Tater Art Abstract art with vegetables
Tater Art A how to and how not to for aspiring abstract artists.
This is a fun way to make art for anyone who is willing to throw some veggies around. The process can be a little messy though so it is good to plan ahead and do this in a garage opr outdoors. Another option is to use a tarp or plastic sheeting on the floor in case of tater escapes. They do happen so don't be unprepared!
The basic idea is to get a large sheet of watercolor or drawing paper and put it in a tub. Pick out a suitably knobbly vegetable, cover it with paint, and roll it around on the sheet of paper in the tub. The paint will come off the vegetable on the paper, and make a random pattern of color. Of course you don't have to use vegetables, any object will work, including toys. But vegetables are cheap and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so they are a good brush to use for this art. Just don't plan on eating the veggies after you have used them for making art. Paint is not good on the insides of people although it looks great on the outside. It is not a bad idea to use non-toxic paints for this project. Some good examples are gouache or acrylics paints labeled with an "AP" marking for non-toxic. Don't use paints labeled "CL" as those are considered toxic and you don't want to get them on your hands. You can get 1 liter bottles of gouache or acrylic at many art stores that will work fine. The ones made for school uses are generally non-toxic.
This is a fun way to make art for anyone who is willing to throw some veggies around. The process can be a little messy though so it is good to plan ahead and do this in a garage opr outdoors. Another option is to use a tarp or plastic sheeting on the floor in case of tater escapes. They do happen so don't be unprepared!
The basic idea is to get a large sheet of watercolor or drawing paper and put it in a tub. Pick out a suitably knobbly vegetable, cover it with paint, and roll it around on the sheet of paper in the tub. The paint will come off the vegetable on the paper, and make a random pattern of color. Of course you don't have to use vegetables, any object will work, including toys. But vegetables are cheap and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so they are a good brush to use for this art. Just don't plan on eating the veggies after you have used them for making art. Paint is not good on the insides of people although it looks great on the outside. It is not a bad idea to use non-toxic paints for this project. Some good examples are gouache or acrylics paints labeled with an "AP" marking for non-toxic. Don't use paints labeled "CL" as those are considered toxic and you don't want to get them on your hands. You can get 1 liter bottles of gouache or acrylic at many art stores that will work fine. The ones made for school uses are generally non-toxic.
What You'll Need :
What you'll need:
A large container to hold the sheet of paper. A plastic mortar mixing tub from a home improvement store works great.
A selection of colors, either gouache or acrylic.
A pad of paper to use for your art experiments. You want to get something that fits inside your container without cutting it down. This just makes it easier, but if you want you can cut paper to fit.
Someone who can count to 10.
Some plastic or latex gloves if you want to keep your hands clean.
Tippers/bouncers People to work the tub tipping and bouncing the brushes (taters or other veggies) around so the get a good random pattern going.
An area to work in, outdoors or inside with a protective covering like plastic or tarp. Not that the taters have a way of escaping and can apply colors to unintended objects such as floors, lamps, walls etc.
A large container to hold the sheet of paper. A plastic mortar mixing tub from a home improvement store works great.
A selection of colors, either gouache or acrylic.
A pad of paper to use for your art experiments. You want to get something that fits inside your container without cutting it down. This just makes it easier, but if you want you can cut paper to fit.
Someone who can count to 10.
Some plastic or latex gloves if you want to keep your hands clean.
Tippers/bouncers People to work the tub tipping and bouncing the brushes (taters or other veggies) around so the get a good random pattern going.
An area to work in, outdoors or inside with a protective covering like plastic or tarp. Not that the taters have a way of escaping and can apply colors to unintended objects such as floors, lamps, walls etc.
Process : Let the mystery unfold !
Process:
This can be done by one person but working with 2 or more is more interesting and variable.
1 Lay a sheet of paper in the tub
2 Grab a volunteer vegetable and paint it all over with your first color. You have to work fast as the paint dries quickly. This is where the gloves come in handy as you no doubt get more paint on you than the tater.
3 If you have 2 people one should grab each side of the tub. If you have 4 people one should grab each corner. The painter needs to throw the tater in the tub and then everyone starts counting together as they roll the tub around to get the tater moving. One end of the tub should go up while the other end goes down. But be careful not to overdo it or the brush (tater) will fly out of the tub and make a colorful impression on something. It doesn't hurt to bounce the brush a little by jiggling the tub up and down some.
The rules are simple:
Each brush goes in the tub for 10 seconds then is removed and a new color is used or a new brush.
If a brush escapes the tub before 10 seconds it has to change colors.
It is good to use both opaque colors and transparent colors for this art.
Once you have done all your brush colors you may decide to repeat some colors. That's fine, you will have to stop and check your progress after a while to decide if you want to keep going.
This can be done by one person but working with 2 or more is more interesting and variable.
1 Lay a sheet of paper in the tub
2 Grab a volunteer vegetable and paint it all over with your first color. You have to work fast as the paint dries quickly. This is where the gloves come in handy as you no doubt get more paint on you than the tater.
3 If you have 2 people one should grab each side of the tub. If you have 4 people one should grab each corner. The painter needs to throw the tater in the tub and then everyone starts counting together as they roll the tub around to get the tater moving. One end of the tub should go up while the other end goes down. But be careful not to overdo it or the brush (tater) will fly out of the tub and make a colorful impression on something. It doesn't hurt to bounce the brush a little by jiggling the tub up and down some.
The rules are simple:
Each brush goes in the tub for 10 seconds then is removed and a new color is used or a new brush.
If a brush escapes the tub before 10 seconds it has to change colors.
It is good to use both opaque colors and transparent colors for this art.
Once you have done all your brush colors you may decide to repeat some colors. That's fine, you will have to stop and check your progress after a while to decide if you want to keep going.
Some things you can do with your abstract art.
Some things you can do with your abstract art.
If it's really great you can always frame it and sell it in Paris.
Or you can cut up the paper in pieces and use it to make custom decorated art cards.
Maybe you can make a cover for a book?
Some things to try are using all dark colors for the first round of brushes and then only use bright colors for the final brushes.
After your art has dried you can also paint a thin layer of water color over it if it is acrylic. That could tone down all the white areas remaining and give a very different look. Gouache is not water proof so if you want a toned background with it, do the wash first before the tater'in.
Also, you can try lots of different veggies and objects. Carrots or green beans could work, or just about anything that will roll or bounce in the tub with a little encouragement from the tippers.
I've added a few pics of tater art I made a few years ago. Have fun and remember don't eat the veggies. The middle picture has blue area in the upper left. That blue are was made using a stamping method. I plan to post a short tutorial on stamping later.
If it's really great you can always frame it and sell it in Paris.
Or you can cut up the paper in pieces and use it to make custom decorated art cards.
Maybe you can make a cover for a book?
Some things to try are using all dark colors for the first round of brushes and then only use bright colors for the final brushes.
After your art has dried you can also paint a thin layer of water color over it if it is acrylic. That could tone down all the white areas remaining and give a very different look. Gouache is not water proof so if you want a toned background with it, do the wash first before the tater'in.
Also, you can try lots of different veggies and objects. Carrots or green beans could work, or just about anything that will roll or bounce in the tub with a little encouragement from the tippers.
I've added a few pics of tater art I made a few years ago. Have fun and remember don't eat the veggies. The middle picture has blue area in the upper left. That blue are was made using a stamping method. I plan to post a short tutorial on stamping later.
