Art How To: Polka Dot Pumpkin
Fall art inspired by the artist Yayoi Kusama utilizing the art elements/concepts of shape, form, & pattern. Let’s get polka dotty! ⭕️
📚 Art history- Yayoi Kusama (1929 - present) is a contemporary Japanese artist whose Outsider & Pop Art style of polka dots is world renown. Kusama’s childhood memories of pumpkins inspired a series of sculptures, installations, & paintings focusing on the gourd. And of course polka dots! She has been fascinated with pumpkins since childhood, and was instantly “enchanted by their charming and winsome form” (per the artist herself).
Kusama’s interest in polka dots has been described as obsession, symptom of mental illness, unique aesthetic, and visual representation of personal philosophy. I think it’s all of the above. She’s a bit wacky-dot-happy, but the art speaks for itself. What it’s saying is determined by you.
Personally, I find great enjoyment in artwork that evokes positive feelings. I love to look at art and walk away happier. Kusama’s cheerful, simple designs multiplied in on themselves to result in overwhelming complexity (see the infinity room installation below) seem like a great metaphor for life in some fleeting smile way. What are your thoughts on Kusama? Leave a note below.
In Kusama’s own words:
“The polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement ... Polka dots are a way to infinity.”
POLKA DOT PUMPKIN ART
🎨 This artwork is a simple rendition inspired by Kusama’s pumpkin series. The polka dot pumpkin utilizes the art elements of shape & form. Shape in terms of the addition of polka dots of various sizes and the creation of rhythmic pattern through the use of 1 shape (circle).
✏️ STEPS ✏️
Draw outline of pumpkin using curved lines from stem to bottom to create more rounded form.
Divide background using horizontal line. A simple sky versus ground design.
Add Polk dots! All shapes, sizes, patterns. Dots, dots, and more dots. I’d suggest starting small, adding medium, then larger, then teeny tiny in the too empty white spaces.
Crayon layers for more nuanced colors & texture. I chose purples, oranges, & greens. But it’s whatever floats your 🚤!
🎨🌻✨ Be bold, feed your soul, live in whimsy. 🎨🌻✨