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.
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!