My family loves eggs…I mean, love them! If we were there when Humpty Dumpty fell, we would have said, “Get the cheese and vegetables! Omelets for everybody!” So you can bet that we always have egg cartons in our recycling bin. I thought about what I could do with these egg cartons…what about an easy abstract art painting! One that you can create in 10 minutes!
Egg Carton Art? Yes, you heard right, egg carton art. Nikki, I am very interested to see how you do this. I’m sure you are because we are going to learn how to make abstract canvas art using an egg carton as the paintbrush! And this is super super easy. Now I will warn you; it’s one of those pieces that is an acquired taste. There are no identifiable shapes. It’s just a whole mix of colors on the canvas. I’m sure you’re probably wondering how this easy abstract painting will work. And you will find out soon enough! Don’t forget to read all the directions before you begin. I provide some alternative methods in creating this piece.
You Will Need:
- canvas board (any size for this, the bigger the better)
- 3 acrylic paint colors (use the color wheel)
- white acrylic paint
- an egg carton (dozen or 18 sized)
Prep Your Canvas
First, paint your canvas with your white base. It makes the color application smoother. Don’t let your canvas dry completely. You will need it to be damp for the next step. The wet canvas provides a nice slippery feel, making more of a petal structure instead of just dots of color. What is wrong with spots of color, Nikki? Nothing if you are a comic book fan, and if you are, you will get this cheesy joke! Seriously, there is nothing wrong with dots. I am only your guide. I hope that you will take the instructions I provide and tweak it to make some great egg carton art. However, if you like the security of following directions because you know what to expect at the end, then let’s move forward in our easy abstract art painting!
Use Your Egg Carton As A Paint Brush
Place paint on the bumpy side of your egg carton. Again, I suggest using a triad of colors. Don’t know which colors to pick. Read my post on How To Mix and Match Colors How should I place the paint on the egg carton? Any way you want. I put my primary colors in sections; feel free to do the same.
Press Your Egg Carton
Now the fun part! Flip that egg carton over and press away on your canvas. Press diagonally, horizontally, vertically. Just don’t slide it. If you glide it around the canvas, it will turn into a muddy mess. So when you press down (hard or soft), you must lift it and press it in another spot.
Fill Your Canvas
Continue to press and cover the whole canvas as best as you can without making it a muddy mess. Be sure to reapply the paint depending on your canvas size. Do I have to cover the canvas completely? I mean, can I leave some white areas? Absolutely! Technically, you could press once and call it art. That’s way too artsy for me. Me too, my friend, but I figured I would suggest it. Just press away until you feel like it is complete. How do you know it’s complete? You will get tired of pressing around the canvas, or your husband and children pull you away because they are ready for dinner. Honestly, fill the canvas as best as you can, but if it starts to look muddy, stop. This is an easy abstract art painting so please don’t overthink it.
Alternative Methods
So if you want to add a little more “maturity” to this easy abstract art painting while still using the egg carton, I have added these suggestions. I know you may feel uneasy about being adventurous but I want to give you a little push to get out there and try to build upon the method I have shown. And you can’t mess any of this up! Mistakes are part of the process!
Egg Carton Art: One Color At A Time
If you are feeling adventurous today (hey it could happen) and would like to try a different method. You could start with one color apply it around your canvas, let it dry, rinse the paint off the egg carton, apply another color, and so forth. Do I need to apply the white base? You don’t have to, but I think you will feel more comfortable if you do because we have already established that as part of my process.
Egg Carton Art: Gradient
Take a single color and start from the bottom applying the darkest shade heavily. Then gradually move to a lighter shade as you get to the top. Check out the video below where I use two thin canvases:
If you have watched “Avengers: Endgame” then you will understand when I say that it reminds me of the people who disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers. You can do a horizontal gradient or a vertical gradient. This is too much, Nikki, I am just going to do the original look. That’s absolutely fine. You may not be ready to fly just yet, but one day you will be!
And there you have it! A fabulous easy abstract art painting that can be done in the time span of a commercial break. The great thing about this piece is that you can’t mess it up.
My husband said that it reminded him of those hidden images pictures, where you had to stare at it until your eyes crossed, and a 3-D dinosaur would show up. Remember how there was always that one person who would say, “I don’t see anything.” Even though you were crossing your eyes to the point of them falling out your ears so that you could explain to them how to find this image. All while wondering why this person was even your friend or worse, family! When my husband said that it reminded him of that, I initially took offense, but then I thought about it. The use of egg cartons as a paintbrush for this canvas art makes you want to stare at it and decipher the hidden image. Art should make you want to get lost in it, so I achieved my goal. Hooray!
