How to Splatter Paint

Do you love the ’80s? Grab some neon paint because we’re going back in time to show you how to splatter paint. Totally rad!

The ’80s are back! Just look at some of the hottest styles right now…TOTALLY NEON! I’m a huge fan of ’80s music and fashion, but ’80s decor…not so much. With that said, I’m a sucker for some awesome splatter paint art. You can use these painting techniques to give an ’80s twist to your next upcycling project!

Splatter painting isn’t hard. As a matter of fact, the perfect splatter-paint-job can be achieved in just three easy steps.

DRIP-DROP

Big splats of color are essential for achieving the perfect ’80s splatter paint pattern. To achieve this, I place my canvas on the ground. I then load up my paint brush and hold it above the canvas. Give yourself some height – like 4 feet. Now hold the brush above the canvas and let it drip down. The higher you are, the bigger the “splat” that your paint will make. I’ve even pulled out a stool so I could get different sized splats.

SLING STYLE

Now things are about to get messy! Dip a clean paint brush into a new paint color. Sling some paint onto your canvas. This technique is all about the wrist-action. If you can pop your wrist quickly, you’ll likely achieve a really cool pattern. For this technique, be sure your canvas is laying on a flat surface. You’ll also want to protect the area surrounding canvas. This step is like throwing a stone to watch it skip across the water. Your basically slinging paint from a side angle. This sling-style is how you achieve those totally tubular streaks!

THE FLICK

You’ll need two paint brushes for this step. But only put paint on one brush. Then you’re going to tap one brush against the other allowing the paint to flick onto your canvas. Imagine a drummer tapping his drum sticks together at the beginning of a song – that’s what you’re doing with your paint brushes. This step allows you to fill in any blank spaces on your canvas.

Now that you know how to splatter paint, go crazy and try it on everything. Notebooks, thrifted t-shirts, boring old pieces of furniture – the sky is the limit. And you can use as many colors as you want too. Jackson Pollack would be so proud if you gave this craft a try!