Blog Now on streetpainting.tv has an exciting post with well-known Australian pavement artist Ulla Taylor. Here's what Ulla had to say about her work and the art form of pavement art or street painting.
Where do you live?
I was born, bred, and currently reside in Melbourne, Australia.
What is your occupation?
“A screever I am, a screever I be” like Bert in Mary Poppins! ..I am a painter whose speciality , passion and primary income is pavement art- street painting.
When and how did you first get interested in street painting?
My mother was an artist, and I drew and painted freely throughout the house and yard… (To her dismay sometimes.. She hated the red marker pen on the white walls!) I remember seeing a street artist in Melbourne as a toddling child in the early 70’s, although my first conscious, personal attempt at pavement art was in1987. It was at the end of my first year of a Fine Art degree, and I competed in a small, local pavement art competition (no longer running). It was a day that changed my life, although I didn’t realise at the time... Tired from our art school break up the night before, and nervous to boot… I nearly turned around to go home many times on that journey. Thankfully I didn’t. I was one of six artists chosen by Melbourne City to participate in a giant, Christmas, chalk drawing. From that I met some older artists who were launching into pavement art, specifically Peter Voice and Bev Isaac. We started working as a group and by 1991 “Chalk Circle” was born at Peter’s instigation. We believe/d we were the first group of internationally touring pavement artists. (Jenny McCracken and Roland Josuttis were also original group members.)
How did you develop your style?
In the “early days” I was pretty stubborn about steering clear of realism.. I loved expressive and abstract work and using raw, spectrum colours. My mum was an abstract, figurative painter. I loved the colours and form of Hundertwasser and Klimt, and contortions of Scheile, for example. My colours are still pretty bright, but my work is much more realistic now- the accessibility of a realist image improves the busking “hat” as a street painter.
Working with other artists, both screevers and other painting or busking colleagues, has also influenced me to some extent. I remember the first time I saw a postcard of Kurt Wenner’s work in the early nineties and was blown away. Although I had no aspirations to such a classic style, that was a first view to really great illusions on the street, and the potential for large commissions. Working on large artworks with other pavement artists and in scenic art, you see interesting techniques and different methods of painting which are inspirational, also. I have always aimed at originality and a contemporary flavour. I often draw wildlife, and particularly endangered species, as that is my interest and passion for the pristine environment coming through to my work, and whilst sometimes the message of my work is just “have a laugh”, more often it is “look at this magical beautiful world around us”.
Is this art form referred to as ‘pavement art’, ‘chalk art’, or ‘screeving’ more so than ‘street painting’ in Australia? Please tell us what you know of the history of street painting in Australia.
“Pavement art” is the predominant term used in Oz (we call our “sidewalk” pavement like the English). Using the word “painting” would have totally freaked out the “authorities”!!! With the massive rise in quality spray can art here in Melbourne, generally called “street art”, the term pavement art is more definitive. Many of us (me especially?) try to promote the word Screever, as it is an older word, and specific to the trade… The word screever is hard to find in dictionaries, but I have found it in a dictionary of colloquial English and various literary references to screevers, (ie, Mary Poppins, and George Orwell.) Chalk art is also a popular term, but generally used by laypersons!
Do you think of this art form as a fine art or more an entertainment performance art or somewhere in the middle?
It is performance art. Firstly it is performance. Many passers by see or talk to me, and the artwork is not fully realized, I am more of a character/ street philosopher / urchin/ just another busker. At the end of the day I say goodbye to the piece and it works away on the street spreading good vibes and sound philosophies.. Good performance and fine art have in common- a sound technique, a message and an aesthetic appeal.
How often do you street paint?
Hmm, well I had a baby last year and didn’t work for a few months. I’m working again but not on the busy schedule I was on in the years prior. Pavement art is my sole income (plus a bit of other painting work). I work hard in the summer, and often travel to double my summer like any other full-time festival worker. My intention, my passion, is to stick with screeving full time as after all this time, as it is the best way to support myself, and bubby. Once she is running around as a toddler (and harder to strap into a pram), and those airfares start kicking in, who knows how I’ll go…but just the thought of not scratching away on the pavement regularly gives me cabin fever..
In what countries have you street painted?
I do mostly festivals, but also some corporate work. Most of the overseas work is at summer fairs or street festivals. I have worked in many cities throughout Australia, New Zealand, England and Canada. I’ve also worked in Germany, Japan, China, and Wales. Hmm, that list doesn’t look quite long enough… I’m hoping to do some work in Europe later in 2009.
Is street painting popular in Australia?
Since the advent of the net, and specifically [Julian] Beever’s successful blitz with amazing 3d images, everyone with net access seems to know about the art form. 20 years ago there were just a handful of screevers (mostly Chalk Circle members and associates), but gradually there are more and more. Most people enjoy it immensely;- very, very extraordinarily I encounter an abnormally irate person who would prefer to look at grey pavement and takeaway food litter… (I think that’s about twice in my work history of over twenty years)
Are there any street painting festivals in Australia? And if so, do you attend them?
We had Streetworks International Pavement Art Festival here in Melbourne (1994-96) which was conceived by Peter Voice, and I had the great experience of managing in 96. Although it started to build into something strong and beautiful, we just couldn’t get the serious funding to make it viable for us to work on all that time (and we couldn’t draw in it, as organizers..). We paid a core of artists a retainer, and there were prizes available to those, and others who worked the fest. The past four years, a pavement art competition “Chalk the Walk”, now called “Chalk Urban Art” runs in Sydney. I’ve attended twice, once as headliner (06), and the next year I had the great pleasure to take out the People’s Choice prize (07). Hopefully Chalk with build and grow over the years. Occasionally small community events/competitions crop up, often for children… (and then they die off in Australia’s harsh climate??!!)
Are street painters able to create art work wherever they want (parks, public streets and sidewalks) or do they have to obtain permits to work in public?
A permit is always necessary, though in some cities there is no permit available.. It is a strange, ironic situation where if a City Council will permit it, art can be produced on public land, but where the city doesn’t permit it, “private” land permission must be gained. In Auckland, indirectly commissioned by the city, I once had to move a drawing “two feet to the right”, as I had impinged on a private property border as described by a grumpy trader on Queen street!!! I felt like I could have probably challenged this in a court, as It was essentially the “queen’s highway” and free for all to walk on, but I’ll save that for when I have my big legal team on board! ;)
Have you seen the popularity of street painting grow since you have been doing it…in Australia and in other parts of the world?
Absolutely, popularity is growing. Aside from the internet as I mentioned earlier, it’s also the fact that digital cameras are now capturing what was a temporary art form and recording it for posterity. Just about everyone has a camera on them at all times in the “developed” world, whereas even just 20 years ago, (ten years ago!) only tourists or pro photographers carried a camera. There has always been pavement art, but by its ephemeral nature, its impact was temporary. That has changed now. A technological blessing for the screever….(and a copyright nightmare….??)
What do you think about 3D street painting versus traditional 2D?
I find I can barely work now without a comment such “Have you seen those 3d pictures on the net…” This can be mildly annoying if people are standing somewhere near your own “3d viewpoint” and just don’t stop and look first.. or until they look in their camera. Certainly the popular expectation nowadays is a bit of the old “3D”…but I would not define my preference by “dimension”…. Years ago with my first dabbles into “3D’ work, it became apparent that the photograph was required for best effect, and a Polaroid camera was considered, to have people donate (more) for the image. I also found that the single viewpoint of a “3d” was limiting from a busking perspective, as you weren’t collecting donations on an image “in the round”. People didn’t “get it” quickly in the “old days”. I think the work of Wenner and Beever is great (mentioned, as the most well known “3D” artists although there are many now). A good illusion is a mark of a great perspective and drafting technique. I use elements of “3D” in my work, but usually the effect is over a smaller space as that is what is available, and I find I get more donations when people are physically closer to you, in an intimate space. I still like some pretty colours and a funny or thoughtful concept as well…
Do you have a favorite subject in your street paintings?
It must be nature.. birds, fish, flowers, trees. Not only because they are fragile and threatened, but it’s exactly what is missing on the gritty concrete of city streets. Usually it’s these images that communicate a sublime feeling that makes people walk away feeling lighter and happier, and that’s my prime objective as a street artist.
What is your favorite street painting you have worked on to date and why is it your favorite?
So many pictures, so many favourites, for so many reasons… My most recent works are generally my favourite, but also, when I have tapped into the ethos of a place effectively. Today I will say it was “Bon Scott, on the highway to heaven, with the whiskey devil and the high-voltage angel”. I drew Bon (the former lead singer of AC/DC, for those not savvy with old Australian heavy metal..) in his home town, Fremantle WA, and where he rests today. That picture really captured the spirit of the place and time, tapping into a very current vibe. The locals were awaiting a sculpture in his honour that year, and masses of tourists with offerings of whiskey visit his gravesite. While drawing it, I met people who gigged with him, knew him, were friends of his mum, were fans.. They were totally enthused. That picture was not my biggest earner, nor my best technically.. it just had a great vibe, and was totally appreciated… some fans even had their wedding photos on it!!!
Do you usually work alone or with other artists?
I usually work on my own. It’s easier, less negotiating, less of dealing with those lovely single-minded painter personalities (which I Do love..) and more personally rewarding.. But I have worked with others, especially in the early years, and it’s great to jam ideas, have support and company, and enables longer working hours and bigger pictures.. Over the years, that includes Peter Voice and Bev Isaac from Chalk Circle, Jenny McCracken, Roland Josuttis (Germany), Jamieson Lawrance, Deb Robinson(UK) and Marc Barnes(NZ) (with varying degrees of working with..). I suppose the favourite group projects were doing the Sidewalk Art Project in New Zealand where Chalk Circle ran intensive workshops with teenagers.. The visual outcomes were amazing, and it seemed we really made a positive impact on all of the workshoppers. Also have loved working at great screeving festivals like Geldern, Streetworks, Massey, and Chalk the Walk, being inspired by other artists.
What do you enjoy most about street painting?
Freedom.. from routine, routine kills me! And I love the self-sufficiency, and the ability to draw what I like.. Uplifting people, lightening their day, encouraging wider perspective of life and an appreciation of the moment… and challenging people’s preconceptions about dirty-fingernailed ladies scratching on the concrete!!
How do you feel about the ephemeral quality of the art form?
I like to remind people nothing is forever, and not everything can be owned…
What is the most difficult aspect of street painting?
Extreme heat is a killer.. I once worked in Western Australia in 47.5 degrees Celsius.. like working in a sauna, that picture was not finished very well!!! Since then, anything over 28 degree Celsius bakes my brain, but can often be avoided. Harder to avoid are chronic substance abusers.. drunks, heroin addicts, or Meth-amphtetamine users.. that always keep you on your toes, or tenterhooks. Some pavements are just really horribly dirty too…
What are your views on pavemnt art or street painting as a contemporary art form?
I love it and I am an addict! Its history is ancient and world-wide, but its current renaissance is technology driven. It is grass-roots. It is publicly supported. It is popular, possibly kitsch, but has the potential to reach out and make people think and feel beyond their bubble as they walk down their desensitized, anonymous metropolitan street.
How do you feel about experimentation with the street painting art form with new methods of artistic collaboration other than the traditional?
I’m up for anything new.. I think that’s why I wanted to do a Masters in Public Art this year, but motherhood was calling… (Besides, I do believe I have just written a thesis right here!) I want to remain flexible, adaptive and open minded as an artist, and that may mean new directions in the future.
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