Ombre Color Shift Drip Art

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If you know me well, you know that I’m easily distracted by shiny things. It’s true. I love all things sparkly and metallic, so when Plaid Crafts introduced their new line of FolkArt Color Shift paints this year, I was immediately obsessed. Each color has a metallic luster that shifts in changing light, so your project appears to be a slightly different color depending on how you look at it!  When I visited Plaid Headquarters back in June, we used Color Shift to create a really fun piece of ombre wall art using a few different painting techniques. Today I want to show you mine and walk you through how to make your own…take a look.

Ombre Color Shift Drip Art

You’ll Need:

12 x 12″ wood surface
FolkArt Color Shift Paint, 3 colors of your choice {I used Aqua Flash, Blue Flash, and Yellow Flash}
FolkArt Brushed Metal or Metallic Paint
Large paintbrush, 1″-1.5″
3/4″ paintbrush
Cup of water
Wooden dowel or pencil

Step 1: Paint the top half of your surface with one color of Color Shift paint.

You’ll want a large brush for this step so it goes quickly. One coat of paint was enough for me to get good coverage. You can use any color combination you like, but I suggest saving the darkest color for your drip effect. You’ll also want to consider how your three colors will interact with each other. My house is done in coastal colors like blues, teals, and greys, along with some yellow accents, so I chose teal and yellow as my base colors with a darker blue on top.

Ombre Drip Art

Step 2: Starting at the bottom, paint the other half of the surface with another color. 

As you come to the center, the two base colors will overlap a bit. You can do as much or as little overlap as you like. Because I don’t have green in my decor, I kept that area to a minimum on my project. Make sure you allow the base coat to dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Step 3: Thin your third paint color with a bit of water. Then, load your 3/4″ brush and lightly press it against the top edge of your surface.

*You’ll want to hold your wooden piece vertically while you do this step.*

As you remove your brush, the paint should start to run down the wood in a line. Some of the drips will stop lower than others, which is actually what we want. This part take a bit of trial and error to get the consistency of the paint just right. If it’s not dripping enough, add a bit more water. If it runs down the surface too much, add more paint. Remember, nothing about this look calls for perfection, so if something doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, play around with it until it does.

Drip Art Painting

Step 4: Add your metallic splatters!

Load your smaller brush with metallic paint. Hold a dowel or a pencil horizontally about 2″ above your project at the spot where your base colors meet. Lightly tap the dowel with your paintbrush. This will create a “controlled splatter” that sprinkles the paint across the center of your project without getting it everywhere. Move the dowel as you go, creating a line of splatters in the middle of the wood…or wherever you want them!

Each time you do this project it will turn out differently. You can create all kinds of interesting color combinations as well as playing around with patterns if you like. Here’s a look at some of the other pieces created by my fellow Plaid Creators. Abbey from The Cards We Drew made her into a flag. Katie from Made to be a Momma decided to paint her base with more than two colors, making a vertically striped background instead. There’s no limit to what you can do!

Ombre Color Shift Drip Art

FolkArt Color Shift paints dry to a beautiful gloss finish and can be used on indoor and outdoor projects, so you can use them for porch and deck decor as well as inside your home. What do you think? Would you create and display a piece like this in your house? If you try the project, I’d love to see how it turns out! Share your photos with us in the One Artsy Mama & Friends Facebook group so we can all be inspired. Happy painting!

Ombre Color Shift Drip Art

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5 Comments

  1. First I’m told not to use water with color shift paint, then I’m told to add water. I’m confused.

    modpodgerocksblog.com

    Can I use water to thin it?

    No – you’ll mess with the properties of the paint.

    ××××××××××÷××××××××÷÷××÷÷÷×÷×÷÷÷÷÷÷÷×

    http://www.amylattacreations.com/2017/07/ombre-color-shift-drip-art.html

    STEP 3: THIN YOUR THIRD PAINT COLOR WITH A BIT OF WATER. THEN, LOAD YOUR 3/4″ BRUSH AND LIGHTLY PRESS IT AGAINST THE TOP EDGE OF YOUR SURFACE.

    *You’ll want to hold your wooden piece vertically while you do this step.*

    1. It depends on what the goal is. Here, we want the drip factor, so adding water is the only way to make that happen. However, if you’re using it “normally” and trying to cover an object, getting the full effect of the paint, you wouldn’t want to mix it with water as that will dilute it and change the effect. Hope that helps.

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