Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
How to Create Pollock Paint Splattered Jean Cutoffs
In experiencing some anxiety lately, I turned to splatter painting to help ease my symptoms. When life isn’t going smoothly, art has always been something I have turned to help, along with therapy and other healthy coping strategies. Splatter painting definitely is fun and relaxing and when you can make some fun fashion item while doing so, it’s a win, win! Read on to learn how to create paint splattered jean cutoff shorts.
The completed jean shorts
Jackson Pollock Inspiration
In my art history classes in college, I was drawn to Jackson Pollock’s work. He became well known by his splatter paintings. He often worked on large scale canvases and while some may look at his art and see chaos and skill-less painting techniques, he was actually quite calculated.
An up close look at the shorts
If you’ve never seen one of his large-scale abstract expressionist paintings, some are HUGE (like one I saw in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called Number 28, at 68 1/16 inch by 8 ft. 8 13/16, which currently says it’s not on display, unfortunately, but you can see it here on their website) and you can see how he didn’t just splatter a brush on canvas and call it art. He layered paint colors, drizzled it, splattered it and more. Jackson suffered from alcoholism, which is something he used to mask his inner struggles.
I used neon paint to match my neon purse creation
Chaos Calmed By Art
As an artist myself, I understand the chaos he must have felt inside his head and you could see how he used painting to make sense of that chaos. Getting that chaos out of your brain and onto canvas or in another form of art or in another creative way like through using your hands in cooking or gardening truly helps.
Speaking of cooking, we love making our EASY butterfly soft pretzels…they are delicious too! See them in the 1-minute video tutorial below or the full tutorial via our website or via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
He unfortunately died in a car accident, but thankfully his art lives on and inspires people like myself. I don’t think I would have thought splatter painting is a worthy form of art, but when you do it to calm your brain or to relax, it really works!
These would be cute for a bachelorette party too
Many would say that there is no skill to drip, drizzle or splatter painting, but I can tell you that there is. As I created my jean shorts, I had to think about colors to use, how they may mix if they hit each other on my shorts, how to get a certain splatter to look a certain way and where to put all the paint.
My neon splatter painted shorts
As a former art teacher, I used the book Action Jackson (Amazon) to teach my students about his work. As an adult, the movie Pollock (stream it here with Amazon Prime) with Ed Harris starring as Jackson Pollock and Marcia Gay Harden, is really good and depicts his life, his work and his struggles well.
A styling option
Where to Wear
I would wear these any day, however, make a bunch of pairs for your friends and wear them on a girls weekend going line dancing in Nashville or Texas. Just an idea! My silver cowboy boots are from Amazon and are a perfect styling match!
See me make the jean shorts in my 1-minute video tutorial below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
Now for the tutorial. Here’s what you need:
A pair of jeans or jean shorts (I got mine at a thrift store and cut them into shorts, here are some popular already created jean shorts on Amazon you could also splatter paint)
DecoArt Americana Black Light Neon Acrylic Paint Pack (I got mine at Hobby Lobby, but you can get it on Amazon or Walmart and the Levi jean company has a great article about using acrylic paint on jeans that is helpful and you can read it here if you need to add to your instructional materials beyond what I have written or to get inspiration)
Various brushes (This set on Amazon or Walmart would work)
Gloves (Amazon)
Water
Tarp or a floor/painting area protector (I used a thick contractor bag that we had on hand, but a drop cloth works)
Optional if cutting off your jeans: Fabric scissors, ruler or yardstick, fabric marking pencil
Washing instructions for this fashion item is at the bottom of my tutorial below.
How-To:
I used another pair of cutoff jean shorts to measure on my jeans where I wanted to cut them off. I placed the yardstick along the edge of the cutoffs and used my fabric marking pencil to draw an outline on my jeans. I cut them at an angle, with the back only being slightly longer than the front.
I used my fabric scissors to cut along the mark I made with the pencil and cut both legs off at the same time. If your jeans are really thick, you may have to do one side first, then the other.
My cutoff jean short set up
NOTE: It’s better to cut off less the first time you cut if you never have made cutoff shorts before as it’s easier to cut more off if needed than it is to put the material back (which you really can’t do without sewing).
You could use acrylic paint pens for accents too
Then they were ready to paint. I added a tiny bit of water to a paint try with some white acrylic paint and stirred it to mix.
Watering down thick acrylic when needed helps
I used the watered-down white paint to add a thin layer of white to the front of the shorts. I did this just to make my paint splatters show up a little more on the darker jean fabric. I used a chip brush for this. You could also use a mini paint roller or something similar.
Adding a thin layer of white paint
Next, I added some of the neon paint to the tray. Some were a little thick, so I added a bit of water, dipped a brush into it and used a gloved hand to “flick” paint onto my jean shorts.
Flicking on some pink paint first
I flicked, threw, dribbled each color of paint, one at a time, onto my jean shorts, cleaning the brush in between each color. If you aren’t sure of which method to use, practice on the legs you cut off of the jeans or on another piece of fabric to help you understand what you like best.
Adding neon blue over the pink
I used a brush to add a bit of color to the waist and along the pockets.
Adding green neon paint
Once I got the design I was looking for, I allowed the paint to dry overnight.
Adding some paint to the short pockets
To wash and fray the edges of my cut a bit more: After the paint was dry, I turned my shorts inside out, washed them on a delicate cycle and allowed them to air dry.
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Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.