God is in the details, they say, and they’re not wrong. If you take a closer look, you may find something very surprising… for example, that you are quite an artist.
Today, we take a look at what happens when thanks to pure coincidence, some luck, and a little je ne sais quoi (“I don’t know what” in French), people come up with impressive pieces of unintentional art, from a paint stain that looks like a magic forest which would leave Rembrandt in awe to an accidental drop of paint that probably turned out better than an actual painting ever would.
So below we wrapped up some of the most interesting unintentional “art masterpieces” that are neither quite art nor quite a masterpiece, yet still very impressive. Upvote your favorites as you scroll!
Psst! Don't forget to check out our previous feature with more accidental art.
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The Wear And Scuff Marks On This Boat Look Like An Island In The Sea
My Windshield Looked Like A Watercolour
A Rock-Created, Bird-Shaped Window Art On My Car
Interestingly, accidental art is not a new concept born on online forums and cultivated by various subreddits. The idea that art can stem from something completely unintentional can be traced back to Leonardo Da Vinci, who, scientists claim, gave some interesting advice to an artist struggling from creative block.
Christopher Turner, a British writer and art historian, quotes Da Vinci in an essay published on Tate: “If you look upon an old wall covered with dirt, or the odd appearance of some streaked stones, you may discover several things like landscapes, battles, clouds, uncommon attitudes, humorous faces, draperies, etc. Out of this confused mass of objects, the mind will be furnished with an abundance of designs and subjects perfectly new.”
Broken Plate
Rust Formed On This Old Spool Of Wire In One Of The Coolest Ways I've Ever Seen
This Paint I Was Mixing Looked Like A Little Forest Planet
This fresh idea proposed by Da Vinci, Turner argues, encouraged the viewer to search for hidden meaning in chaos. “It referred back to myths about the origin of art in accidental shapes. In De Statua, Leon Battista Alberti supposed that artistic imitation emerged when our ancestors came across a gnarled tree trunk or a piece of clay, whose contours ‘needed only a slight change’ to look strikingly like something else.”
I Took A Picture Of This Strange Lighting Under A Bridge At The San Antonio River Walk
The Way This Car Froze
When this happened on our windows my grandmother would say, "Jack Frost has been here!"
Pigeon Poops Portrait Of Itself On A Leaf
The artists were mesmerized by the idea that natural artifacts and nature as a whole can be full of artistic readymades, “if only you are patient enough to look for them."
Throughout the years, for artists and historians alike, accidental artistic gestures like stains or blots offered a new mode of interpretation. “The meaningless stain, which invites the universal urge to project meaning, is the humble stage on which all arguments about art are rehearsed,” Turner concludes.
I Snapped A Photo Of My Dog Through A Window Screen That Looks Like An Old Painting
Old One From When I Worked At Lowe’s
The Way My Cup Broke
Picture Of My Cat Through A Screen Door Makes It Look Like He's Painted On Canvas
These Clouds Look Like A Child’s Drawing Of Waves
I Took A Picture Of Sidewalk Chalk On A Tire
The Way The Oil And Rain Created This Electric Masterpiece
The Reflection Of These Sticks Makes Interesting Shapes
At First, I Thought This Was Mosaic Tile Until I Got Closer And Found It Has Been In The Sun Too Long
It's a piece of the famous Chinese artist "Sun Too Long" (I'll see myself out …}
This Rusty Lock Gate Looks Like A Painting
Eye See You
Accidentally Created A Porcupine By Pouring Instant Coffee Over An Americano
Reflection Of Ceiling Lights In My Coffee
The Window Of This House I Rented Looks Like A Painting
I Found A Cat On My Paint Palette
A Clock In A Server Room Where I Work Is Accidental Modern Art
The Way The Soap Bubbles Look Floating Over A Wire Basket
It’s like those science videos that show you your cells but they’re disco balls
Can Of Unstirred Paint
The Way The Mud Froze On My Truck Looks Like A Painting Of The Forest
Work Of Art Created By A Small Overnight Leak Of Insulating Foam
Almost Art
Countless Hours Of Wind Moved The Chains To Get This Piece Of Art
The Ceiling Light Reflections In This Cup Of Tea
I Dropped Some Coffee And It Looks Like A Bird
My Dirty Coffee Cup Looks Like A Pine Forest
Poured Out An Old Can Of Paint
How The Sunlight Reflects Off The Wall From The Vase
Natural Shell That Looks Like Someone Sketched A Mountain Range On It
The Pattern The Ice Left On My Grill
I Slipped And Fell Onto My Couch
Pattern On This Tree Stump Looks Kinda Like The "Starry Night" Painting
Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue and grey, Look out on a summer's day,
This Smudge On My Glasses Looks Like A Mountain
The Way The Paint Dried In This Old Bottle Looks Like A Tidal Wave
The Way This Glass Shattered
Fireworks Reflection Off My Car
I thought a bird got explosive diarrhea for a second and I was like you have lot of cleaning to do...
This Happened When I Went To Spread Margarine On My Toast
I Accidentally Left A Bowl Of Beet Juice On The Counter And The Top Layer Rippled
Accidental Art: Water, Chalk, LEGO Dried On A Table
Our Paint Can Broke Last Night And Dried In A Really Fun Way
My Suction-Packed Embroidery Thread Looks Like A Modern Art Piece
I Inadvertently Made A Duck While Tinting Paint At Work
The Snow Pattern On The Side Of US Bank Stadium Looks Like A Bob Ross Painting
Used Wick On My Candle Looks Like A Forest Scape
This Piece Of Metal At My Barn That Rusted Into A Nuclear Detonation
My Pen Broke And A Drop Of Ink Fell In My Paint And Gifted Me This
The Fossil In This Shell Looks Like A Van Gogh Painting
Christmas Lights Reflection On Fridge
How These Clouds Are Shaped Over My Campus. Like A Bob Ross Painting
The Way My TV Cracked Into A Fibonacci Spiral
My Dirty Car Looks Like An Artistic Mountain Scene
I Reversed My Car Into A Rock And The Damage Looks Like A Hand-Painted Mountain Range
The Way This Can Of Spray Foam Exploded
Paper Jammed In My Scanner And I Accidentally Created Abstract Art
This Window Unintentionally Turned This Picture Into An Impressionistic Painting
Unintentional Frying Pan Galaxy Art
Cut A Package Of Bacon In Half
View From My Camper Looks Like A Painting
A Chocolate Tart I Neglected To Remember I Made
Looks Like A Fish
Paint Shop Slops Tin
Accidentally Dropped M&M's Into The Water
60-Year-Old Dish Split Spontaneously, Alone On The Countertop In The Middle Of The Night, No Temperature Change Or Anything Striking It
Okay, but if this was made this way on purpose and somehow fixed in this position, it really would be a very cool piece. I'd sand the edges a bit and keep it just like this.
One Of The Old, Painted-Smudged, Scuffed Hinges On A Laundry Room Cupboard In My Parents’ Basement Looks Like An Old Greek God
The Last Thing Made By My Printer Before It Broke
The Way My Pasta Spilled
Pouring Some White Paint On An Old Palette Yielded Unintentional Branches
Looks like you're walking through some weird open field full off grass and trees with a greyish sky
I Accidentally Turned My Block Of Cheese Into Geometrical Art
10-Month-Old iPhone. That Has Never Been Dropped Or Exposed To Extremes Of Temp. Suddenly Decides To Do This
The Frost On This Roll-Up Door Looks Like A Bob Ross Painting
These Pine Needles Look Like An Impressionist Painting
This Reflection Of My Dish Soap
After Cutting A Stick Of Butter, The Residue Looks Like A Winter Nature Scene, Stream And All
I Threw Out Some Ground Cinnamon At Work And It Spontaneously Created Art And Extra-Terrestrial Hieroglyphs
My Daughter Dumped Out Her Acrylics In The Sink
This Broken Television Looks Like A Piece Of Art
This Door Was Left In The Rain Before It Was To Be Installed
If this was painted on it'd be kinda cool but... knowing its from mould etc. yikes. xP
Coffee Grounds Remain At The Bottom Of A Cup That Looks Like A Painting Of Foggy Forests After Rain
The Paint Primer I Accidentally Got On A Lighter Formed Snowy Mountains
The Mark It Left After Accidentally Dropping My Soy Sauce
The Tube On My Expanding Foam Can Cracked, Resulting In This Mess. The Glove Is Irremovable
Local Habitat For Humanity Store Display. Excellent Use Of Color And Light
Accidental Psychedelic Art
The Metal Staining On This Faucet Looks Like A Bob Ross Forest Scene
While Trying To Fix 3 Loose Pins, I Accidentally Dropped This Pin Impression Toy While It Was Unscrewed, Resulting In This Fun Art Piece
Wisps Of Clouds
Beakless Pigeon
My Margin Trowel Rusted And Turned Into Art
Dropped The Spaghetti
I love how nature repeats itself over and over again. Waves, veins, trees, everything.
One of the nicest posts I've seen in a while! All new pics too! 👏 👏 👏
I almost agree, Mari, but there were a few I'd seen before. Coffee cup pine forest, for example.
Load More Replies... I love how nature repeats itself over and over again. Waves, veins, trees, everything.
One of the nicest posts I've seen in a while! All new pics too! 👏 👏 👏
I almost agree, Mari, but there were a few I'd seen before. Coffee cup pine forest, for example.
Load More Replies... 