Art Car Techniques

Art Cars come in all shapes and sizes and having had such a brilliant experience of creating and driving my own, I would love to encourage you to permanently transform your mode of transport, whether it be push bike, motorbike, car or van. So if you feel you are ready to take on that challenge I am here to guide you in any which way I can. Please come along to an art car workshop or book a 1 to 1 session with me and see the permanent techniques below.

However I am not naive and don’t suppose that you have a burning desire to ‘stand out’ from the crowd at all times by driving around in a permanently decorated Art Car even though I would suggest that you quickly get used to it and the interactions make driving in London a far more pleasurable experience. But that aside this is an opportunity for you to ‘try on’ the experience of riding around in an art car by creating one just for the day at one of my artcar workshops and even more especially for the London Art Car Parade.

I have spoken at length to a police officer in the Metropolitan Police and of course their main concern is that we don’t linger as a parade creating congestion and perhaps a potentially dangerous distraction to other motorists and yep, that objects don’t fall off our cars!

So although we are endeavouring to be spontaneously creative we do need to address the practical concerns of firmly attaching our décor……..We also need to think about the weather and be prepared for an onslaught of the elements even in the middle of june……..so that if rain is predicted our cars don’t end up looking like a sloppy mulsch.

So let’s take a look at some of the ways that you could dress up your car for the day ~:

TEMPORARY "DRESSING ' OF YOUR CAR FOR THE DAY

PAINT

1. Poster paint could be ideal because it’s pliable, inexpensive and easily washed off but of course you do need dry weather.

2. Acrylic paint is also a medium to consider because it is water-based and thus easily removeable with a little bit of elbow grease.

3. If you want to carry out a permanent paint job I recommend enamel model paints - they survive superbly in all weathers with/without protective clear varnish coating. do note however that you will need to do a bit of a touch up job once a year - the orange and yellow fade and the purple turns to grey over time in sunlight.

4. So you want to paint your car but if it's cool keep it on for the summer for all those tasty summer festivals. In which case I have the solution for you - why don't you try a magical new paint system from the States called Magic Colors. (www.magiccolors.net) You can paint your car and then remove it up to 4 years later with a special remover that doesn't damage your paint job underneath......I certainly want to check this out.
Yes it is a mammalian skeleton parading through orange grass - a simple but powerful paint job for the Art Car Fest 2006. Photo by L. Marie - see her at www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m Alternatively you could 'Go Vegan' as this bright rainbow stretch vehicle inspires. They're certainly having fun in life......from cxune's photostream at www.flickr.com/photos/10023697@N08

OBJECTS

A whole range of objects can be attached so that they dangle from the roof, doors, bonnet etc…….but they need to be firmly fixed with string or rope.

Alternatively one could attach and weave objects through netting that covers your car and is then secured to the inside or underneath the car with rope – obviously one has to be aware that you need to be able to get in and out of the car. I would suggest that you consider using light objects so that they don’t pose any risk in scratching your paint. For example:

* Plastic/material flowers
* Xmas decorations and foil garlands such as metallic door curtains
* Plastic foil masks and foil papers
* Aluminium foil
* Inflatables – such as inflatable skulls, guitars etc…..
* Ratten decorated place mats
* Balloons
* Paper products such as paper lanterns, origami, wrapping paper, newspaper, card, paper mache........
* Plastic toys and games
* Cardboard boxes (if weather permits)
* Grass turf / false turf
* light food stuffs such as bread, slices of fruit and veg

Swathed in plastic, 'The Flying Spaghetti Monster' at the Houston parade, 2008 - photograph sourced at www.flickr.com/photos/steevithak You can use inflatables and attach them to your car but something of this size requires tremendous support - see rear end....Houston Art car parade, 2008. Photo by D.L and his photostream - www.flickr.com/photos/falsecognate
Lego Jeep by Kevin Mathieu which as you can see is interactive. Photo by L. Marie at www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m It's Sticky Crazy - in the Houston Art car parade, 2008 - from DL's photostream at www.flickr.com/photos/falsecolgnate

MAGNETS : these can be a great way to attach objects – sticking the magnets to the objects you want to attach – magnets come in all types of strength so this option would require some experimentation - I’ve seen a car covered in CD’s for example but you could glue them to all manner of light weight objects and simply arrange them on your car. This makes for a highly interactive experience also.....

TAPE & STICKERS

* Holographic tape that comes in many metallic shades which really catch the eye - so if you're up for some bright bold patterning or lettering this could be a route for you.
* Brightly coloured masking tapes – in electric pink, red, green, yellow and orange.
* Fluorescent paper stickers or paper with masking tape/blu-tak.

MATERIAL : you could think about 'wrapping ' your car in material and perhaps attach elastic at the top to go around the roof like a great skirt......or perhaps you want material of different textures that people can stroke and 'interact' with - alternatively it could be a patchwork of coloured felt squares......light saree material......silver or gold spangly synthetics with sequins - the options are infinite. Nevertheless be aware that heavier material may present different challenges to lighter, flightier materials like silks which will have a tendency to flutter at speed.............

Plants with wheels....for that brilliant touch of nature or you could even grow your own food. From exune's photostream at www.flickr.com/photos/10023697@N08 Say it how it is....paper covered van with slogans - from that fantastic commons license user website www.flickr.com

FLAGS : Are a brilliant way to bring a sense of ceremony and pomp to proceedings and they flutter beautifully in the air. If this medium grabs you - lets test it out at 25 mph because that is the speed we may be travelling at. similarly - balloons need to be firmly attached as we discovered with our heart shaped balloons on our Valentine's soft, Pink & Fluffy outing.......

NATURE

* I have seen both Grass turf and false turf used beautifully to decorate cars - there are advantages and disadvantages to each. A friend of mine, Duncan, recently told me of someone he knew who had sown grass seed onto dampened corrugated cardboard pannelling which had sprouted to cover the car entirely. His take on it was then the suggestion of planting herbs and vegetables on the roof to promote ' the grow your own food' movement.
* At the manchester art car parade fellow paraders had built a car out of a wooden chest of drawers, door and other bits.
* At the manchester arttcar parade fellow paraders had built a car out of a wooden chest of drawers, door and other bits.

LIGHTS : Are a fantastic way to illuminate your car at night and I have two sets of pink and red battery lights permanently nested on my dashboard to add a bit of sparkle at night. However you can choose to go more 'hardcore' and install a whole system of lighting for your car which hooks up to your car battery such as neon piping or tubes.

SPRAY ON STRING : Yes you've played with it at parties but now you can go absolutely wild with it on your car (or someone else's.....friends beware!) Perhaps this is your unique portrayal of 'chaos theory'.

Brandi Hammond and her 'Fusion of Contradiction'-- photographed by Reggie Bibbs - www.flickr.com/photos/reggiebibbs Spray on string car - from Iburiedpaul's photostream on flickr - www.flickr.com/photos/roeshad

Please note that despite the fact that an art car may have some temporary decoration does not necessarily mean that it is a temporary art car. Many cars will have permanent modifications that they drive around with on a daily basis as well as temporary stuff that owners only attach for special events and parades due to their flimsy nature or the potential for theft.

PERMANENT 'DRESSING' OF CAR

1. HAND PAINTING ~ If you want to carry out a permanent paint job I recommend enamel model paints - they survive superbly in all weathers with/without protective clear varnish coating. do note however that you will need to do a bit of a touch up job once a year - the orange and yellow fade and the purple turns to grey over time in sunlight.

2. USE OF STENCILS ~ I first began my sojourns into decorating our ford sierra with car spraypaint through hand drawn and cut stencils. I described it as 'tatooing' the car because they were in 4 select places around the car rather than forming a whole covering. Stencils are an excellent quick way of transforming a car and then you can touch up and accentuate details with hand brushing.

3. GLUEING OBJECTS ~ In the US, one common type of art car is referred to as a 'gluey' in that objects of all types imaginable are glued onto the car's surface. Silicone adhesive is a particularly useful glue, with epoxy and liquid nails being other favorites. If you're glueing on objects to a car that is in 'daily use' I recommend that they not be sharp and potentially harmful. It's one thing to create something 'whacky' and 'outlandish' for a parade but quite another thing to be driving it about everyday. Typically art car owners slot into three categories - those that have it as their 'ordinary, extraordinary car', like myself - those that create an amazing car and drive it to parades, festivals and parties and may even 'hire it out' and those who have to 'transport' the car to parades because it isn't road worthy. If it has dangerous protrusions then it's not legal.

Roof detail from the 'Pen Guy'. Photo by l. Marie at www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m Solano Stroll - detail of glued objects to roof of car. Photo by shutterchickat www.flickr.com/photos/theshutterchick

4.SCULPTING ~ One can also explore and distort the surfaces of your car with sculptural materials such as expandable spray foam and bondo body-filler as well as paper mache. If you were really feeling brave and wanted to attach larger and heavier objects or objects that do not adhere well to glue then one can use bolts, screws, pop rivets and even a welding gun. Once more it is advisable to consider whether the objects you are intending to attach to your car could harm anyone if for any reason they came into contact with your car, so please avoid sharp, dangerous edges and spikes.

Can you feel the force? Yes it's a huge dose of Love Wicked "Marvin Martian Bug' by Scott Alan. Photo by L. Marie at www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m

NOTE

The lists of techniques highlighted here are far from comprehensive and I encourage and invite you to discover your own as well. Be creative and experimental - ask your arty farty friends and more practical DIY and craft centric mates for suggestions. In the past people have used any manner of crafting and building techniques from sewing to stapling and every material from wallpaper to wax and don't forget that the Art Car wokshops are an opportunity to get ideas and try things out.