War of the Splatters!

There are days when it feels like the wars “out in the world” are being waged internally as well. Those are the days to make splatter art with friends!

That’s what happened in my Muse Group on Monday as we took the lead from the irresistible Ralph Steadman, a Welsh illustrator who uses splatters and other ink irregularities to create irreverent mythical creatures. We started the class by watching this video. I recommend this as a great way to loosen up, lighten up and have a chuckle to avoid taking yourself too seriously and ruining all the fun.

So we loaded up our brushes and mouth atomizers and splattered and sprayed, trying not to lob one on each other. . .

And there was the war of the critters!

By the end of class the room had filled up with colorful, zany critters. Who knew all those creatures were just lying in wait to be liberated by a bunch of mixed media painters!

See some earlier Steadman inspired work here and here.

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More Splatter Fun!

(Ralph Steadman inspired inks splatts continued)

I actually haven’t joined the “tidying up” frenzy of late, though I read about it all the time in jubilant Facebook posts and blogs. But clearly I’m having some kind of subconscious reaction. . .

splatter, spray, drip and draw acrylic inks on w/c paper

I was trying to lighten up! Look, I took everyone’s advise and tried Marie Kondo’s Japanese decluttering methods, but I may have gone a bit too far. . .and now I can’t stop. Looks like soon all I’ll be left with is my substantial snozzola.

Thinking about clearing things out for the new year? My advise is. . .take it easy!

I’ll call them the Dustbin Duo. . .or maybe the Polka Dotters, or Flying Lancers or Spotted Beatle Birds, or. . .

Any more ideas?

Getting ready for lots more fun when the Muse Group arrives for a new session on Monday!

 

Splitter, Splatter, Splatt!

Are you familiar with this wild man Ralph Steadman, king of the ink splatters? I just got his book Critical Critters for Christmas and I’ve gone quite literally gonzo about it. We’ve been splattering and doing all kinds of unorthodox things with inks in Muse Groups for years now, but Ralph takes it to a whole new level of fabulous, raunchy absurdity in this book.

So with a new Playful Muse Workshop starting up on January 21 I’ve been trying some things out for a Gonzo Splatter lesson! One sometimes gets a little weary of being a “good girl”, all neat and careful and inside the lines, after all.

I’m shooting for a day when it’s not raining so we can do the splatter part outside my studio, for obvious reasons. And I’ve been practicing with the mouth atomizer, another of Ralph’s tools, which requires a certain amount of lung power to operate (along with a lot of luck). I’m seeing a kind of rare endangered octopus in this one, but the swan sitting on his head is a bit distracting.

You guessed it. This one took advantage of a straw technique you might be familiar with from nursery school. I understand that straws are themselves becoming endangered creatures, at least in some California restaurants. . .but I have an old box if you want one.

8 days into the new year

explosions of mind detritus!

resolutions leaking from every pore and orifice

teaming up, multiplying, branching out. . .

GOOD RIDDANCE! (but pray they don’t find you. . .)

My weekend was spent in a meditation retreat where I made some small headway into clearing my mind, but OMG what came out in the process! Not for the faint of heart. But if some of my errant resolutions or worse come your way, remember to duck.

This one was pure ink dropper play. You might take just a moment to halucinate on it before the next. . .

This guy’s inner musician is celebrating the new year.

Now back to the octopus and swan. . .If this sounds like insanity it is, but no need to miss out on the fun on that account. Turn on the music and splatter! I think Ralph would approve.