choice (see Section 4: Tips for Coated Pours), gloss gel, spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol
For Cleanup
Water, water container, paper towels or rags
STEP 1 Create an Underpainting
Use a rigid sturdy surface pre-painted with color or an image you wish to add a thick clear overlayer. (If using a flexible surface such as stretched canvas prop up the canvas with supports underneath to keep it from dipping in the center with the weight of the acrylic. It will need to stay in place until fully dry.)
STEP 2 Apply Duct Tape Walls
Apply duct tape along all four sides of the painting so part of the tape width (at least 1⁄2-inch [1.3cm]) adheres to the sides while the other part of the tape extends upwards creating wall structures for the depth you wish to create in your pour. For very deep pours, prop up the tape “walls” with extra support by taping cardboard onto the outside of the duct tape.
At the time of this book’s publication, there is only one non-toxic pouring medium that can be poured deeply all at once without crevicing or cracking: Golden’s GAC800. New pouring mediums are currently being developed, but as of right now, most mediums cannot be poured thicker than 1⁄4 inch (0.6cm) without crevicing. Experiment on a small piece of scrap work to test a medium, letting it dry fully to see if results are satisfactory. Although GAC800 does not crevice it does dry cloudy and yellow, presenting a great way to imitate wax or encaustic effects. For a deep pour that is crystal clear do Option A or C, or research to see if new pouring mediums are available that can be poured deeply in one pour, remaining clear when dry, without crevicing.
STEP 3 Seal Gaps and Pour
Seal the place where tape meets the surface on the inside of the taped area with gloss gel and a brush or rubber shaper tool. This can remain wet or allowed to dry before continuing to the next step.
Using GAC800, pour as much and as deeply as you like within the taped off area. Immediately spray lightly with alcohol to remove bubbles. Leave on a level surface undisturbed until fully dry. Remove the tape. If using other pouring mediums that crevice, do not pour more than 1⁄8-inch thick all at once. Instead, pour in multiple thin layers as in Option A.
Golden’s GAC800 dries translucent, yellow and cloudy in this deep pour (about 5⁄16" depth when wet, reducing to 3⁄16" when dry), offering the appearance of wax or encaustic. For another fake wax effect (see Technique 20).
A deeper pour of the GAC800 (about 5⁄8" depth when wet, reducing to 3⁄8" when dry) almost completely veils the underlying painting.
When dry, if poured walls have risen up higher alongside where the duct tape was, shave off the excess using a single edge razor blade.
Here GAC800 is poured over another surface with the same underpainting very thinly following Technique 25, so the cloudiness/yellowing is less pronounced. A partially embedded object, a jeweled butterfly, is added while the pour is still wet. For more ideas on embedding objects see Technique 31.
