Nothing makes a home feel more like it’s really yours than hanging art you love on the wall. When that art is some that you’ve made yourself? Well, that’s even better! Just imagine somebody coming to visit and admiring the painting hanging in your living room, and being able to say, “Thank you! I made it myself!” How cool would that be?
“Wait,” we can hear you saying now. “I’m no artist. How could I possibly make a painting I’d actually be proud to display in my home?” By taking inspiration from Jackson Pollock and making drip wall art! Absolutely anybody can do it, even the most art-challenged among us. All we need are some black canvases, water, acrylic paint and . . . turkey basters! Yes, that kitchen tool you only use about once a year is about to get an artistic work out. You’ll never look at it the same way again. Interior design and lifestyle expert Kim Myles stops by OWN’s Home Made Simple to show us all how to do it. Watch, learn and get inspired, then read on to where we break it down for you!
JACKSON-POLLOCK-INSPIRED DRIP WALL ART
MATERIALS
- Canvas, blank or painted your favorite background color, like black
- Water
- Acrylic paints, in two of your favorite colors
- Turkey baster
DIRECTIONS
- Gather your materials. You can leave your canvas blank, or paint it a solid color, like Kim Myles does with her black canvases. Whatever color you chose, make sure it will contrast with the other two acrylic paints you’ve chosen for the drip.
- Squeeze one of the acrylic paints into a cup, filling it about ⅓ of the way. Use the water to thin out the paint, bringing it to a consistency similar to heavy cream. Acrylic paint is best for this project because it’s easier to thin than other paints. (It also dries more quickly!)
- Place your canvases on the floor, surrounded by drop cloths to catch any spilled or excess paint.
- Fill the turkey baster with the thinned-out paint. Then, squeezing only ever-so-slight, run the turkey baster along the very top of the canvas. Work with gravity and create long drips!
- Repeat steps 2 through 4 with your second color. Don’t be worried when the colors run together; that’s a good thing! It adds an even more fun and colorful effect to your drip art.
- Allow to dry, then hang in a place of honor in your home!
That’s it! Easy, simple, fun and lovely! As you can see above, it looks even cooler when you hang in horizontally, so that your drips become horizontal stripes. Even better? It’s so easy to make this project your own. Experiment with different drip color and background color pairings; add three, four or even drip colors; flip the canvas around and have drips running in all directions— the possibilities are endless. And they’re all possible with a turkey baster!
Do you think you’ll give this drip wall art a try? Are there any other easy painting techniques you love to use? Are you a novice painter like the rest of us, or do you have some hidden artistic talent? Share your projects and let us know how it goes!