Acrylic Pouring in a Small Space: 8 Tips for Kiwi Kitchens and Spare Rooms

Our customer Tracey sent us photos of her first acrylic pours made with our silicone oil, and they're stunning. She also mentioned something a lot of pourers run into: "I don't have a big space to work from, so stretching out the cells is a bit difficult at the moment."

Good news: you can get great pours on a kitchen table or a small desk. Here are the tips that make the biggest difference, with Tracey's work to inspire you. Thanks for sharing, Tracey!

1. Go smaller with your canvas

A 20 x 20cm canvas needs far less paint, less table and less tilting room than a big one, and it's much easier to pick up and tilt in your hands. Small square panels are also quick to finish, so you can try more colour mixes in one session. Our 20 x 20cm canvas panels come in a 2-pack.

2. Pour inside a tray or box lid

Set your canvas up inside a large baking tray, a plastic storage tub lid or a cardboard box lined with a bin bag. The sides catch every drip, so you can tilt freely without worrying about the table, the carpet or the cat.

3. Raise the canvas on cups

Stand the canvas on four upturned plastic cups. The paint runs off the edges and down into the tray instead of pooling underneath and gluing the canvas down. Our pouring cups work for mixing and for propping.

4. Tilt in your hands, not across the table

If there isn't room to swing the canvas around on the table, hold it by the edges (gloves on) and tilt it over the tray. Small, slow tilts in each direction let the paint travel to the corners without needing much elbow room.

5. Use silicone oil sparingly for cells

Cells are the round shapes you see in Tracey's pours. A few drops of silicone oil stirred gently into one or two colours is plenty. Too much can leave an oily surface. Because cells come from the oil rather than from stretching the paint a long way, you can still get them on a small canvas.

Big, clear cells on one of Tracey's pours.

6. Let the paint do the work

On a small canvas, stretching the paint too far can thin it out and close up the cells. Pour a little more paint than you think, tilt less, and stop once the canvas is covered. A gentle pass of warm air from a heat gun or hairdryer on low, held well back, can help cells open up. Keep heat away from flammable materials.

7. Plan where it will dry

Pours need to dry flat, usually for a day or more depending on how thick the paint is. Pick a level shelf or the top of a cupboard before you start, and slide the tray there when you're done. Pop an upturned box over the top to keep dust and pet hair off.

Red, green and gold: a festive pour that would make a great Christmas gift.

8. Mix colours in advance

Mixing every colour before you start means you're not spreading cups across the whole table mid-pour. Ready-mixed pouring paint sets skip the mixing altogether. The 60ml sets are a good size for small canvases.

Starting from scratch?

The Pouring Paint Starter Kit has the paints, pouring medium and tools to get going. Add a bottle of silicone oil ($5.99) for cells. For the full method, read our step-by-step acrylic pouring guide.

Made a pour you're proud of? Reply to any of our emails with a photo. We'd love to see it.