The paint technique commonly known as “splatter” or “splatter painting” refers to applying paint to a surface in a way that creates irregular splotches and drips. It emerged as a recognized artistic technique in the mid-20th century and became especially popular among abstract expressionist painters. While splatter painting may seem haphazard, it requires skill and precision to control the flow of paint and achieve the desired splattered effect. Understanding the methods, history, and major artists associated with splatter painting provides insight into this unique painting style.
Definition and Characteristics
Splatter painting, also called splashed or drip painting, is a technique of applying paint to a surface, such as a canvas, in a spontaneous way so that it drips, splashes, and spills to create a textured, abstract effect. The artist flings, pours, drips, and splashes paint onto the surface using brushes, sticks, eyedroppers, or by directly pouring from the paint can. Gravity and the force of the throw cause the paint to drip and splatter.
Characteristics of splatter painting include:
- Irregular splotches and blobs of paint
- Paint drips that run down the canvas
- A lack of control over the final composition
- Thick layers and texture from built up paint
- High contrast colors
- Energetic and expressive appearance
The finished splatter painting has a spontaneous, accidental look, but the technique actually requires practice and experimentation to perfect. Controlling the consistency of the paint, the distance it travels, the force used to splatter it, and layering colors strategically all take skill to master a dynamic splattered effect.
History and Origins
Splatter painting first emerged as a recognized avant-garde art technique in the 1940s and 1950s with the rise of abstract expressionism. Abstract expressionists sought to convey emotion through the very act of painting – using the energy and movement of their bodies to directly apply paint to the canvas.
Some sources for the splattering technique include:
- Surrealist automatism – letting the unconscious guide the creation of art
- Indigenous art like sand painting which use dripping and splashing to apply pigments
- The dripped paint effects seen in Jackson Pollock’s famous action paintings
Pollock is often cited as the pioneer of splatter painting for his technique of moving around a canvas placed on the floor, rhythmically dripping and flinging paint from sticks and brushes. This energetic process allowed him to freely express his emotions through abstract shapes and webs of dripped lines.
Techniques and Process
There are no set rules for splatter painting. Artists experiment with various techniques to develop their own splattering style. Here are some common methods:
Flicking: Load a stiff brush or stick with paint and run your thumb across the bristles to fling paint onto the canvas. Varying the force applied controls the size of the splatters.
Dripping: Hold a brush, stick or eyedropper above the canvas and let droplets of paint drip onto the surface. Tilting the canvas allows drips to run.
Pouring: Directly pour or splash paint from cans or buckets onto the canvas placed on the floor. Layer colors by pouring repeatedly.
Throwing: Energetically throw or splash cups of paint at the canvas using broad arm movements. Creates bold splotches.
Blowing: Load a brush with paint and blow across the bristles to propel droplets onto the canvas. Creates fine dispersed splatters.
Stamping: Dip crumpled balls of paper, plastic or mesh into paint and throw them at the canvas. Creates textured, stained effects.
The paint consistency can be thinned with water or medium for drips or thickened for bolder textures. Controlling the distance, force, layers, and motions pushes the paint to interact in random, chaotic ways across the surface.
Notable Splatter Painting Artists
Here are some key artists known for their distinct splatter painting styles:
Jackson Pollock: American abstract expressionist painter who pioneered the drip painting technique by moving around a canvas on the floor and rhythmically flinging paint with sticks and brushes. His energetic action paintings like Autumn Rhythm feature webs of paint drips.
Robert Motherwell: Abstract expressionist closely associated with gesture painting and spontaneity. Known for his dripped ink blot paintings like Elegy to the Spanish Republic.
Willem de Kooning: Leading abstract expressionist painter who extended Pollock’s drips into violent, energetic floods of paint scraped and flung with palette knives.
Damien Hirst: Major British artist famous for his series of spin paintings made by pouring paint on a rotating canvas to create hypnotic splatters.
David Luck: Contemporary splatter artist who creates giant spin paintings by pouring paint on large rotating canvases placed horizontally on the ground.
John Randall: Created splatter paintings by shooting or throwing containers of paint at boards tacked to his studio wall to capture the burst of color.
Lawrence Stafford: Combines splattering with collage, using squeegees or cardboard strips to flick paint at paper collages layered on flat on the floor.
Rowena Dring: Textile artist who adapted the splatter technique by using a pipette to splatter fabric dyes onto wet fabric for vivid, atmospheric patterns.
Splatter Painting in Pop Culture
Splatter painting holds a strong place in popular culture thanks to its dynamic energy and sublime chaos. Some examples include:
- Gory films: Splatter horror films use blood and gore for shocking special effects, influenced by the visual power of splattered paint.
- Graphic novels: Comic book artists use splattered ink and marks to convey movement and intensity in action scenes.
- Album covers: Splatter artwork is featured on punk, metal and alternative rock albums convey the genre’s rawness.
- Fashion: Splatter prints create edgy graphic print patterns for clothing and accessories.
- Home Decor: DIY splatter painting techniques create one-of-a-kind decorative elements.
The rebellious, disruptive spirit of abstract expressionism lives on through splatter painting’s role in contemporary visual culture. The appeals to let loose, take risks, and break conventions.
Significance in Art History
In the arc of art history, splatter painting forms a key branch in the radical abstract expressionism movement that transformed modern art in the 20th century. Its significance includes:
- Rejection of order, control, and structure in painting that had defined earlier movements.
- Raw expression of emotion directly through materials, not focused on depicting subjects.
- Spontaneous creative process as subject matter over preplanned compositions.
- Energetic action of drips and splatters that animate the canvas.
- Opening painting to chance, accident, and celebrating the uncontrolled.
- Influence on future styles like action painting, tachisme, abstract impressionism.
By breaking free of artistic norms with its expressive chaos, splatter painting encapsulated the spirit of avant-garde risk and innovation that characterizes modern art’s shifts and revolutions. The drips and splashes forms and colors flowing randomly yet intuitively across the canvas create compositions that reflect the dynamic creative flow of the unconscious mind.
Conclusion
Splatter painting represents a pivotal breakthrough in modern abstract painting that grows out of bold new ways of thinking about art, creativity, and human expression in the 20th century. Despite its accidental, uncontrolled appearance, splatter techniques demand experimentation and skill. The sense of energy and movement generated by dynamic drips and splatters makes splatter painting highly effective at conveying emotion, from explosive rage to exuberant joy. From its avant-garde origins to its widespread cultural popularity today, splatter painting continues to resonate as a profoundly imaginative and liberating approach to abstraction.