I have recently asked my Instagram followers if they have any issues with their pours that I could help with. Cracking paint seems to be a common issue, so I decided to write a short blog post about it :) Enjoy!
I had issues with cracking paint in the past as well (as you can see on the top banner). Nothing shameful in cracked painting and sometimes it can even be an interesting addition to your creation.
Reason 1: Paint dries too quickly
This often happens in the summer when it's hot and humid. Although you're sweating all over, you're still determined to continue your passion and pour. You leave your painting to dry and next day... you scream in agony looking at all the cracks. So what can you do if you live in a hot place or you're struggling to protect your painting from direct sun when drying? Think of your painting as if it's your pet which you want to protect and to protect it... you need to build it a fortress! (that was so deep... 😲).
Do you have any cardboard boxes laying around the house? or can you buy one? Put your painting under a box making sure there's a gap at the bottom so air can still easily flow inside the box. That will help your painting dry slower and steadier. Chances of it cracking under that box as very slim. The downside is you need extra space for the box.
Reason 2: You've used the wrong paint
This happened to me when I was trying to experiment and decided to buy acrylic house paint (one used for painting ceiling). I have poured it alongside artistic acrylic paint. I was so proud of myself - I managed to save some money on paint and it looked amazing... until the next morning when it started to flake off and crack. I learned very quickly to not to mix different type of paints... also... not to use ceiling paint for pour paintings ;)
Reason 3: Overheated paint
Remember to only use your heat gun or torch for a few seconds. Don't try to force cells when they are not appearing anymore, you'll only destroy your painting, it won't dry evenly and often crack. Big no-no. Not to mention you can set it on fire :) [did I mention already that you should always have a small fire extinguisher at hand at home? like always! not only if you're a pour painter]
Reason 4: Paint was too thick
In pour painting paint consistency is super important. If it's too thick or too thin... it will start cracking while drying. Always make sure your paint has a gorgeous silky smooth consistency. Not too watery, not too thick. If it's so smooth you want to eat it because it looks like melted candies - that's the perfect consistency ;)
So what to do if your painting cracks?
You can accept and love it. Cracks often add an awesome 3d look to your paintings, especially if you can see other colours sticking through cracks. It can be truly beautiful!
Fill cracks with paint. You have to be careful while doing that to not to destroy the rest of the painting. You need to slowly fill cracks with a paint color that would complement your painting... my advice - fill it with gold. Everything looks 110% better with gold paint ;)
Give up and pour over it again. If you don't like how it looks like and filling cracks in is not an option, try again! Just make sure your painting is properly dry before you do that
Hope you enjoyed reading this blog post,
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