BLAST BLOW 101 – How I Create My New Fluid Art Technique | Step-by-Step Tutorial

Welcome back to Ron Sexton Art! In this video, I’m taking a much deeper dive into my BLAST BLOW technique — this time on a 20” x 20” gallery-wrapped canvas — and walking you through the process step by step. If you saw my previous Blast Blow painting, you know how much fun I’ve been having experimenting with this technique. This video is much more instructional. I’ll show you how I layer the colors, how much pillow paint I use, where I place the cell activator, how I aim the blower, and — probably most importantly — how I manipulate and spin the paint afterward while trying to preserve the composition. 💨 WHAT IS THE BLAST BLOW? The Blast Blow is my mechanical variation on the Hard Puff / Splatter Blow technique that my good friend and fellow fluid artist Jessica Winter-Strom introduced me to. Jessica creates the effect by getting close to the paint and giving it a powerful puff of air. I loved the results, but I wasn’t particularly successful doing it myself — unless getting paint all over my face counts as success! So I started experimenting with a small handheld supercharged wireless blower. Instead of blowing directly into the paint myself, I aim the blower very low across the canvas, hitting the cell activator and layered colors with a concentrated blast of air. The result is an explosion of paint, cells, lines and splatters that can create some absolutely wild effects. And that’s the BLAST BLOW. 🎨 COLORS USED Golden • Azo Gold • Iridescent Bright Gold (Fine) • Teal Atelier • Prussian Blue Hue Arteza • Crimson Red Da Vinci • Payne’s Gray Cell Activator: Amsterdam Titanium White Pillow Paint: PPG Multi-Pro Canvas: 20” × 20” Gallery-Wrapped Canvas 💥 THE TECHNIQUE One of the things I’m learning with the Blast Blow is that the initial blast is only the beginning. I’m deliberately using larger puddles of paint than I normally would because the blower needs a substantial target. I layer the colors, finish with an opaque color beneath the cell activator, and then add a generous amount of Amsterdam Titanium White. Then comes the fun part. BLAST! I keep the blower low to the canvas and try to hit the paint in a way that sends it outward rather than simply creating a traditional bloom. I especially love those crazy thin lines and splatters that shoot out into the white pillow paint. They give this technique a character all its own. 🫧 DON’T IGNORE THE BUBBLES! The supercharged blower introduces a tremendous amount of air into the paint, which means lots and lots of bubbles. Getting rid of them is an important part of the process. I go through the painting carefully and pop the bubbles before spinning. Interestingly, some of those bubbles reveal different colors underneath and actually contribute some fantastic details to the finished composition. If they’re left alone and pop while the painting is drying, however, they can leave unwanted spots — so this is one step I don’t recommend skipping. I also use a pipette to carefully remove excess white cell activator from the center without disturbing the surrounding colors. 🌀 THEN WE SPIN Once I’m happy with the initial Blast Blow, I begin with a gentle introductory spin. From there, it’s a process of: • Watching how the paint moves • Repositioning the canvas on the spinner • Spinning again • Checking the paint thickness • Making small tilts when necessary • And trying very hard not to destroy the composition I already love! I even use fine tweezers to test the thickness of the paint near the center of the canvas. Too much paint left in the center can cause problems as the painting dries, so I continue adjusting and spinning until the thickness is where I want it. Eventually… Perfect. And fortunately, the composition survived! ✨ THE FINAL RESULT Make sure you stay until the end to see the completely dried painting. I get the camera in close with some additional light so you can really see the beautiful shimmer created by the Golden Iridescent Bright Gold Fine. I couldn’t be happier with how this one dried. The combination of the explosive Blast Blow, intricate cells, metallic shimmer and movement created by the spinner produced a piece that is completely different from where it started. And that’s exactly what keeps fluid art so interesting for me. You never completely know where the paint is going to take you. ⸻ Music ‎Music:Beautiful Dream‎ ‎Musician:Diego Nava‎ ‎URL:https://mixkit.co/‎ ‎License:https://mixkit.co/terms/‎ ______ ❤️ THANK YOU FOR WATCHING If you enjoyed the video, please give it a THUMBS UP 👍 — it really helps support the channel. And if you’re enjoying these experiments and tutorials, please consider SUBSCRIBING to Ron Sexton Art and turning on notifications so you don’t miss the next one. I’ve got plenty more experiments coming… There’s a lot more paint to pour! See you next time! Ron Sexton Art HASHTAGS #RonSextonArt #BlastBlow #BlastBlow101 #FluidArt #AcrylicPouring #FluidArtTutorial