Learn the basics of spray paint art.
Spray paint art has a more recent place in history than other types of painting that have been used for thousands of years. This leaves a lot to be discovered about the use of spray paint in art. Practice your artistic spray-painting skills at home with the proper materials and techniques to hone your craft.
Preparation
Preparing to paint before you start spraying can help to prevent potential health risks and permanent damage to surfaces you don't want painted. Wear gloves to avoid getting paint on your skin and causing irritation. Cover the surrounding surfaces with newspaper and masking tape to protect them. Finally, and most importantly, ventilate the entire area, if you cannot paint outdoors. The fumes from spray paint can be extremely noxious, and you may want to go as far as wearing a painter's mask even when you do work in well-ventilated or outdoor areas.
What to Paint
Spray your art on a variety of surfaces to create merely decorative pieces or functional artistic objects, such as furniture or entire walls. As a beginner, though, start with inexpensive cardboard. This will give you a cheap and disposable way to practice different strokes and techniques. Once you have mastered your spraying skills, move onto stretched canvas, wooden furniture, walls in your home or large rocks in your yard. No matter which surface you choose, clean it thoroughly and apply a coat of spray primer that is appropriate to the surface's material.
Freehand Art
The way you spray the paint makes a difference in the way it appears on the surface. To cover large areas with a solid color, use short strokes, holding the spray paint nozzle about 10 inches from the surface. To make thinner lines, hold the spray paint nozzle closer to the surface, but move quickly to avoid spraying too much paint and creating unsightly drips. To create a light misting over the entire surface as a background layer, hold the nozzle more than 12 inches away from the surface to spread the application of paint across the larger area.
Using Stencils
Use stencils to add perfect lettering, shapes and images. If you want to use stencils, but you want your art to be completely original, cut your own from sheets of card stock. Hold the stencil, or tape it in place over the surface for clean lines. If you want a messier artistic look, hold the stencil about 1 inch away from the surface and spray through it to create a high concentration of paint inside the cutout area of the stencil and a slight misting around the edges instead of perfect lines.
