Drive An Art Car

I first learned of art cars when I was in college. They weren't all that common, and they weren't even called art cars. There was a VW bug in my neighborhood, and it had different-colored body panels, some designs stenciled on the doors and a tv shell on the roof. The year was 1986 and the car was an early-stage version of the car you see pictured here: "O My Gawd," owned and driven by Harrod Blank. He lived somewhere in my neighborhood in Santa Cruz, CA and had not yet done his art car book or photography projects.

Now, a few decades later, Harrod's found his true calling documenting the art car scene, and I'm living in Seattle, where I took this picture of his car at the 2010 Seattle Art Car Blowout. It's fantastic to see how the car has evolved!

This Hub will introduce you to the concept of art cars and let you peek through the colorful windows in this unique mobile art show and the people who love them. As car manufacturers reduce the number of models they make, and as car shapes and colors have become more standardized, it would seem that the idea of having a unique automobile that is an expression of one's self is becoming more and more appealing.

There's only two things you absolutely need to get going on making your own art car. First you're going to need a car. Actually, that might come second depending on what your idea is, and that's the crucial other half to getting started. Once you've got a concept and a vehicle, you're good to go in just about any way you can.

Paint - Nearly all art cars incorporate some form of paint. Car enamel is going to give you the longest life if you are rendering images or designs on the surface of your car. But that's never stopped a car painter with a plan from using whatever they find, get donate or manage to buy cheap.

Glue - A lot of the va-voom and sparkle that go with art cars tends to come from things glued to the surface of the car. Entire concepts have been created this way. Just remember that things glued to the surface of a car sometimes come off on the road, or in weather so you'll want to make sure you are using really durable glue geared for your materials and the outdoors. Also, glued on items can add a lot of weight to a car, so if you wish to keep your car road-worthy, you have to keep that in mind as you embellish.

Auto body modifications - This is the realm of the seriously-skilled car artist.  Building the body of a car, or modifying the basic structure isn't easy or cheap, but for some car visionaries, it's the only way to get the vehicle of their dreams.  This is where you really have to be careful as many radical cars aren't road-legal and have to be towed from event to event in trailers.

And however you decide to create your art car, remember they all need one last finishing touch: a name.  It's a long-standing tradition for art cars to have nicknames, either something that relates to how they look or a clever pun or joke about the concept.