Make Your Own Digital Abstract Art Inspired by Jackson Pollock
Creating abstract art inspired by Jackson Pollock is fun for kids and adults alike. Using Miltos Manetas’ website, at www.jacksonpollock.org, you can create unique and colorful designs without the mess that splattering acrylic paint often makes!
The website itself has no instructions… in fact, it’s just a plain white screen when you arrive there. But as you move your cursor, streaks and blobs of color appear. Each time you click, the color will change. You can’t control what color is coming next, but that’s part of the fun.
You may notice there’s no “finish” option… it just keeps going as long as you’re interacting with it. There’s also no option for saving or printing your art when you’re done. But there is a way to save your creation, even if the website doesn’t give you a way to do it.
Simply take a “screenshot” or “screen capture” when you’re satisfied with your design. If you’re not familiar with taking screenshots, it’s a great thing to know about. I use this function almost every day to do a variety of things…. once you start experimenting with it, the possibilities are endless.
Let’s say you just created some Jackson Pollock inspired art and you want to save it and share it with your friends. On a Mac, press and hold these 3 keys together: Command+Shift+3. This will take a photo of your entire screen.
Or to capture a specific area, press and hold: Command+Shift+4. A crosshair pointer will appear. Drag it to a corner of the area you want to capture. Then click and drag it across your screen, and release it when you have what you want. Voila! You will find the photo you just took on your desktop. From there you can add it to your photos app and use it in so many different ways.
I don’t personally use a PC, so if you do, I’ll let you google that to get your own up to date instructions.
This is really fun on your phone, too! There’s not an app that I know of, but simply visit jacksonpollock.org on your iphone for the same blank screen to get started. (I don’t know if this works with Android, but give it a try and let me know in the comments!) Dragging your finger quickly produces a thin line, then pause for a larger blob. When you lift your finger the color will change.
Pro Tip: Whether you’re creating on your desktop or phone, you may want to take several screenshots as you go. There’s no “undo” function, at least that I know of. That means that if a blob or color appears that you don’t want, the only way to get rid of it is to cover it with a bigger blob. This could be good practice for learning to “quit while you’re ahead”!
Play around with this fun website and you’ll get the hang of it. Be sure to screenshot and share your favorites! Tag me on instagram @teach.kids.art so I can see and share what you make!
