To date all of the swipes I’ve done have either been with white or with black. Both give great results and it’s my favorite way to create cells and create a painting. I love the pop of color as it peeks from behind the base color – black or white.
But I wanted to see if I could create swipes with other colors? Would paint density come into play? I would have to make sure I wasn’t using a really light color that tends to always come to the surface – so orange was certainly out for me to try with.
I picked a palette of magenta, black and gold and decided to use gold for my swipe. It worked! I got some really pretty cells. The black cells surrounded by the pink outline and then the gold all around that – stunning! One of my favorite color combos so far – I always love anything bright and with high contrast.
I also tried a slightly different mix for my paints and was interested to see if I got any different results to usual. I mixed 1 tbsp of paint with 1 tbsp of Floetrol and about a 1tsp of alcohol. No water at all in the paint this time, it was all thinned with alcohol. I’d seen other painters use it to get huge cells – would it work for me?
So yes, you can swipe with other colors. Give it a try and see which ones work for you!
Check out the slideshow below for more details, wet and dry photos and some close up of the pretty cells created in this project.
After being told in high school that she was so bad at art that she should switch to another subject, Deby didn’t paint again for 35 years. Then a stroke released a new wave of creativity and she began exploring with dot painting, abstract and eventually acrylic pouring, and at last the joy of working with color returned. You don’t need ‘talent’ to be an acrylic pouring artist – just enthusiasm, some basic instruction, and a willingness to try, fail and try again. Paint along with her and learn from her many mistakes, and you’ll soon make great art together.