In a world where many artists rely solely on intuition, David's methodical and inquisitive nature stand out. He isn't just content with creating; he needs to understand the science behind the beauty. A self-described "IT nerd," his blend of logic and creativity is what makes his work at Leftbrainedartist so unique and captivating. His followers love the way he breaks down the process and provides easy-to-follow instruction to create one-of-a-kind works of art. Check out his work and be prepared to learn a lot along the way!
You have an interesting story. Tell our audience how you got into fluid art.
Back in 2019, my brother and I were cub scout leaders. If you aren’t familiar with cub scouts, they are 8 – 11-year-old boys. Our den, another name for a group of cub scouts, had about 7 boys coming to our bi-weekly den meetings where we all learned about things like how to tie knots, how to whittle wood, outdoor games, the stars, and any other things these boys might be interested in.
At this same time, I had just started to see acrylic pouring on Instagram and had been binge watching videos.
While planning our cub scout activities we decided that we’d try and do acrylic pouring with the boys. It involved throwing paint around with a half a dozen little humans with the attention span of a goldfish. What could possibly go wrong?
In the end we purchased the supplies we needed, put out some painter’s plastic on my basketball court, made up a bunch of different colors of paint with glue and water, and we had one of the most enjoyable times making a fantastic mess with those cub scouts. I think my brother and I had the most fun out of everyone though.
From there I started pouring on my own. I am a computer programmer by trade and the way that most artists were teaching acrylic pouring back then really didn’t resonate with me. I wanted to know the WHY behind acrylic pouring. That is when I started my blog and YouTube channel Leftbrainedartist.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I see potential acrylic pours in everything now including book covers, drapes, clothing, advertisements, other people’s art, YouTube, Instagram. If it has color, I am probably thinking about how to use those same colors in an acrylic pour.
I love watching my fellow pouring artists on YouTube and Instagram. To be honest, I probably watch them way too much at this point.
What is your favorite part of the process?
I love understanding why the paints and pouring mediums interact like they do. When cells form, or you get lacing, or the colors make 3D patterns, I want to know why. I want to experiment until I know the reason why things that I see are happening.
I think my brain really requires that understanding before I can really internalize a new way to pour, whether that be a technique, a paint combination, or a new pouring recipe.
What is your least favorite part of the process?
Cleanup. Once I am done painting, I don’t want to have to do anything else. That is one of the reasons I love the silicone mats I got from Lolivefe. I know I can leave the paintings to drip on the mats and come back and instead of hating cleaning up, I can enjoy picking off the small pieces of paint that have dried on the silicone.
Do you have a favorite piece of art that you have created? What made it special?
My favorite piece of art was a pour I did through a BBQ grate. I used white, orange, yellow, red, and purple and made a fire piece that I just love. It is my digital avatar on all my work computer apps. This one still hangs in my studio.
What advice would you give to new or up and coming artists?
Master a single technique and pouring mixture first. Then move on to a new medium and master that or move on to a new technique and master that. There are a million different pouring recipes and a hundred different techniques.
If you try a new one every time you pour, you’ll rarely learn enough to get the results you are looking for and you’ll start feeling like you are a failure or start to not enjoy pouring.
Prioritize learning the straight pour or the tree ring pour with a glue/water or Floetrol/water mixture as your medium. Master that. Then try a new technique.
Very few people trying to replicate one of the masters like Olga Soby, Rinske Douna, or Molly get it on the first try, or even on the 50th try. Every once in a while, you’ll create a masterpiece but more often than not your pour will be a steppingstone to making better art on your next try.
Love your failures. They teach you so much more than your successes.
Where can people find you?
The best place is my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/leftbrainedartist. I have a blog with a few awesome tools for beginners at https://leftbrainedartist.com or you can join my acrylic pouring community, The Pouring Nation, at https://community.leftbrainedartist.com.
Check him out!