A dip of Summer Greens

For the most part I would consider myself a fairly adventurous person creatively. I see something that looks like a fun creative challenge, or a new pouring technique and I want to give it a try.  However, where I am not so adventurous, is in my color choices. I have a couple of color combinations that I stick to pretty closely when it comes to acrylic pouring because they are always successful for me and they’re colors I would feel comfortable hanging in my own house. But every so often I decide to take a plunge into colors I’m not comfortable with, or that I can’t imagine could turn into something “pretty.” Interestingly, as skeptical as I am going in, whenever I have the courage to do this I am almost always pleasantly surprised to find that I really love the result! The greens in today’s dip are a perfect example of that.

I posted a picture of the first greens dip I did in the Acrylic Pouring Facebook group and was overwhelmed with the wonderful response. I loved reading the descriptions of what people saw in the dip, like “Lily of the Valley” or “A bouquet of white tulips” even “lettuce salad!” Hah! That’s the wonderful abstract nature of acrylic pouring. The same painting can bring a unique image to each person who views it.

Acrylic Pouring Greens Dip Technique

Dips are not a new technique and not my creation, but my goal with this video is to share exactly how I got the results for this dip and what I think the important parts of the process are to get as close as possible to the same results when you try.  

Supplies I Used:

  • Tin foil
  • Blank canvas (I used an 8” x 24”)
  • Some heavy objects to help hold the tin foil down as you pull the canvas out of the paint.
  • * in Titanium white  (mixed in a 9 oz cup and used most of it), Olive Green Light (all greens were mixed in 3 oz cups but used approx 2 oz of each), Yellowish Green, Brilliant Green, Olive Green Dark

*All Amsterdam brand and no silicone in any of the colors

General instructions and tips for success:

Lay down a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.

Press a clean canvas down onto the aluminum foil to make an indentation of the outline of the canvas size.

Lay white paint within the parameters of the marks on the foil. (Tip: The white will not completely cover all the foil area as you will see in the video. The green will cover any blank areas.)   

Begin drizzling your greens throughout the white, putting some small puddles in any areas where the tin foil shows. (Tip: Don’t forget the edges and outer corners.)

Flip your canvas over and carefully press it into the paint. (Tip: Press canvas firmly and carefully to keep it from sliding around or sideways.)

Place whatever heavy objects you have to hold down your tin foil around the parameter of your canvas. (Tip: The better you are able to keep the foil from lifting, the better your dip will turn out.)  

Very slowly pull your canvas up from the paint.  (Tip: The press and the pull up are the most critical stages for getting the kind of patterning I got in this video. When pulling up, the paint will create suction so try to keep your canvas from being sucked sideways as it’s coming up.)

I hope your dip turns out as delightful as this one did and maybe if you weren’t much of a fan of greens, this might change your mind as it did for me! Good luck and happy pouring!

46 thoughts on “A dip of Summer Greens”

  1. That’s a real beauty. I’m just about to start a “Dutch Pour” to hang in my living room but I may rethink it after seeing this. Love it.

  2. Did you add silicone or any other item into your white and green paints to get the consistency you wanted before pouring? Beautiful!!

    1. Beautiful…I noticed you didn’t add silicone to your colors, but did
      you mix Floetrol with your greens and if so what was the percent?

    2. Thanks Viv! Good luck, I hope you’ll post your results on the AP Facebook group!

    1. Christine matthews

      Simple you get canvas showing through where the paint hasn’t attached itself

    2. I haven’t tried it, but my guess is you’ll get a different result, possibly your canvas may not get covered completely, maybe a different pattern and I’m not sure if you’ll get the cell action that comes from pressing and somewhat mixing the white. But, you know this is all about experimentation so you could try it and see what happens! 🙂

    1. laurel arbogast

      Is it the Amsterdam paints then that make the cells. No Silicone and you don’t use the Floetrol either? Nothing but the paints? It’s really a beautiful piece!

    2. Christine Matthews

      Titanium White is the heaviest paint it will always try to sink through the other paints causing cells.

    3. Hi Marina, no there is no silicone in any of the colors. The cells form from the consistency of the paint, the interaction when the canvas is pressed down which forces some paints through others. I hope that makes sense…lol. All my paints are that “melted ice cream consistency”. I hope I wrote or said in the video that I use Floetrol as my pouring medium.

  3. SomeoneOnTheShore

    Wow! Love this! I was wondering if you can use baker’s paper instead of the foil? Also, how do cells form with no silicone??? One more thing, I also paint beach stones, so I will use stones (painted or unpainted) to provide the weight in holding down the foil.

  4. This is quite lovely! I haven’t heard of this technique before & am quite impressed. However, I too am confused that if you do not use silicone, what is forming the cells? Do you mix acrylic paint with water only, or what else are you adding to the paint to cause cells to form. Please let us know!

  5. This is absolutely beautiful…you have definitely inspired this beginner over the pond in Scotland…thank you!

  6. Barbara Henson

    I like this method, seems not to waste a lot of paint since another canvas can be used to get another finished item. I heard that you did not use silicone, so what causes the cells?

  7. Very nice! I like the way it turned out and the fact that it is less messy than some other techniques. I want to try this now. Thank you for the very clear explanation.

  8. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks so much for your instruction. I shall give it a try. I love the colours you have used and the final effect which is so wonderful! This process soudns like so much fun!!

  9. Did you use a pouring medium in the colors? Also, do your sides get covered when you do the dip?

  10. I absolutely love this pour and your technique. My only question is how do you treat the sides? Thanks so much for sharing.

  11. You would not believe how excited I was to see GREEN! GREEN! GREEN! I seemed to be the only one to love this color and then you created this gem! Thank you. I am doing one for my living room today! Thank you again!

  12. I love the effect!! Did you put flitting and silicone in all the paints before you did your pour? I want to try this for sure but was curious what, if anything, you added to the paint before the pour. Thank you!!????

  13. Patricia Schulze

    This is the easiest pour method I have seen yet! I am definitely going to try this!
    Do you put anything on the canvas when its dry? Will the paint crack over time?

  14. Tamara M Chisenhall

    What did you mix your paints with in your dip pour – did you use water, Floetrol or something else and what was the ratio? In your video that was not mentioned. I love how the “leafy greens” look – so pretty!

  15. Truly beautiful! Can’t wait to trymthis technique. You make it look so easy Linda. Hope I have the same success. I live in Sydney Australia & love watching the amazing techniques acrylic pouring affords

  16. If I am trying to make a multi canvas piece for my bedroom wall, would this give each canvas a similar but unique feel to it? I LOVE the beautiful feathered look this technique gives the paint but I don’t want two identical pieces next to each other.

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