How do I get uniform dots when painting dot paintings in the style of the aborigines?

Question

In practice I have found this very difficult to do - either i don't get circles or the paint is peaking when I take the end of paint brush, stick, q-tip off. any answers appreciated.

Answer 1

You could use a stencil and paint the inside. That way the dots will be neat and uniorm.
You could also chop off the tip of a paint brush so that it is circular and use that, but it may not work well.
You could find a stamp and paint it? or cut a circle of styrofoam and dip it in paint. (Some people use potatoes)

Good luck! Hope this helps; your painting sounds very cool.

Answer 2

Australian aboriginal art on canvas has a very complex history relating to the songlines of their land, but also to white colonisation. It's not just a style, it's a worldview. You should consider reading up on it in depth to understand where it comes from and what it means. Good books or websites may also discuss the methods used to produce regular dots - it's to do with the kind of paint used as well as the brush technique. The first chapter of Victoria Finlay's Colour: Travels through the Paintbox has a good account of both the history and the methods.

Answer 3

paint with the same tool they used, thier fingers.a stick, they did not make brushes until the early 1900s LF

Answer 4

the aboriginal "x-ray" paintings aren't exact and precise either, neither are they supposed to be, the irregualrity is part of the beauty and meaning of the artform.

Answer 5

keep practicing
the dots you see by primitive artists are not perfect either
but they probably look more uniform than yours because whoever painted them did a bajillion of them

Answer 6

patience.