Browsing through my idea archive, I see that I have a thing for spots, splotches, and paint spatters. There is Spencer Finch‘s 8456 Shades of Blue (After Hume), which on close inspection, are various kinds of watery spots on papers arrayed on a wall..

Jackson Pollock‘s process was as exciting as his paintings…

Suitcase by Eric Timothy Carlson, covered with Dalmation spots, sparks the idea of spotting/splattering/Dalmationizing utilitarian items as well as walls and floors…

…

…

…

…

…(We’re especially smitten with this wallpaper made of fat, diluted splotches of green paint…)

Artful splotches, spots, drips and splatters are easier said than done.

(They can look purposeful, or just…a big mistake.)

We love Ronda Palazzari’s brilliant Paint Splatter Tutorial that affords useful insights and inspiration to explore the process, like this bit that may give a clue into how Spencer Finch achieved his beautiful water colory dots:

I almost always add water to my paints when splattering, more to the tube acrylics and less to the liquid acrylics. You want the paint to be fluid enough to move, almost milky in texture. By adding a lot more water, you can make a watercolor-like splatter.

Dalmation spots can be done freehand or with a stencil.

…There are all sorts of dot vision possibilities in between…