Fancy a half term family treat? Lucy Giffen and her family enjoy a session of paint-strewn splattery in Weston, Bath
What do you mean, you’ve never heard of Rage Painting? Basically you and your family are let loose in a room with the idea of flinging, spraying, throwing and generally inflicting paint on all manner of surfaces to create unique works of art, let out some of that inner tension and just have a great time!
And the good news for us is that Splasherist in Weston, Bath, is now offering this service to families, couples, groups and anyone else really.
My two game sons (an older teenager didn’t fancy it) and I were greeted by Bernadett, a very enthusiastic and smiley host, and after a joke about bottomless paint and how that would make a mess, the vibe started to change. Putting on hazmat style suits upstairs, and covering our shoes with rubber overshoes, we were soon ready to get into the studio.
You can connect your phone to a speaker and my middle son got to pick the music that would be the background to our session. The kids had added goggles and gloves to their outfits and it turns out they were vital.
There was clear evidence that many people before had embraced their inner artist and the floor, ceiling, windows, bin – you name it – were covered in Jackson Pollock style paint. The white canvases popped out against a backdrop that could be quite overwhelming if you were new to the idea of uncontrolled mess, but it made them inviting.
Thick paint and thinner spray bottles, along with paintbrushes, sponges, tennis balls and even tennis rackets were available to create our masterpieces. And as we got into it, it quickly became obvious that my children were having a fantastic time. They were never restricted when it came to making art when they were younger – there is photo evidence of them covered in felt tip pen, paint and chocolate – but they had grown out of painting as a choice.
My youngest has never been a fan of mess on his hands (this was why the gloves were vital) but I watched as layers of paint were added to all our canvases and then their personal expression started to show through. One filled his hands with paint from the pump, throwing thick globs as he built a red, orange and black masterpiece that I would have only let take place in the garden, whilst the other used brushes and sponges to blend and take off the paint he added.
Occasionally we’d squirt each other’s canvasses. Or heads. And the walls, just to feel part of the art history, which added an immersive and fun touch to the experience.
The time passed more quickly than any of us expected but as our 50 minutes came to an end, the creativity was running dry as paint dripped from the walls and canvases. With one final attempt at indoor paint tennis, the session was over. And the length of the session was perfect.
It will take three days for the thickest canvas to dry but we’re all looking forward to getting our art back. It turns out they definitely want to go again, and I would consider an annual membership because the freedom to be creative was more motivating than the idea of rage painting.
In the words of Picasso, “Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction” and those blank canvases, and our creative boundaries, were definitely destroyed.