Chance Compositions

• Learn about key Abstract Expressionist techniques.
• Experiment with process, mark making, and chance to create your own composition.

• Play with different approaches to mark making: pour, drip, splash, brush, dip, and more.
• Experiment with different materials and how you can use them to make marks. For instance, what happens when you paint with a stick or a fistfull of old plastic bags?
• Once you’ve found materials and a process that appeal to you, develop a final composition. You might try listening to music or poetry to inspire your gestures.
• Make some choices—like which colors you’ll use—with intention. But don’t be afraid to leave other aspects of your work to chance!

Almost anything can become art materials. Try making marks on the walls of your shower with shampoo or creating an unexpected design on a slice of bread by letting jam drip off a spoon!

Before you begin, check out these examples by Lisa Yamaoka’s students at South Kamloops Secondary School in Kamloops, British Columbia in Canada!