The Art of Making a Mess: Louisville Welcomes The Splatery

By Alisha Proffitt Photos By Antonio Pantoja 

Louisville has no shortage of places to see art. Galleries, theaters, the murals climbing brick walls throughout Highlands and downtown Louisville. What it did not have (until recently) was a place designed for the dabblers, creatives, and curious minds to participate in a more unstructured joy of making it. 

Enter The Splatery, a new splatter-paint studio opened by Anthony Lopez. His concept is pretty simple: give people paint, tools, and protective gear, then set them free to hurl color across a canvas. The results may or may not resemble traditional art, but that, Lopez insists, is the point. 

“I love the idea of creativity without rules,” he said in a recent conversation. “Traditional art can feel intimidating.” 

Lopez first encountered splatter-paint studios elsewhere, where he saw how guests lit up when allowed to abandon technique and play. When he began searching for a city to start his own venture, Louisville surfaced repeatedly. Its massive arts community and sense of livability appealed, and family ties in Kentucky made the decision feel, as he put it, “like coming home.” 

Guests arrive, check in, and slip on gloves and shoe covers, or full-body suits for those wary of the inevitable mess. A 30-by-40-inch canvas stands ready. Cans of red, yellow, blue and white paint line the space. And then, for the next hour, restraint gives way to motion. 

“People come not to learn, but to play—with color, with movement, with texture,” Lopez said. 

The format has proven especially popular for groups. Companies bring employees for team-building; bridal parties trade champagne flutes for paint brushes. Lopez admits the logistics are more complicated (more canvases, more cleanup) but the rewards outweigh the hassle. Watching coworkers shed their usual formality, or guests letting loose, feels like its own kind of artistry. 

All fun aside, safety is an important factor in the experience. Paint is selected specifically for splattering, and staff manage cleanup so guests can focus on the experience. “People need to feel safe enough to get wild,” Lopez explained. 

For those who arrive doubting their creativity, Lopez offers some reassurance. “Everyone is an artist.” 

Lopez opened the studio only recently, but already he is looking ahead. More sessions, collaborations with local artists, and perhaps new locations in other cities. His ambition is less about scaling quickly than about preserving what makes the studio special. “My hope for the future is that The Splatery remains a space where people feel free,” he said. 

Louisville, it seems, has gained not only another studio, but a room where mess itself becomes a work of art.