Two Paint Pouring Techniques = SUPER FUN!
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Hi everyone! I am participating in a Facebook Challenge group, and my challenge was to create a SWIPE acrylic paint pouring piece. Six members’ names were randomly chosen and paired with a technique in a second box. The members participating in this COLLABORATION have one week to complete the painting and provide it on this post! You must state the colors used. Any colors and canvas. I took a photo after I completed my Swipe piece, but then I decided to SPIN it!
WATCH my SPIN & SWIPE Acrylic Paint Pouring Technique Video
SUPPLIES I USED FOR MY SWIPE & SPIN ART
- ColourArte Primary Elements pigment powders (Blissful Bordeaux, Pink Parasol, Venetian Red, Butter Toffee and Shy Rose)
- ColourArte Putting on the Glitz pigment powders (Laguna Azul, Palazzo, Butter Toffee, Venetian Red, Georgia Peach, Bells of Ireland, Malachite, Apple Rose, Bellagio Blue, Marigold, Blissful Bordeaux, Crushed Velvet)
- Floetrol
- Elmer’s Glue-All
- Treadmill Silicone
- 8″x10″ Canvas
- Dixie Cups
- Stir Sticks
- Rotating Cake Stand (My Spinner)
MY PAINT AND POURING MEDIUM RECIPES
Paint Recipe: 2-parts Pouring Medium to 1-part Paint (add more paint or more pouring medium as needed.)
Pouring Medium Recipe: 3-parts Floetrol, 2-parts Elmer’s Glue-All, and 1-part Water
Mixing pigment powders is a little different than mixing acrylic paint. I put the powder in my cup and then added enough pouring medium to cover the cup’s bottom. Mix until the powder is dissolved, and then add the remaining amount of pouring medium to the cup.

MY SWIPE & SPIN PROCESS
Once I mixed my paints, I added 3 drops of Treadmill Silicone oil to each color and mixed gently. It has been my experience to mix gently and slowly and not over-mix the silicone oil. Every time I over-mix the oil, the cells are very small and will not grow. The idea is to mix the silicone oil through the paint while maintaining its integrity (and without making the oil angry, lol!).
For the first Swipe (00:04:00 in the video), I added the colors to the canvas in a spiral design. I then added white paint to the sides, edges, and corners of the canvas to ensure that those areas got covered.

I then added white paint to the right sides of the canvas to use as my Swipe color. To give you an idea of how much swipe color to use, the paint line I put across the canvas is about 1″x10″, and it is thick enough to cover the area.
I used a dry paper towel as my SWIPE tool. You can use any tool you readily have available. I decided to use a dry paper towel to absorb some of the excess paint I had on the canvas.
This is the SUPER FUN PART!!! Place the towel gently over the top of the SWIPE paint color without pressing down. Once it has absorbed some paint, slowly pull the towel down the canvas and watch the CELLS form and grow!


Now, I will let the cells grow and add heat as needed. Once I saw that the cells had stopped growing, I decided to SPIN the canvas.
TIP: If you have a hard time with your canvas staying secure on your spinner, try adding some paint, water, or pouring medium to the spinner surface before placing your canvas. The moisture will help secure the canvas to the spinner so it does not fly off when you spin.

I had a SUPER FUN time working on these art pieces. This would be a great way to create some unique galaxy or space art pieces.
In another project, I created some pieces using the SPIN & SWIPE technique. It is amazing how different the results can be by using the same materials but reversing the technique. Go take a look and let me know what you think!


Swipe & Spin Acrylic Paint Pouring Technique
A FREE RESOURCE TO ASSIST YOU: PAINT POUR CALCULATORS
Knowing how much paint to use can be a frustration to some artists. While it is best to mix more paint than needed for your project, mixing too much paint can be time-consuming and sometimes wasteful. When I first started learning about paint mixing, I watched many videos that said “use about this much” or “just eyeball it.” These learning techniques may work for some, but I had a hard time feeling confident to start learning until I watched more to learn what “just eyeball it” really meant.
It’s time to take the guesswork out of the mix!
I have created two calculators for you to use to help determine how much paint is needed for your project. These calculators are a FREE resource to assist you with your project. And they are simple to use! You will enter the height and width of your square or rectangle surface (or diameter if using a circle surface) and the depth of the side of your surface. The calculators will give you the approximate ounces of paint you will need to complete your project!