FLOWER BOUQUET WITH ACRYLIC SHEETSLearn how to create a flower bouquet with acrylic sheets for the look of blown glass and the permanence of Liquitex products. Pouring Medium and acrylic paints are used to create beautiful transparent acrylic sheets that are formed into flowers to create a bouquet.

TIME REQUIRED: 2 HRS. (Not including drying time)DIFFICULTY LEVEL:

Large Smooth Surface such as tempered glass, mirror, or waxed sheets

Painter’s TapeEmpty cup, container, or plastic bottles for each color to mix Pouring Medium with paint

Rags or paper towelWater jar Reeves Tear-Off Palette Pad 9" x 12" to mix colorsScissors or an x-acto knife

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LIQUITEXMATERIALS

OTHERMATERIALS

Pouring Medium

Heavy Body Acrylics:

Quinacrodone Blue Violet

Prism Violet

Dioxazine Purple

Brilliant Purple

Quinacrodone Magenta

Quinacridone Crimson

Ultramarine Blue (Red Shade)

Yellow Medium Azo

Yellow Light Hansa

Vivid Lime Green

Light Green Permanent

Transparent Mixing White

Free Style Traditional Pallete Knife No. 2

Pouring Medium

This project is based on the Calla Lily shape and requires the creation of three separate colored acrylic sheets:

You will want to make your purple acrylic sheet the largest in diameter and it should be poured into a round oval. The green acrylic sheet can be slightly smaller than the purple one and the shape can be more of an elongated oval for the stem shape (long and skinny). Finally, the yellow acrylic sheet will be the smallest and can be a round oval shape.

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NOTE

PURPLE FOR THE FLOWER SHAPE

GREEN FOR THE STEM SHAPE

YELLOW FOR THE STAMEN SHAPES

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01Mix Pouring Medium with Heavy Body Acrylic in cup and blend with palette knife. Be careful not to over agitate the mixture as it will create excessive air bubbles. Transparency looks great in this project so use a bit more Pouring Medium. Create various color mixtures.

02Be sure you have selected a very smooth surface such as a piece of glass or palette paper to pour on to. Gently begin pouring your color mixtures on to your surface and flowing them into each other to create your desired effect. Note: Pouring the paint mixture on to a smooth surface ensures it can be peeled later after it dries.

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You can add additional medium to your poured paint to create additional transparency. This will allow light to flow through the poured sheet when it dries and make the colors seem brighter and more dynamic.

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04Tip: Using a squeeze bottle with a narrow tip allows you to apply the color with more control than pouring out of a cup or bowl. For dynamic effects, vary your application technique between cups and bottles and then manipulate the surface using the techniques that follow.

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05You can drag the tip of a palette knife or other objects through the acrylic sheet to manipulate the color surface while wet. This can create a marbled effect by dragging the colors through each other.NOTE: A lighter touch works best with this technique and helps keep the colors clean and bright.You can also use gravity to move the paint by gently tilting your painting surface to allow the colors to roll into each other.

06Let dry on a flat surface. Generally it will take several hours up to a couple of days to dry depending on the thickness of the acrylic sheet and the relative humidity. Paint will dry faster in a low humidity environment. Test the acrylic sheet to see if it is fully dry by lifting the edge of the film to see if it comes up cleanly.

Tip: Direct sunlight or a fan can help speed drying but be careful not to blow objects, dust, etc onto your acrylic sheets while drying. Also, don’t point the fan directly at the surface of the paint to avoid rippling the surface.

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Once fully dried then you can peel the acrylic sheets up and cut out the desired shapes using a scissor.

TIP: An x-acto knife can be used as well if preferred.

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For this project the flowers created were based on the Calla Lily. To best achieve this effect cut the acrylic sheets into narrow triangles with rounded edges similar to a skinny slice of pizza. This enables you to create a series of elongated cone like shapes that fit into each other.

The purple acrylic sheet will be the flower shape. Begin by rolling a cone shape from the narrow side of your cut out “pizza slice” shape.

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Once you have established the cone shape at the bottom you can press the acrylic sheet firmly into itself to create adhesion that will hold the shape.

Now it is time to form the flower shape at the top of your cone by folding back the acrylic sheet to open up the “Calla Lilly” form. You can use a scissors here to refine the shape of your flower and bring it to life.

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Using a similar technique as above, create a longer and skinnier cone shape using the green acrylic sheet for the “stem” of the flower. Finally, do the same to create the much smaller stamen shape by rolling the yellow acrylic sheet and then round one of the ends by folding it over on itself.

Repeat the process for as many flowers you would like in your bouquet and then assemble together into a vase. For additional inspiration you may find it useful to look at the work of artists such as Claus Oldenburg’s flower sculptures or Dale Chihuly’s blown glass.

Finally place the flower shape into the stem shape and the stamen shape into the flower. You can create adhesion between the shapes by firmly pressing them into each other.

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