3 Ways to Transform a Good Pour into a Brilliant Piece of Art

 

Have you ever made a good pour and then wondered what to do to make your pour great? Do you sometimes feel you know the technique to make a pour, but it doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped? Most of us have. Luckily, all it takes is a little extra knowledge and some practice to transform any good pour into a great piece of work. I want to share a few tips that I use to take my pours from “good” to a piece of art that I can sell for thousands of dollars.

A New Perspective on Pouring

Before I share my three tips to transform your work, I need to help shift your perspective a bit. A fluid art piece doesn’t start and end when the paint is poured on the canvas. There’s actually a lot that can be done before and after the pour, and these are the details that make a big difference. For me, AFTER the pour is where the most interesting phase begins.

Understanding the whole pouring process takes some practice and time but the sooner you start thinking about it, the earlier you will start improving your art practice. Hopefully it will open new doors for you, and over time, you will be able to take your artistry to another level.

Even if fluid art is blissfully freer in terms of rules than most other genres, there are still things we can learn from more traditional art. Most humans tend to code visual impressions somewhat similar. It is not a coincident that some colors look good together for most of us, or that sunsets are considered beautiful.

What I have learned over the years are that there are three key components to consider when creating an artwork; the harmonization of colors, the composition and creating depth. Being aware of them, and implementing them to your artistry, can be the difference between a good and a brilliant piece of art.

#1. Harmonization of colors

When planning your artwork and choosing a color scheme for the painting, don’t look at the different colors you consider one by one. Colors relates to each other, for example, put a pink color next to a blue color and then put the pink next to orange. It is the same pink, but it will appear in a totally different way.

You do not need to learn everything about matching colors. The important thing is that you build up your intuition and practice. Look at other artwork, what do you think is a good match and what is not. Be aware and plan your color scheme before starting and with time you will find which color combinations work for you and give your artwork a harmonious appearance.

#2. Enhance the composition

The pouring process decides the movement and core composition of the artwork. This process is for most of us spontaneous and it is hard to say in advance exactly how it will turn out. Over the years I have learned to control this process to some extent and I usually have a good idea about how and where shapes and transitions will take place.

However, I believe the next phase, after the pour, is equally important. When the pour is done, I start looking for components in the composition that can be enhanced to make it more interesting. Usually I want to make certain movements more highlighted and create patterns to get a dynamic flow in the piece.

I usually do this in two steps:

1.  I create cells in different sizes and shapes in some areas to make some parts richer and more present.

   

2. When the paint is dry, I go over to make lines and dots, with a brush and acrylics, that draws the attention to the parts I want to highlight. This gives the movement in the artwork a new dimension and enhance the overall composition with a more dynamic impression.

   Creating lines after the pour

   

#3. Creating depth

In fluid art, you usually don’t have a motif with background and foreground that gives depth to the painting as in other art genres. If we want depth, which I believe make the painting more interesting, we must use other methods.

You can of course create a sense of depth with combining colors, but I think you have the best possibilities to do it after the pour is done and the paint is dry. I create depth in my painting by making some parts darker or muddier and some parts brighter. It gives a sense of dimensionality; this is best experienced if you squint at the painting with your eyes semi closed.

To do this I use spray paint and sponges. Using spray paint on certain areas create a fading effect, almost as a shadow. With a sponge and some light acrylics, you can create an effect of light in some areas without covering the underlying layer completely.

Using a sponge to add dimensionality

If you are looking to create professional paintings, I think these three things are something to consider. I spend a lot of time after the pour, experimenting with new ways of making details which enhance the artwork, by doing this, you can definitely take your artistry to a new level.

For those interested in getting step by step instruction on how I create professional level fluid art pieces check out my course here at Fluid Art Academy and get 30% off using the coupon code “acrylicpouring”. In this course I hold nothing back and show you exactly how you can take your work to another level by focusing on the composition before and after you pour the paint. I’ve also included a demo of me creating a whole painting from start to finish (which I’ve never revealed before) so you can see everything I do in action.