Spin Art - Techniques

Techniques

To create spin art, an artist initially decorates or drips paint onto a canvas. The canvas can be anything; however, the most common form of canvas is a small rectangular piece of cardboard. Before the paint on the canvas dries, the artist secures the canvas to a platform that can be rotated at high speed. Once the canvas is secure, the artist can then begin spinning the canvas. Most spinning platforms are electrical or battery operated, with more elaborate platforms enabling the artist to vary the rotational speed.

As the canvas rotates, centrifugal forces draw the wet paint outwards, creating intricate designs. The artist can drip more paint onto the canvas while it is spinning, thus layering paints on top of each other, creating different effects. Using different colors, a skilled spin artist can blend colors together into subtle designs. At any point during this process, the artist can stop the spinning platform to view the canvas. Since the canvas is usually rotating at a high rate, it is difficult if not impossible to view the image on the canvas until the platform has stopped spinning, thus creating a sense of surprise and uncertainty during the creation process.

• Making spin art on old phonograph records. Paint is applied…

• …and the disc is spun at a rapid rate…

• …resulting in a spin art piece.