How to Turn a Flip Cup Pour into a Landscape – It’s Easy!

In this video I’ll show you how to turn one of your flip cup pours into a landscape. I was surprised at just how easy it is. At this point in your Pour Painting Journey I’m assuming you are comfortable using the flip cup technique; if not, you should come back to this video a bit later. Give 40 Essential Tips for Acrylic Paint Pouring Beginners a read to set you on your way. If you are comfortable with your pouring skills, sit back, watch this video and then head to your studio (or kitchen) for some fun.

Turn this…

Into this…

 

A Note From Steve  

Pour painting is enticing because it is both deceptively simple and tricky all at the same time. After the initial learning curve starts to flatten out and you start getting good at creating pour paintings, you may find that your walls are covered with flip cups and straight pours– all of which you love and enjoyed creating– but you may start to wonder “What next?”

Some Simple Steps 

This video is a really nice answer to that question. Here’s what to do next: 

• Pour, flip, and tilted your canvas to a satisfying end.
• Add some green paint across the bottom third of your canvas 
• Do a swipe on that new line of color. The swipe will instantly create a horizon line which will separate sky from land. 
• Add a line of black paint across the horizon line you just created. That line of paint will become trees once you manipulate it with a kitchen fork.

The video will demonstrate exactly how to create the illusion of trees.

A few words of advice before you begin creating your landscape…

As always, relax and have fun. Remember this is something new and you may have to try it a few times before you get the hang of it. 

 

This is key– once you have done your swipe and created land and sky, No More Tilting! I made this mistake several times. If you tilt at this stage your horizon line gets wonky and the painting is less convincing as a landscape. Getting this technique down has taken a lot of trial and error, check out some of my progress here: My Latest Poured Landscape

Try not to drip paint into other areas as you create the trees. This video would have been much shorter if I didn’t have to spend so much time with a Q-tip removing drips from land and sky.

Finally, don’t overthink things. Try to work intuitively if you can. Consider the whole thing a learning process. I won’t lie, it can be a little tough trying to manipulate the paint into the illusion of trees. Just go with it and plan to do a second painting. I find that takes the pressure off and I’m free to have more fun.

One last thought…

If you want to start with little steps, simply do your pour, add some green paint across the bottom of the canvas, and do a swipe. That alone will create sky and land which will give you a simple landscape.