Motorsport art by Joel Clark

Beautiful motorsport art using adhesive colored vinyl

At first glance, you might think that Joel Clark’s artistic style is to use simple broad swaths of color. While that is true, upon closer examination you realize that the broad swaths are solid color vinyl. Yes, the kind used in wrapping cars, amongst other things.

That’s when you realize how very clever this is.

As someone who has used vinyl on racing things for years, I’m particularly intrigued. For me it was a case of quick “paint”, while also being very easily repaired when damaged. It’s a similar case for Mr. Clark, although repair is hopefully not involved.

When your brain does the shading

Look closely at the motorsport art by Joel Clark and you see that there is no subtle shading in any of his art. Yet your brain works to fill in the shading blanks for you. Your eyes are willing accomplices. Look at the Hesketh piece to the right. Squint your eyes. The shading appears even more subtle. Pretty clever, no?

Granted, there are countless colors and textures available in vinyl. Mr. Clark’s trick is that he keeps his creations fairly simple in coloration, yet creates the illusion of far more colors than there actually are. While he could certainly create art in a computer and output to vinyl, Clark has chosen to hand-cut all of his vinyl.

Mr. Clark has also gone one step further and used actual bodywork as a canvas for some pieces. Choosing not to just accurately duplicate a paint scheme, but to show a reflection of what would appear on that paint scheme. For more about Mr. Clark’s techniques, a short video.