Splatter Painting With a Stencil

Create a splatter print of an object with an interesting shape – this technique is great with leaves. The print shows the negative space, or the space around the object. To find an object that will make a clear print, look at the silhouette or outline of the object as opposed to specific details on the object. Only select objects that can get covered with paint.

Toothbrush Splatter Painting – Dip an old toothbrush in tempera or acrylic paint. Hold the toothbrush over the object or shape. Run the handle of a paintbrush or a stick over the bristles of the toothbrush. This will cause the paint to flick off of the toothbrush. Keep the toothbrush close to the paper so the paint doesn’t splatter where it shouldn’t go. Reposition the toothbrush to splatter paint around the entire shape. Lift the shape or object.

Spray Bottle Splatter Painting – Put food coloring and water or a liquid watercolor in a spray bottle. Set the nozzle to a fine mist and spray the area around the object.

Dropped and Thrown Paint Designs

This process creates large drops or splatters of paint as opposed to the finer mist from the above techniques. Fill a brush with paint. Hold the brush over the paper and give a slight flick of the wrist so large droplets of paint hit the paper or fabric.

This method doesn’t require use of a stencil; instead drop or throw the paint on the paper or fabric to create large splatters. Attach the paper to a vertical surface to create a different effect since the paint will run down the page instead of staying in place.