Abstract – Scrape, Spread and Blotch Art

These abstract guides offer something a little different, and the chance to use up those last few drops of paint. Produce an assortment of colours in spread, have the blotch effect, or the scrape of paint. Give these inspirations ago and add your own touch to them.

SCRAPE

You’ll need:

• Canvas
• Acrylic paint
• Scraper

Method:

1. First, paint a plain backdrop colour onto the canvas, for there will be bare patches when spreading the paint.

• In this case I painted the backdrop a dark grey.

2. Choose three acrylic colours that will contrast against each other and the backdrop. The use of white paint is fantastic, for when the colours merge you get a beautiful contrast in shading (depending on how well they have merged together).

• I chose; blue, yellow and white, and with the very occasional pink here and there.

3. Group together a pea-size amount (or bigger) of each paint. Place these groups of paint randomly about the canvas.
4. Then using a scraper or old credit card, scrape through each group of paint spreading it across the canvas. If you have some left, don’t worry, use it to spread a new line elsewhere on the canvas.

• Keep doing this till the canvas has a good amount of scraped paint running across it.
• If at any point you’re not happy with how some of the paint has spread or merged, scrape it off and start again.

SPREAD

You’ll need:

• Acrylic paint
• Ruler
• Canvas

Method:

1. On the edge of the canvas, line several drops of acrylic paint (about the size of a pea), until the width of the canvas is covered.

• The more varied the paint colours the better. Also put in some colours next to each other that go well together e.g. orange and red, which make a nice phasing of colours to the sharp contrast of others.

2. Line the ruler lengthwise against the paint. Keeping its edge tight against the canvas, tilt the ruler forward so as to be almost flat against the surface – then pull the ruler forwards and along the canvas; dragging the paint with it.

• The paint will smooth out and blend at the edges.

3. If the canvas is wider than the ruler, make your way down after each spread of the paint.
4. If you still have excess paint remaining on the ruler, line it up with the beginning of the canvas and spread it in the same direction as earlier – back across the paint.

BLOTCH

You’ll need:

• Kitchen roll/rough sponge
• Acrylic paint
• Water
• Paintbrush

Dip and blotch method:

1. Choose your acrylic paints, I suggest 3-5 colours, otherwise the colours can become lost. I chose three: gold, black, grey.
2. Put each paint into a dish or pot – water the paint down to a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio. Depending on whether you want the paint to have a raised appeal or not.
3. Using either a scrunched-up kitchen roll or rough sponge – dip into the paint and then quickly dab it all over the canvas. Do this with all the paint colours, interspersing between them so as not to have an even layer of one colour.

Blotching an acrylic wash method:

This works best with a wash on top of an already abstract image (make sure this abstract image is completely dry). However, you can also do this as an image on its own, but you will need to make the wash slightly thicker, and its best if you use more than one colour.

1. Make the the acrylic paint to water ratio: 1:3 or 1:4, it should be only slightly thicker than water. This is so it will remain transparent.
2. Brush the paint across the surface of the canvas. Then using scrunched up kitchen roll or a sponge (you need something absorbent), quickly dab over the surface of the wash, for you don’t want the acrylic to dry.
3. Repeat step two until you’re happy with the result.

Enjoyed this abstract guide to spread, blotch and scrape paint? Then check out more from our create page, or send us your submission and show what you can do.