Encroaching Lava

Acrylic paint on Graphix film
4" x 4" image (8" x 8" matted and framed behind glass)

Poured acrylic painting Encroaching Lava (Little Gem 22) reminds me of the slow-moving lava you might see as the magma on top cools and the thermal layer beneath struggles to continue flowing.

Encroaching Lava is a small, framed, and matted poured acrylic painting. I use a sophisticated technique of pouring paint with added chemicals to create luscious intermixed bubbles and waves of color. Paints are selected based on each color's opacity, density, and color mixing properties, with chemicals added to some (but not all) of them. The paint blends are poured onto Graphix film in layers, tipping and tilting to get the effect I'm after. A butane torch is used to get chemicals to rise to the surface and create cells of color to bubble up.