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Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival Artist Videos (2007-08) from streetpainting.tv

As the 16th Annual Italian Street Painting Festival from Youth in Arts is coming up soon, we want to share some videos of popular artists as interviewed by streetpainting.tv.  Take a look and enjoy!

Cuong Nguyen

Jeanie Burns

Genna Panzarella

Anthony Cappetto

Ann Hefferman

Sara Mordecai

Rod Tryon

Jay Schwartz

To see over two hundred videos from these artists and others, please visit the streetpainting.tv channel on YouTube. Most of all, see the street painting art as it is created live at the Italian Street Painting Festival by Youth in Arts, June 13th and 14th, 2009 in San Rafael, CA.

Youthville Chalk Art Festival in Kansas - Saturday, May 30, 2009

Blog Now on streetpainting.tv recently spoke with Micala Rush, Expressive Arts Coordinator for the Youthville Chalk Art Festival coming up this Saturday, May 30th, in the Wichita area of Kansas.  The event is free and will include demonstrations by top professional artists in Kansas, live music, chalk art, and a silent auction.  If you live in the area, come out and support this positive event!

Here's what Micala has to say about their event...

What are the highlights for the Chalk Art Festival that everyone should be aware of this year?  

Chalk Art Festival is a special event in that it draws on the mission of Youthville “Giving Children back their childhood”.  The very nature of Chalk is reminiscent of childhood and the freedom to create without fear of failure.  Chalk is forgiving in this way.  Youthville works hard to provide the children in our care with opportunities for expression and creativity, the community in Newton and surrounding areas has helped create an atmosphere at the festival that further supports this goal. 

What do we look forward to that will be new to artists and street painting fans this year?

The community are the main “street artists” as most of our local and regional artists are creating on large primed boards that we will have up for silent auction.  I think this is unique in that it takes the art from the festival and gives it permanence with in the community.

Do you have a theme or special focus for the festival?

We have not focused the festival aesthetically and only hope to have all of the artists create from the vision of hope and expression.

Does the festival work with arts education or related subjects?

The Expressive Arts Center’s main focus is not to “teach art” but provide the tools for making art.  In this way the main goal of the festival is not from an education stand point, but we do hope to create awareness and education about children in the system.  There is hope that as we grow we can involve more high school artists as a form of arts education.

Let’s talk about the mission of Youthville and how street painting (chalk) art is able to bring positive attention and support to Youthville and its activities.

Again from the first answer, we hope, we hope that Children no matter what life has dealt them can still find a childhood.  Art is a tool for transporting us through this life, no matter how difficult it has been.  The chalk is a vehicle; we hope the journey is enjoyable.  We hope that we can show the community that they too can engage in creativity and help others to believe in the mission.

Are there special artists coming to work from the region that we should know about?

We have a long list of artist, but more notable names are Lee Shiney, Hanna Easton, and Jacki McElroy.  These are all well-know artists within Kansas.  We have a total of 29 registered artists and who ever within our community comes out, that number we hope will be big!  Last year for our first year we had 400 participants.

We have always liked the idea of children’s squares and the fun the kids have doing them at festivals throughout the country.  What is your view on encouraging and inspiring the street painting art form with children and younger student artists? 

I believe that art should be accessible, that is not always a matter of skill, but sometimes a matter of acting, by doing the part of the artist we all may be the artist.  Children have an innate ability to access purity in image; they can call on things that adults have to conjure and in this way I think their art is often very interesting and inspiring to others.

Where do you see the festival going and growing in the near future? 

I would hope to continue to expand yearly and grow into Wichita which is a large city with a thriving art community; we are only 20 minutes north of the city it would be great to have art spanning the whole way!

Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival – San Rafael, CA – June 13 & 14, 2009

This June 13th & 14th will mark the 16th Anniversary of Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, CA.  Founded in 1994, this festival is renowned as one of the finest street painting festivals in the world, not to mention one of our favorite festivals at Blog Now on streetpainting.tv.

Just north of San Francisco at the historic Mission San Rafael Arcangel, hundreds of madonnari (street painters) transform the streets of San Rafael into an outdoor art gallery for 60,000 visitors each year. Using chalk to draw on the asphalt, artists create over 200 images in various styles and sizes.  There is a large children's area where hundreds of small children can each create their own masterpieces.  The festival also features live musical entertainment as well as Italian food and drink.

This year's featured artists include Amber Long (CA), Seth Sanders (WI), Robert Singler, Jr. (CA), Caroline Hoog as the Featured Student Artist (CA), and The San Rafael High School Madonnari (CA). 

'Juliet' by Cuong Nguyen at YIA Italaian Street Painting Festival (2008) 

Blog Now on streetpainting.tv spoke with Miko Lee, Executive Director of Youth in Arts, about the festival. 

Let’s talk about the Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival...what are the highlights that everyone should be aware of this year?

 

This year our theme "Faces of the Renaissance" resonates with the change that is emerging in our country.  We are clearly living in a tumultuous time. All the more reason for the community to pull together and celebrate the beauty of art and imagination.  

What do we look forward to that will be new to artists and street painting fans?

This year we are ramping up our family day with more interactive activites. We are creating a seek and find game for people to learn about the magical quality of street painting.

 

Does the festival work with arts education or related subjects?

While we highlight and focus on the mastro madonarri the very thrust of what we do is arts education. We believe in the power of the imagination to transform and make change and that is what Youth in Arts is all about. At our festival you will find a master artist right next to a student. This way they can continue to learn from each other. You can walk around and see a master like Genna Panzerella painting her large square. Then walk to the featured artist area and see Genna's 18 year old private student Caroline Hoog's amazing work. Caroline is the feature student this year and you can see Genna's distinct influence on her work.   Down the block will reside Genna's Lynwood Elementary School students - a collage with contributions from over 30 children in our Afterschool program. Each of these squares embody what our work and the festival is all about.  Mastery, protegy, and beginner. All together celebrating, working, learning, growing and sharing with the Marin community. 

Street painting in progress by Genna Panzarella at YIA's Italian Street Painting Festival (2008)

Lorelle Miller's street painting at I Madonnari in Santa Barbara, CA - 2009

Street painter Lorelle Miller sent us this photo of her street painting this past Memorial Day weekend at I Madonnari's Italian Street Painting Festival in Santa Barbara, CA - 2009.  Her street painting is a reproduction of an original painting called “Return of the Prodigal Child” by Lionello Spada (Bologna 1576- Parma 1622).  Lorelle's street painting measured 7' x 7' in size.

Lorelle says "It was a wonderful festival and I know that it helped the community to have something so positive going on after the horrendous fires that they recently experienced. The (Festival) Director Kathy Koury really pulled a miracle putting on this festival"...during this time. "An amazing woman with extraordinary friends, family and of course street painters who supported this great event. I appreciate all that they did and loved being back in Santa Barbara."

Thanks for sharing your beautiful work Lorelle!  - Wendy & Anthony

Utah Foster Care Foundation Annual Chalk Festival: June 19 & 20, 2009 - Salt Lake City, UT

The 7th annual Chalk Art Festival will be held on June 19 & 20 in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Thousands of families will flock to the Gateway to watch dozens of artists create, beautiful, temporary works of art.  Blog Now on streetpainting.tv spoke with Amy Oliver, Festival Co-Chair, to get more info about their event. 

Let’s talk about the Chalk Art Festival…what are the highlights that everyone should be aware of this year?

 

First thing that comes to mind is that Nathan Osmond will be joining us again this will be joining us again this year—he’s been incredibly fantastic to us, even as he’s promoting his album this year through the same timeframe. We’re also joined with the KSL Family Fair, so there will be plenty of vendors around. The fountains at the Gateway will be running and guests can still run through them all they want! We have several featured artists this year— Lee Jones, Steve Platt, Chalk-o-licious, Gina Jrel, Jonas Mitchell, Holly Bailey, Anye Velasquez and Mike Rose...and we’re please that these featured artists are returning to work with us again. The Kids Korner will be back to give kids a chance to get in on the action.

 

What do we look forward to that will be new to artists and street painting fans from the festival last year?

  

The art, most definitely. The artists are coming up with some really incredible artwork this year—not that they haven’t done fantastic artwork in the past! We also have a new theme this year and we’re encouraging artists to go all out—they don’t have to create their work around the theme but if they do, all the better.
  

Do you have a theme or special focus for the festival?

  

The theme for this year is “What Inspires You?”

Do you get artists interested in doing the 3-D illusionary or anamorphic chalk art styles?
 

We’ve had artists who’ve worked on 3-D art before but I think they really just do what inspires them that particular year.  And we’ve definitely had some artists make some cool ones.
 
The response from the onlookers we find bring the ‘wow’ factor into the art and bring the creative best in the street painters…what types of subjects have been the most successful for the festival?
 

I’ve seen the artwork and been to the festival as an outsider and I think what really wows people is not necessarily subject matter itself, but really the way in which it’s presented.  These artists who come in and create a lifelike drawing of a child out of chalk on the sidewalk of the mall really gets attention.  And the brighter colors.  

   
What is your view on encouraging and inspiring the street painting art form with children and younger student artists?

Part of our mission at the Utah Foster Care Foundation is to ensure that children are provided with the support, care and love they need to grow up to their aspirations. When we put on Chalk Art Festival every year, one of the most important and most popular areas is the “Kids Korner”.  We will be handing out chalk left and right to children to get them in on the action. I think, personally, that it’s incredibly important for children to be encouraged to engage in street painting, especially foster/adoptive children. Art is a creative outlet for emotions and dreams and children have the highest emotions and the most incredible dreams. And I think what’s best about street painting for children is that people see that. People purposely stop on the street to see what you’re doing, what you’re creating, what you’re feeling. I think that gives a child—or any artist for that matter—a sense of importance...that they matter. 
 

Where do you see the festival going and growing in the near future?

Hopefully the festival will grow to heights that will attract even more featured artists. It’s wonderful to have artists so interested in working with us and showcasing their work. We have Nathan Osmond who supports us and that’s just so incredible—he’s really amazing for giving us so much support, even as he’s promoting an album and having to go back and forth across the country.

Is there anything that we may have missed that is unique and special to the festival?

Our festival isn’t just about showcasing art. It’s about making the community aware of the need for foster/adoptive parents and it’s also an opportunity for us to reward and honor our Foster/Adoptive Fathers of the Year from around the state. It’s a really incredible two days where we get to bring everyone in the community together and really make a splash. There are more than 2600 children in foster care in Utah at any given time and we are always in need of families to care for them—the Chalk Art Festival is a great way for us to reach out to people who are interested in family because it is a family event.

Riverhead Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival on Long Island, NY - May 24, 2009

If you’re going to be on Long Island this weekend and are looking for something creative to check out, stop by the Riverhead Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival on Sunday, May 24^th.  Here’s more info from Newdsay.com online…

Riverhead Street Painting Festival

BY PAT BURSON – May 19, 2009

Each May, professional and aspiring artists of all ages flock to East Main Street in Riverhead, colored chalk in hand. Blocked off to motorists, a section of asphalt between Roanoke and East avenues becomes their canvas. They crouch, kneel and sit, creating original artwork.

On Sunday about 50 artists, including international street artist Rod Tryon of Cutchogue, will "fill up the street with their art," says Pat Snyder, executive director of the East End Arts Council, which puts on the annual event. But everyone is welcome to try their hand at drawing.

"We have artists who are quite good doing the artwork. We also have families doing art together. Everybody's in a really good mood."

STREET PAINTING

The painting spaces will range from 4 by 6 feet to 8 by 8 feet squares. Event sponsors who have paid for spots will have their own artists assigned to them. Individuals (ages 14 and older) or families who'd like to snag one on event day can sign up for an available 4-by-6-foot spot for $20. The council will provide pastel-colored chalk and knee pads.

Long Island has a lot of artistic talent, Snyder says.

"People are getting pretty sophisticated," she adds. "Over the years, we've given our street painters tips and the work just keeps getting better and better."

MEET THE ARTIST

Tryon's eye-catching creations are three-dimensional. They're usually 12 by 15 feet and take about 30 hours to create over several days. He's been painting for crowds at street festivals all over the world since 1987 (sneak a peek at artforafterhours.com).

"It's just meant to be a temporary thing," he says. "It's a gift for those who get to see them."

He encourages festival attendees to "just get in there" and give it a try. "It's just a matter of getting down on your hands and knees and rubbing the chalk into the asphalt," Tryon says. "It’s hard work, but it's a lot of fun. And really dirty. But that's half the fun, too."

ALL- DAY ACTIVITIES

Besides the street painting, there will be arts and crafts vendors, storytelling and hands-on activities for kids, a checkers tournament with giant pieces and live music.

Just for fun, kids and adults are invited to show off their tactile and creative skills at a new LEGO builder exhibit, which will be displayed inside the arts council's carriage house.

The festival is not only a time of art and music but also a festive coming together of the people who live in the community.

"Riverhead is a really diverse community, and we encourage that diversity, and we really embrace it," Snyder says. "That's one of the really wonderful things about the event. Everybody's welcome and everybody's appreciated."

MAKE YOUR OWN MUSIC

From noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, take your karaoke skills to the next level. During Riverhead's Community Mosaic and Street Painting Festival, singers of all ages are invited to the East End Arts Council's digital recording studio to make their own CD. Recording studio engineer Clifton Torres will be on hand to guide participants along - the finished results can be burned to a CD for only $1.

Riverhead Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival: Noon-5 p.m. Sunday (Rain date Monday), East Main Street, Riverhead, Cost: Free

I Madonnari - Italian Street Painting Festival in Santa Barbara, CA on May 23-25, 2009

Memorial Day weekend marks the 23rd Anniversary of I Madonnari - the Italian Street Painting Festival in Santa Barbara, CA.  This festival is the longest running street painting festival in the US, founded 23 years ago by Kathy Koury, Executive Director of the Children's Creative Project.   

The street painting festival takes place May 23-25 on the plaza of the Old Mission at Luguna & Los Olivos Streets.  200 street paintings will be created by 400 artists and young people, and there will be a special children's street painting area.  There will also be live music and authentic Italian cuisine.  Admission is free.

This festival showcases some extremely talented artists creating beautiful art work...so if you are in the area, check it out!

Bright Colors Draw Big Crowds: Rod Tryon's Street Painting at Arisphere 2009

Rod Tryon created this street painting, 'Variation of Danseuse assise' at Artisphere 2009 in South Carolina this past weekend. The image is based on Edgar Degas' Danseuse assise or Seated Dancer. Degas' eyesight was worsening as he aged, so he used bright colors in his ballet themed paintings during this period. Rod used the same bright colors in this street painting, which was visible from the Reedy bridge, and caught a lot of people's attention.

To make this street painting Rod's own variation, he added a frame around the piece and has the dancer holding on to the frame as if she may step out of it.  The shading around the frame gives it additional dimension.  This 10' x 12' street painting took about 20 hours to complete or two and a half days. Chalk pastel on concrete sidewalk. Following is a series of photos of the creation process of 'Variation of Danseuse assise' street painting by Rod Tryon.

 

Rod starts by sketching his image from a print of the Degas painting.  Then he applies color, starting on the dancer's face at the top of the street painting. 

Rod working on the dancer's arm. 

Working his way down the street painting. 

 

Rod uses a lot of different colors and a lot of texture to get the look he wants.

Blending chalk at the base of the piece. Thousands of people stopped by over the three days of the festival to watch the artist in action and take pictures of the artwork.

Rod working on the frame around the dancer.

Rod Tryon and his beautiful 'Variation of Danseuse assise' street painting. The public loved his street painting with it's many bright colors, layered textures and the addition of the dimensional frame.

Michael Macaulay's Angelic Street Painting at Artisphere 2009 - Greenville, SC

Michael Macaulay created this street painting called 'Raphael's Angels' for the Artisphere 2009 Arts Festival in Greenville, SC this past weekend.  The angels are well known on prints, posters, and other popular merchandise, but what is not well known is the fact that these cherubs are a small portion of a larger painting by Raphael Sanzio called the Sistine Madonna. 

Mike decided to add his own touch to this famous image by drawing the figures in an oval frame, giving the artwork a sense of depth. Here are some process photos of Mike's 10' x 12' street painting, which two and a half days of work, about 21 hours to complete.  Chalk pastel on concrete sidewalk.

 

Mike sketches his street painting on the concrete using a reference photo.

 

Working on getting the two figures started.

 

Filling in color on the hand of one of the cherubs.

Close-up of the right cherub's face.

Adding color to a hand.

Mike touches up some details on the oval frame. 

Thousands of people came by over the three days of the festival to congratulate Mike on his street painting, to admire the work, and to take pictures. 'Raphael's Angels' was definitely a crowd pleaser with childern and adults alike!

Street Painters Paint the Town at Artisphere 2009 in Greenville, SC

We just returned from a trip to Artisphere 2009, a 3 day arts weekend event in Greenville, SC. The weekend started with the Opening Night Gala Party, which we attended with street painting artists Rod Tryon and Mike Macaulay.  Here we all are at the Gala.

Left to right: Mike Macaulay, Wendy Stum, Anthony Cappetto, and Rod Tryon.

Left to right: Rod Tryon, Alan Ethridge of the Metropolitan Arts Council in Greenville, Mike Macaulay and Anthony Cappetto.

The following day started slowly for Rod and Mike due to a heavy downpour, but once the rain let up and the pavement dried, the guys got to work for the next two and a half days. Here are some photos of their street paintings.

Mike Macaulay working on his 'Raphael's Angels' street painting, based on a detail of the original painting 'The Sistine Madonna' by Raphael Sanzio.

Mike Macaulay's 'Raphael's Angels' street painting. 

Rod Tryon working on his street painting 'Variation of Danseuse Assise', original painting by Edgar Degas.  

Rod Tryon's 'Variation on Danseuse Assise', a Degas inspired street painting.

The public loved the two street paintings, the live performance aspect of watching the artists work and the finished work itself.  Thousands of people came by over the three days of Artisphere to see the street paintings and the two words most widely used to describe the art were 'Amazing' and 'Awesome'!