How I Painted My Coachella Art Trashcan (TRASHed 2024)

What is the Coachella Art Trashcan?

Launched in 2004, the Coachella Art Trashcan or officially know as TRASHed (Trash Education) Recycling program is a Global Inheritance original initiative that has sparked a recycling revolution at festivals around the world. What began as a nonprofit’s passion project to help keep festivals clean has evolved into a staple program that has graced many of the biggest events in sports and music.

How did I get this opportunity? 

Everything started almost ten years ago when I received a text from a good friend of mine. It said, "Hey, I saw these trash cans at Coachella and I think you should totally do one. You'd kill it." I told them I’d for sure look into it, and while I did, life got in the way. I procrastinated and let my own thoughts get in front of me… Fast forward a few years later and I finally applied in 2020. I made it to the final round, but unfortunately, I wasn’t selected. It was honestly discouraging, but as time went on, I realized it wouldn’t have mattered since, well, we all know what happened later that year…

Finally, in 2024, yet another few years later, I was accepted!

How did I paint it? 

STEP 01 — Preparation

• I started by sanding the whole surface. This is a critical step to ensure you give the smooth plastic material some tooth for the paint to grab onto; otherwise, it will just chip right off! 

• After sanding, I applied a white primer to ensure the best adhesion between the paint and the surface, and to ensure the colors would pop. 

STEP 02 — Transferring

• I initially planned on using stencils to transfer the design, but after realizing how bumpy and wonky the surface of the trashcan was, I decided that a projector was going to be the best move.

• I made sure to take measurements and get my design as close to the real proportions as possible, which made everything a lot easier.

• I did have some issues with getting the geometry to line up on the corners since there was such a strong bend, so I decided I would have to wing some of it.

STEP 03 — Painting 

• Once my design was transferred, I masked off the areas I knew I wanted to keep white.

• I then applied my base color coat with this fluorescent spray paint. 

• Using a Posca Marker, I outlined all the edges of the blacks. This helped tremendously in getting through most of the details with speed.

• Once I had things outlined, I then went in with the brush to achieve some of the larger fills.

• Once I finished with the blacks, I moved onto the pink. I made the mistake of not thinking about how dark the color would end up drying (always make sure to test a dry sample), so I ended up mixing it and having to repaint what I had. It wasn’t a huge deal, but take it as a lesson!

STEP 04 — Final Touches 

• Once everything was in place, I had to correct some minor details, clean up some smudges, and overall make sure everything was as tight as possible.

See the FULL process in video form here

What did I learn? What would I have done differently? 

I learned not to ever underestimate the preparation stage. It’s the least exciting, but arguably the most important. If you don’t have a solid foundation then everything else, no matter how good, will crumble. Take your time here, do things right, and ensure you’re giving yourself the best possible starting point.

I also learned the projector was the absolute move in transferring the design. For some people, I’m sure free-handing it might be enough, but since my work is so geometric, I really couldn’t see it working another way. Shoutout to my friend for letting me borrow his projector.

Using the Posca marker was also a huge time-saver in getting all the outlines in, especially getting those sharp corners nice and crispy.

What do I conclude? 

Quite honestly, getting to see my work at Coachella (one of the largest music and arts festivals in the world) was a dream come true. I know it’s just a trashcan (lol) and a small blip in the grand scheme of the festival, but it really felt like an honor being there, even in that capacity. I truly thank the people at Global Inheritance for selecting my work!

Cheers.