For the examples of splatter technique
shown on the opposite page, I used round
head brushes; Oriental brushes are also
suitable. We can see that control in making
the mark has been removed, so what you
end up with is largely dependant on chance.
The accident in making art has been
positively used by many, or even most, artists
in their work, particularly contemporary
artists. We have only to look at the work of
Jackson Pollock and other abstract
expressionists, the drawings of Ralph
Steadman, Richard Diebenkorn and, in the
past, Rembrandt, Delacroix and Leonardo da
Vinci to find examples of this approach.
To make a splatter simply load the brush
with ink, and throw the loaded brush at the
paper. You can use any ink. When you first
attempt the technique, the splatters should
be random. However, like Jackson Pollock,
once you become experienced, you can start
to use it with more direction.
The idea behind the splatter technique is
that it breaks down the artist’s preconceived
notion of what a drawing is and how it can be
done. You should find that it puts you more
in tune with the emotional side of your
creative nature, and helps you to expand
your ability to discover how accident can be
a means of expressing an idea or
observation. Imagine looking into the sky at
a cloud formation and seeing something that
you recognise as an image. This is a perfect
analogy of splatter technique.174
Part Three – PENS, INK, BRUSHES and PAPER