DIY Splatter Art – How To Make High End Art for Low Cost – Splatter Silhouettes

Dreaming

Creating art for your home can be easy, fun and affordable. With just a few inexpensive products you can elevate your space with new wall art made by you that fits your style and vibe.

My husband knows that when we start looking for a new item for our home, I’m usually going to fall in love with the most expensive option. Not because I look at the price and think it’s better because it’s more expensive. He has shown me many options before without the price tags and usually I will chose the highest priced one. I’m a trained photographer, so maybe that’s where my eye for nice things comes from, but it is not helpful when trying to update our house into a home on a modest budget.

Thankfully, I’m very creative and can usually find a solution so that I can have something in our home that I am happy with, and not just settling for. With the exception of very large items like couches or anything technology related (hello, I’m not about to build a computer from scratch…yet), I will make it my mission to research and dream until I come up with a feasible way to make what I want for less. Admittedly it’s not always less, but it is always completely custom to our wants and needs.

When it comes to wall art, my problem is usually less to do with the cost (because artists are amazing at what they do and completely deserve the right compensation for it), and more to do with the colour combinations. I am very particular about what colour combinations I like and HIGHLY dislike (I’m looking at you Blue and Pink together). This is what brought me to making my own splatter art. My daughter wanted a mermaid tail for her bedroom wall and everything I found was not ok with me as far as colour combos go. So I decided to make my own.

Let’s get on to the Splatter Art Tutorial now…

Designing

For the splatter art, the first thing to consider is size and type. Will this be a focal point of the wall it’s going on, or more of a small accent within the room? Once you have decided on your size, next up is type. Maybe you want a large canvas that takes up most of the wall, or you could be looking to do something fun for your kids bedroom or playroom. Knowing where it is going and what the rest of the room feels like is important in deciding these things. Maybe it’s just a fun small art project for the kids.

Let’s talk about colours now. A good way to know if the colours you’re thinking of using will actually work is to put the bottles on a shelf or table in the room that the art is going into (if the bottles aren’t transparent you can paint a little swatch on a scrap piece of paper). That way you can visualize if they are the right tone for the room. Below you can see some of the different ways you can apply this technique.

Doing

Here comes the fun part! First up, a list of materials you’ll need:

Materials

• Canvas (any size) Wood or Fabric works well
• Base Paint. You can use craft paint for this. If you want to only do 1 coat of the base, I find using wall paint works much faster and dries beautifully. I get these sample size Behr Paints at The Home Depot for $5.
• Craft Paint Any type of craft paint works here, including this washable kids paint set.
• Large Craft Paint Brush This set is great!
• Small Craft Paint Brushes Like these
• Construction Paper or Printer Paper (For Silhouette Art Only)

Materials for Splatter Art

Step 1 – Paint The Background

Whether you are doing a silhouette or a flat canvas, the first step is to paint your background. If you are using a white canvas and want it to stay white, you’ll obviously skip this step! Otherwise, using your large craft brush, paint on your base colour until the entire canvas/paper is covered.

Painted Wood Canvas Base (Sides edges of this frame will be painted after splashing)

Step 2 – Draw and Cut Out Your Silhouette Shape (Skip to step 3 if not doing a silhouette)

Place your canvas on top of the construction paper and trace it’s size. Remove canvas and draw the shape that you would like your silhouette to be (You could also print a silhouette off Google and trace it). Once you are finished drawing, cut out the silhouette in one solid piece. Place your cutout onto the canvas (you can either place the shape, or the paper that has the shape cut out of it, keeping in mind that the background area that you leave exposed is what will get the paint on it). This sample photo is of an 8×10 frame. For larger canvases, it is best to use painters tape underneath the cutout to secure it in place.

Step 3 – Splatter Paint

There are several techniques you can use for your art:

• Load your brush, then quickly in a downward motion flick the bristles against the thumb on your opposite hand.
• Load your brush and quickly shake the it up and down over the canvas (do this one outside…trust me!)
• Load your brush and use your index finger to flick the bristles while holding the brush above the canvas.
• Suction paint up into a (clean) medicine dropper. Hold it a foot or two above the canvas and quirt in out quickly, on and angle towards the canvas
• Put a touch of water into a spray bottle and add your paint. Spray spray spray away onto your canvas

I like to use the first option, as it gives me the most control and the least mess. But each technique has it’s own special qualities so experimenting with each will help you find your favourite!

Tips for Successful Splattering

1. Layers. Do a little bit of each colour at a time, layering as you go. Once you have gone through every colour, go back and see which colour you want more of. Keep doing layer over layer until you are happy with it’s appearance.
2. Use your background colour as one of your splatter colours. It may seem redundant, you may think it won’t show up, but it will, and it will add beautiful dimension to the project. The background colour will show up as little splashes here and there on top of the other colours (remember the layering?) and looks very sharp.
3. If using technique number one, be sure to wipe off your finger/hand between colours or they will all start to blend into one greyish/brownish glob.
4. Prep. Prep your space for the splatters. Use an old tablecloth or towel, and if doing this with kids it’s best to do it outside or use a drop cloth thats many times larger than the canvas. There will be overspray for sure.
5. Let it dry before removing your stencil. If you have steady hands, you can remove it while wet. Otherwise, it’s best to wait or you risk smudging the outlines as you lift it out of place.
6. For wood canvases, do both sides! Use a different colour or technique on each side and you can flip it around as your desires change.

Silhouette Splatter Art Finished and Drying

Step 4 – Display your Art

You did a beautiful job and worked hard, it’s time to display your work of art proudly!

Finished Product – Flat Canvas Splatter Art

You can apply this splatter art technique to any paint project you are doing, the applications are endless!!

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Until next time,

Oli