Create Fantastic Abstract Art by Marbling with Acrylic Paint on Fabric
The wonderful thing about being in a group of like-minded people is that although we are like-minded, we’re not same-minded. There’s an abundance of variety in thought, skills, and talents which make the group dynamic.
I’m a member of a small art group. There are six of us in the group. We meet once a month to discuss and share our art.
One of the members of my group – Dwight Lopes- has been exploring marbling with acrylic paint on fabric for a long while. He’s always exploring and trying new things. He even traveled to Turkey to see this ancient art being done. I look forward to seeing his new surface designs via marbling (with acrylic paint on fabric) at our monthly meetings.
Marbling involves floating inks and paints (acrylic, watercolor etc.) on a liquid or gel medium. Then you lay paper or fabric on top of the liquid to pick up the paints. This creates beautiful patterns that can result in fantastic abstract art.
Dwight offered to treat the group to a workshop where he’d teach us how we can create our own marbling with acrylic paint on fabric. I could hardly wait to take the workshop. I have so many tubes of acrylic paint which were gifted to me a while back. They’ve been sitting in my studio to be used. So this workshop to me, was just the inspiration I needed.
Here’s a quick overview of our marbling workshop.
Supplies for Marbling with Acrylic Paint on Fabric
- Acrylic Paints (available at Art stores like DickBlick.com) UPDATE: Formula for thinning paints below
- Mixture of methocel marbling medium, fabric medium, and water (affiliate link)
- PFD Cotton available at Prochem, Dharma Trading)
- Alum Sizing for pre-treating cotton fabric (affiliate link)
- Pipettes for dropping paint (affiliate link)
- Combs, sticks, other implements for creating patterns
- Newsprint for removing bubbles in marbling medium
- Water for rinsing
- Flat surface to hold marbled fabric
Formula for Thinning Acrylic Paints
2 parts Golden Fluid acrylic paint
1 part water
1 part GAC 900 acrylic medium (affiliate link)
Step by Step Instructions for Marbling With Acrylic Paint On Fabric
Step 1
Fill a tub with marbling medium and remove bubbles from the medium using folded newsprint.
Step 2
Drop different colors of acrylic paint onto the marbling medium (some paints move faster than others)
Step 3
Create patterns by using combs, brushes, sticks and other implements to move paint drops around. You can make swirls, flowers, organic shapes etc.
Step 4
Gently lay alum-sized fabric on top of floating acrylic paint-pattern
Step 5
Gently pick up your fabric, which would have in turn picked up the paint patterns
Step 6
Rinse with water
Step 7
Hang to dry
Step 8
Iron on the wrong side for several minutes (10 minutes or more), using pressing sheets to protect your iron and ironing board
You can download your own copy of the instructions below.
Designs Created from Marbling With Acrylic Paint on Fabric.
Here are the designs I created.
I used a stick to create patterns in this one.
No agitation to the paint drops here- I just picked up the paint as-is
I splattered paint on the marbling medium to create this marbled fabric
I used 2 different combs to create this pattern
Here, I used a stick to gently move the paint drops around the tub to create patterns
Our workshop was wonderful. I stayed long past the time the class was supposed to end because I was having such great fun. There’s a lot more to explore. I’ve got to make time to try it out in my studio.
It’s a very exciting technique. Dwight has studied the topic in depth and still continues studying it. It’ll be fun to see some of the new discoveries he makes with this surface design method.
For me, I’m still thinking of ways in which I can incorporate it in my current work. I look forward to finally using some of the acrylic paint I’ve got sitting here in my studio.
UPDATE: See how I used these fabrics to create some really awesome textile art.
Questions: Are you interested in surface designs? Have you tried marbling with acrylic paints and how do you like it? What are some of the challenges that you’ve had with marbling? Start a discussion and let’s talk about this fun surface design technique.
Warmest Regards,
This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small percentage of sales made using affiliate links. Thanks so much!
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I’ve tried marbling 3 times now, using different paints each time, and was disappointed each time. Some paints were too heavy, and dropped down into the methocel, and the others looked ok when wet but turned out rather dull when the fabric dried. What type of paints did you use? And did they have to be thinned with water?
Laura, sorry to hear your marbling experience to date hasn’t been a stellar one.
We used acrylic paints in this workshop and yes the acrylic paints are thinned
2 parts Golden Fluid acrylic paint
1 part water
1 part GAC 900 acrylic medium
I did notice too that some of the paints fell to the bottom. The paints are certainly not the same. They each act differently. I’ve also learned that you need to iron your fabric for quite a while to heat set the paint. Otherwise you can lose some of the color intensity after washing.
I hope that helps.
Clara.
Thanks for the info, Clara. I’ve never added the GAC medium to any of the paints I’ve used, nor ironed the pieces before washing, so I’ll try both next time.
Those two changes should make a difference. Let me know how you make out when you try out marbling again.
I have also found that slow application of the iron helps to set the paint before the wash. Sometimes I just move too quickly! Thank you Clara for the step by step photos.
Thanks Maureen for that tip. I can see how I’d “hurriedly” ran the iron over the fabric to get done so I could move on to something else. It’s a lot of experimentation for sure that will produce consistently good results 🙂
I love the results!
Yes, lovely!!! But Carol, I know you also create some awesome surface designs.
This is stunning! I just discovered acrylic pouring techniques and stumbled upon this blog post. Thank you for the detailed instructions! As I’m new to marbling, what is the ratio you use for the marbling medium (and what is it?!)? I honestly thought it was just water (lol). Thanks!!
Christine, you’re most welcome.
Make the marbling medium by mixing 1.5 TBS of methocel, 1 TBS of ammonia and 1 gallon of warm water.
I’m working on an ebook with even more instructions PLUS shopping guide for my subscribers. I’ll post it here as soon as it’s ready in a few weeks. So check back again.
I am interested in an ebook is it available?
Hi Julie,
Thanks for writing. Click here to get the FREE marbling ebook.
Warmest regards,
Clara
I have mixed the paints to your specifications. I bought the same paints etc you said you use. When I add 1 part water it spreads very fast it does not come back to a circle. I have tried adding just a small amount and it still spreads a bit to much. The black is a big problem. It drops to the bottom. It does not spread even adding more water. Do you have any trouble with black
Hi..Clara
Glad to have found a forum to seek help from marbling experts like you..
I was fascinated by ebru art of Turkish marbling and since almost a year I have been planning and putting things together like firstly size.. After trying almost everything of what ever I could get my hands on I have now found a good size which works fairly well Guar gum..
Secondly the paints that I prefer(fabric paint very good pigments) are now out of production but I have gathered enough to experiment and now the paints are being naughty and every single one of them have a very different characteristics ????so I don’t know what to do tried everything already but I just wish I could take these to an expert and get them to make the paints readily usable ???? so I can stop experimenting and start enjoying. Any help or advice you can give me regarding the paint and size trouble shooting would be much appreciated.
Regards
Frustrated ???? DIY er
Is there a certain acrylic paint to use for marbling or can it just be water based?
LaFonia, I used water-based acrylic paints for my marbling. Recently, I’ve come across water-based paint specifically made for pouring (marbling) on fabric, although I’ve not tried it. Prochemical and Dye has it. You can find their pourable paint here. I hope that helps.
Warmest regards,
Clara.
Hi Clara
I had my first craft fair last weekend and did pretty well. It seemed that by the afternoon the paint was reacting differently-not spreading the same and some of the paint started dropping to the bottom. I changed my carrageenan mid day-the fresh carrageenan had been sitting out all morning in the warm temperatures in the shade. I have a couple questions-firstly should I try using methocel for the water? And secondly have been using the Jacquard marbling paint-do you feel the Gold liquid acrylic paint is better? I have never really been satisfied with the Jacquard red being vibrant enough.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Linda
Hey Linda,
I’m so glad to hear you did well at your first craft fair. My suggestion is to do small experiments at home trying different paints and carrageenan combinations. Some people swear by one or the other. Also, the hardness of the water where you live could influence your results.
All the best.
Clara.
I remember marbling paper in girl scouts long ago. I use fabrics in (art) quilts now and like the idea of using my own “prints”. How pliable is the fabric after the process? Can you use it like ordinary fabric or is it stiffer?
Best, Jodie
Yes Jodie, the fabrics are very “pliable” after you iron them. I’ve used some in creating textile art as you can see here.
What else can one use aside marbling medium?
Hello! I was wondering about the use of alum on the fabric with acrylic paints. I have seen this in other instructions for marbling with acrylics as well, but I have been curious about it since alum isn’t required for acrylic fabric painting generally. What does the alum do and why is it specifically suggested (or required) for marbling with acrylics? Thanks!
Great question, Lori.
The alum acts as a mordant.
It helps fix the paint to the fabric.
A tip I’ve found helpful that I don’t think was specified in the instructions is to use distilled water to dilute your paints. I also wouldn’t necessarily start with a 1:1 paint to water ratio – use smaller amounts of water, mix, see how it works, and add more water as necessary to get the desired spread. Also not mentioned in the instructions, if the paint is just dropping to the bottom it can be coaxed to spread with a dispersant (I use Golden Acrylic Flow Release medium). Too much of this will make the paint spread to the point of disappearing so, again, experiment with just a tiny drop at a time to get the desired result. To minimize all this fussing around Jacquard has come out with a line of marbling paints that really perform very well without any mixing or diluting at all. Marbling can be frustrating, but often it’s more about letting go of your preconceptions of what you WANT it to look like or what you EXPECT the paint to do and just let it happen – there are really no mistakes here!
Great tips, Deb. Thanks for sharing.
I really want to try this. Where do you find Methocel?
Hi, when marbelizing a t-shirt, what shoule I place between the front and back sides to marbelize? Ane I am guessing the front and back have to be separately, right?
How thick should the carrageenan be? If I follow the directions on the package, I find it too thin. Some instructions suggest it should be like wallpaper paste, if you are not familiar with this paste how do we gauge?