First Large Acrylic Pour

As the scale I've been working on hasn't gone above A4 sized, I decided to try a pour on a larger scale. Above is the final outcome and this post is about how I managed to get this outcome.

I first needed to prime the canvas, which I did first with a layer of PVA glue, as the canvas I was using already had some ink on it. I hoped the PVA would seal in the ink, as to not bleed through into my piece. I then added 4 thin coats of white emulsion paint, to create a blank canvas.

I needed to mix a lot of paint, I wasn't sure how much to do so I thought I'd better make too much than too little. For this pour, I used the main colours which I felt complemented each other in my experiments and represented the theme of rust and decay, which links back to my original concept for my personal investigation which is chemical dependency and addiction.

I began by mixing the above colours. I used black and white to form a light grey, which symbolizes ash but also the pure metal before it rusts. Contrast to this, I used 3 warmed tones in hopes to emphasize the grey tones and make them stand out. I used a crimson red to symbolize the human body and blood. Also red has connotations of danger, pain and overall negative emotions. I used the brown earthy tones as I noticed rust either has the warmed orange tones or raw brown tones. I wanted to incorporate both into my piece. I mixed some of the brown with yellow to create a more orange tone to complement the brown. 

I wanted to use the 'dirty pour' technique on this piece, but I wasn't sure how to do it on such a large scale. Usually, for the smaller pours I only need a small cup or shot glass amount of paint to cover the surface, but for this larger scale, I'll need a lot more paint. I decided, in the end, to pour all the acrylics into one large cup, and just pour them onto the canvas, as they'd still mix but just wouldn't all pour at the same time.

In the above video, shows me pouring the acrylic, and also using a heat gun to bring out the cells to the surface of the piece. I used a heat gun over a hairdryer as a heat gun gets hotter than a hairdryer, and the air comes out at less force, so it's less likely to actually move the paint, it just heats the surface, drawing the oil upwards.

Once I'd finished covering the canvas, what happens to the piece is out of my control, as the paints will continue to move and create new marks until it dries. This is a photo close up straight after it had been poured. These marks hold a lot of the motion from moving the canvas to cover it in the paint. The layers are rather visible, and the colours arent as deep in tone as I want at this point, but as theres PVA glue in the mix, the colours will darker as the PVA glue dries clear, leaving just the pigment from the acrylic. Also it looks rather shiny when wet, but due to thee flow enhanser, it will mattify.

After using a heat gun to create even more cells, the final outcome before drying looked like this. I
find the some of the cells came out really well, mostly at the edges, in the bottom corners, theres a great contrast between colours which gives the piece more depth. Whereas the centre of the piece, the colours blend together too much in my opinion, and although cells are still present, as theyre the same colours, its diffecult to see unelss very close up. I hoped as the piece would dry these areas would become darker and reveal more defined cells.

Across is the piece 2 days later, once dried. I feel the cells arent as defined as I'd like them to be. I think by using similar colours, theyve blended together to much especially towards the centre of the piece. Although there are some very defined and vibrant cells, they're hidden almost by the cells which have blended together in the centre of the piece.
Another problem I encountered was there are several small cracks throughout the piece. I think this is from the emulsion layer under the acrylic which has pulled the water out of the paint causing it to crack as it dried, revealing the white layer.

However, close up, some of the cells present show a varety of colours, tones and give the piece overall more depth.
The cells created look better on a smaller scale, as I noticed they're still quite small. I think I need to find a way to create larger cells, as I feel although the scale has increased, the actual scale of my work in terms of the detail has remained the same. I'll try some more expermients in which I try to create larger cells on a s smaller scale before translating that onto a larger one. Below are some close up photos of the piece:

Below are some close ups of the cracks in my work, although not planned, they give an extra layer of depth into my piece, as well give it a 3-D aspect too.