DIY: Painting with light

Thanks to the know how of one DIYer, however, you too can build your own light paintbrush.

As an avid DIYer and a fine arts major, I have painted in almost every medium known to man. But I must admit, I have never painted with light. The marriage of long-exposure photography and gestured paint strokes, painting with light might seem limited to an art gallery or a movie screen. Thanks to the know how of one DIYer, however, you too can build your own light paintbrush.

According to Gareth Branwyn for Make Magazine: "In John Park’s latest project in his explorations of the Circuit Playground’s capabilities, he shows us how to build a simple device for “painting with light” using long-exposure photography. All you really need is a Circuit Playground board, a camera capable of taking long-exposure photographs, a battery pack, some wire, and a potentiometer (to control the brightness of the NeoPixels)."

About the Author

Alexis Gajewski

Alexis Gajewski

Senior Content Strategist

Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.

During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry. 

Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.

She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.

Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.

Connect with Alexis on LinkedIn

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