I’ve never been too great at doing a dirty pour straight from the cup onto the canvas. Spinning a dirty pour I can do, and flips cups are a big favorite. Otherwise, not so much. I feel my pours really do look ‘dirty’, too messy, too mixed and with no enough contrast and definition.
One way to remedy this is to create two very different cups and pour them both onto the same canvas. (Inspired by Carne Goodrich.) Allow them to merge if you like or separate them with a thin line of a solid color. In my case, I mixed blues, greens and whites to create an ‘ocean’ and then yellow, orange, brown and white to create a ‘beach’ effect. A thin line of white paint separated the two very different pours to stop them blending together where I didn’t want that to happen.
A few extra little white accents, blown with a straw created a waves or foam effect, and the mixing of the blues created a lovely ocean currents feel. I only torched on the beach side of this pour, leaving the blue side to flow more freely.
And ooh, I love it! Some of the blown white details faded a little during the drying, but it was still gorgeous. The metallics are amazing. I simply can’t get enough sparkle and glitter in my art.
Check out the slideshow below for lots more pictures, both wet and dry, and close-ups of all the glorious details.
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.