How to Make Drip Marks on a Painting Canvas

Make an abstract drip painting reminiscent of Jackson Pollock's work.

Channel your inner Jackson Pollock by using a fairly simple but bold painting technique. The abstract art of drip painting allows the painter to express himself through different colors. The key to a canvas painted with drip marks is to never allow the paintbrush to touch the canvas. There is no right or wrong to the technique with drip painting. Experiment with different colors and different sizes of canvas to create your own small gallery of Pollock-inspired work.

Things You'll Need

• Drop cloth
• Newspapers
• Acrylic paint
• Thinning medium
• Palette
• Paintbrushes
• Acrylic sealer

Instructions

1. Lay a drop cloth or newspapers on the working area.

2. Paint the canvas in a single color with a large paintbrush. Let the paint dry before beginning the drip technique.

3. Pour acrylic paint onto a painter's palette

4. Load a paintbrush with a paint color. Hold the loaded paintbrush directly above the canvas. For more drip movement, hold the paintbrush higher above the canvas.

5. Let the paint drip onto the canvas and move the paintbrush above the canvas into different configurations. For thicker drips, use a thicker paintbrush and for thinner drips, use a thinner paintbrush.

6. Rinse the paintbrush and dip it into a different color, or use a separate paintbrush for different-sized drips.

7. Add a thinning medium to the different paint colors if you're having trouble getting them to drip. Don't add water to the paint, as this may cause the paint to lose its adhesion-strength.

8. Let the painting dry and apply an acrylic sealer to it so that it lasts.

References

• Art Is Fun: How to prepare acrylic paint for dripping technique
• To The Lesson: Pollock-Inspired Drip Painting