StretchLearn Course

Pour Acrylics That Form Cells on Purpose

From the exact paint-to-medium ratio to silicone-driven cells and a properly sealed canvas, the repeatable way.

Beginner9 hr 25 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This beginner course teaches acrylic pouring as a controllable craft rather than a lucky accident. You will dial in paint-to-medium ratios by paint body, understand the density and surface-tension physics that make cells form, and work through the three core techniques, dirty pour, swipe, and ring pour, with named tools, brands, and measured recipes. By the end you can produce cells on demand, avoid the common failures of crazing, muddy colour, and delamination, and finish a canvas with a varnish or resin coat that protects it for years.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Mix fluid acrylic to a pourable consistency using Floetrol, GAC 800, or Liquitex Pouring Medium at the correct ratio for your paint body

Explain how pigment density and surface tension drive cell formation and use that to predict results before you pour

Activate and control cells with silicone oil, dimethicone, or a heat source rather than relying on chance

Execute a dirty pour, a swipe, and a ring pour as distinct, repeatable techniques with predictable outcomes

Diagnose and prevent the common failures of crazing, muddy colour, run-off waste, and lifting from the canvas

Seal and protect a finished pour with an isolation coat plus a varnish or epoxy resin topcoat

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Paint, Medium, and the Physics of a Pour

Understand what makes acrylic flow, mix paint to a pourable consistency by ratio, and learn the density and tension physics that decide whether you get cells or mud before you ever tip a cup.

3 lessons

What Pouring Medium Does and Why You Need ItContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Mixing to a Pourable Consistency by RatioContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Density, Surface Tension, and Why Cells AppearContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Cells on Demand: Silicone, Heat, and Control

Turn cell formation from luck into a dial you control, using silicone oil and dimethicone, a torch, and good technique, while keeping the additives from wrecking your varnish later.

3 lessons

Silicone Oil and Dimethicone: How Much and What KindContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Making Cells Without Silicone: Heat, Air, and FloetrolContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Studio Setup, Safety, and Avoiding FailuresContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: The Three Core Techniques

Build real skill in the three pours that cover most fluid art, the dirty pour and its flip-cup variant, the swipe, and the ring pour, each as a distinct repeatable method.

3 lessons

The Dirty Pour and Flip CupContent · 50 min

LMS Access

The SwipeContent · 50 min

LMS Access

The Ring Pour and Choosing a TechniqueContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Curing, Sealing, and Finishing

Take a finished pour from wet canvas to a protected, gallery-ready piece, removing silicone, applying an isolation coat, and choosing between varnish and epoxy resin.

3 lessons

Curing and Removing SiliconeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Isolation Coat and Why It MattersContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Varnish or Resin: Choosing and Applying a TopcoatContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

acrylic pouringfluid artpouring mediumcellssilicone oildirty pourswipe techniqueresin finishing