Blog Now on streetpainting.tv - 4D Street Painting Art

Interview with Joshua Vance for Via Colori® Bardstown Festival, KY

Joshua Vance will be trying his hand at street painting for the first time as the featured artist for Via Colori® Bardstown Festival in Kentucky on June 27 & 28, 2009!  Here are Joshua's thoughts on the festival, his art work, and what he looks forward to with his first street painting.

 

Where do you live? 

I was born and raised in Louisville, Ky.

What is your occupation? 

I'm currently employed by the government however my passion for art and creativity is my true chosen career. 

 

How did you first get interested in street painting? 

Street painting is actually a new experience for me that I'm excited about participating in.  My friend Dj approached me about the Via Colori® street painting festival and it sounded like a lot of fun for a great cause. 

 

How did you get involved in the Via Colori® Bardstown Festival?

The coordinator for the event contacted me after seeing some of my work and asked if I would be interested and I graciously accepted the opportunity.

 

Tell us a little about your artwork.

My preferred medium is acrylic, I like the drying time and ability to emulate other mediums such as oil or watercolors.   Acrylic when varnished with high gloss creates a lovely smooth glass like appearance and I enjoy that in my finished pieces.  My favorite subject matter is portraits, I love capturing someone’s essence on canvas.  It’s a refreshing challenge given the uniqueness of the human face and form.  I enjoy architecture and scenery, landscapes and cityscapes, as well as more esoteric abstract pieces.  I try not to limit myself in terms of themes because I believe that would be limiting the imagination.  I always aspire for bold vibrancy in my work, rarely dulled or muted.   I love the urgency of color.  

  

  

Do you have a favorite artist whose work you may like to reproduce or do you prefer to create original designs?   

I'm inspired by anyone that dares to create and express their imagination. Although I prefer creating my own original pieces to challenge and stretch my imagination, if another artist’s imagery is evocative and powerful I enjoy trying my own interpretation of their creative expression.  

  

  

What piece or subject are you planning to create as your street painting at Bardstown? 

I haven't decided as of yet, I'm playing with ideas. I'm considering something whimsical and fun for any children that may be there to have a laugh about.

 

How much time to you plan to put into the artwork? 

It's a two day event.  I will try to spread it out over the course of the two days, there's no sense resting on laurels with so much entertainment going on!

 

What do you look forward to most in participating in the festival? 

I really look forward to the chance to talk with and meet people, as well as see the wonderful imagery all of the artists participating come up with.  That's the thrill, seeing that creativity flow.

 

Is street painting popular where you live?  

This is the second year for the festival I really hope it takes off and catches on.  There's something almost magical about a group of artists and entertainers getting together to express their creativity.

 

How do you feel about the ephemeral quality of the art form?

It's precisely for the reason that it is in fact fleeting that makes it so amazing and interesting.  I've always been intrigued by moments captured in time and the spontaneous nature of street painting is what initially hooked my interest.  For those brief two days there will be magic on display created with passion and imagination, where at any other moment it is merely bare concrete you wouldn't look at twice.  

 

What do you think will be the most difficult aspect of street painting?  

I would imagine either the hot sun baking your back, (I'm going to prepare ahead of time be working on my tan) or the greatest enemy would have to be rain clouds!

 

Why do you think viewers like to watch a street painting being created?

I think the process of creativity is contagious, to begin with essentially a tabula rasa (blank slate) and something meaningful comes from nothing.  That process fascinates people.  Where does it come from?  What part of the human spirit does creativity flow from?  I think creating engages people’s imagination and sense of wonder.  There is a synergy all performers have felt in the presence of fans of their chosen craft. 

 

Blog Now on streetpainting.tv wishes Joshua the best of luck and we are excited to see how his street painting turns out!

Advocacy and Support Center to Present the 2nd Annual Via Colori® in Bardstown, KY - June 27 & 28, 2009

Via Colori®, the Italian Street Painting Festival, is coming to Bardstown Kentucky to benefit the Advocacy and Support Center. 

We spoke with Shelley Adkins, Executive Director, to get some information about her festival and the Center.

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

We felt very blessed to have Joshua Vance (Louisville KY) for our featured artist this year, he is very talented and will show the public some amazing work.  This year has several changes from our first year.  We will have more vendors available for the community, and have organized an array of bands from different areas to provide music every hour, both days of our event.  Additionally, floating entertainment has been added i.e. magician, face painting, balloon animal creation.  Merchandise will be available for purchase, and Joshua will spend some time discussing/signing his art work.

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

Although we had music last year, we have added bands and musicians that will keep the music flowing the entire two days.

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

No special theme, just a free event for the community to enjoy.

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

I am not aware of any artist yet who will do a 3-D piece, but would love to see that happen!

Let’s talk about the mission of the Advocacy and Support Center and how street painting art is able to bring positive attention and support to the Center and its activities. 

The Advocacy and Support Center is non-profit, Child Advocacy and Rape Crisis Center.  We provide services to victims of all ages that have experienced trauma relating to sexual abuse/assault in an 8-county area.  Our mission is to reduce the incidence of and effects of sexual victimization.  Our center provides counseling for victims, non-offending care givers, and their friends for no fee.  

Additionally, we offer victim advocacy for those who may be going through the court process, and education in public schools, other community agencies, and colleges.   Because sexual victimization is such a hard topic for people to discuss, we feel we can still educate the public on who and what we do while providing a fun and festive event.  I am hoping Via Colori® and the Advocacy and Support Center will be talked about in the same sentence for years to come.  

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

The great thing about this event is that it is open to all artists of different walks of life and creativity;  it’s what makes the art work so special.  I’m very excited to work along with them!

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? 

Our children’s area was very successful last year, and incredibly fun.  It also gives families with children a reason to come to the event.  It’s amazing to see the joy street painting brings to the young!  Some of my favorite art work was from the children’s section.

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

My hope is that this event will get bigger and better each year, which in turn brings awareness of our services to those that need them.  State and federal budget cuts have hurt many of the non-profits to a point that could ultimately interrupt our services to those that need them the most.  So, we will continue to build on Via Colori® and the creativity that others bring to make this event successful.

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

The entire festival is very thought out and organized, but also allows those participating to show their own special creativity.  Additionally, Bardstown KY is a very historic and beautiful area of our country.  I have no doubt this will be a fun and festive weekend for those who choose to participate.

It's great to see that street painting can help all different types of causes and missions.   Best of luck with your festival!  - Anthony & Wendy

Blog Now on streetpainting.tv: Our thoughts and predictions for 2009

Happy 2009 and we hope everyone had a wonderful and special Holiday Season, with that said, we are thinking positively and with our unique thoughts and predictions for the year in street painting art for 2009.  Of course, these are our some of our thoughts based on what we have seen and done with street painting art from last year and through our experiences before that.  Your constructive thoughts are always welcome.

New technologies:

It is pleasantly amazing to get involved with the myriad of new technologies emerging every day.   From the mainstream applications such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, to the new concepts and start ups enhancing the online and technology experiences at all levels in our lives.  Through Innovative Street Painting Group (the company that Blog Now on Streetpainting.tv is a part of), we have been intently involved with new technologies as we find them to help bring the street painting art form to a new generation of street painting artists, festivals, and fans.  And of course, we are not stopping anytime soon; it is our belief that the best thing that can happen to the street painting (chalk art, pavement art, sidewalk art, screeving, etc.) art form is the continual, positive, evolution and development of the art form through new and exciting art styles and the means to convey them to viewers using any and all technologies and methods to reach everyone.

Social media:

We are very aware of the growth of social media and expect it to become interwoven with all aspects of life, and street painting promotion and expression will not be immune.  The benefit of course will be the ability for all street painting artists, festivals, and fans to be connect immediately as well as longer term from tweeting to static websites and everything in between.  Blog Now on Streetpainting.tv has Twitter Accounts ‘Blog_Now', ‘chalk_art’, and ‘street_painting’ on the public timeline in which all street painting artists, festivals, and their fans can follow and we can follow them to keep street painting art conversations where they are occurring live, informative, and interesting.

Street Painting in the Middle East and South Asia:

Street painting is picking up in interest in this area of the world for events and corporate product launches with many of the international street painters making their appearances. 

Street Art:

A growing force in the international art world from the galleries to the streets, although not created in chalk, has interesting works by many creative talents and we at Blog Now on Streetpainting.tv respect their unique and thoughtful works.

Keeping it Human:

Despite all the discussion and developments on the technology side, all of the new technologies, social media, videos, wikis, tagging, and new developments on the way – what needs to be at the forefront for all creative artists, festivals, and fans is that all of this is just one more way to convey the presence of a traditional art form begun in the 16^th Century by hardworking, humble people who wished to express themselves to onlookers and make a simple living every day.  The street painting art form almost faded away in the 20^th century as a result of the Second World War but was brought back by the fine effort of the International Street Painting Festival at Grazie Di Curtatone in 1972, brought to the USA in the  street painting festival format by Kathy Koury with the I Madonnari Festival in 1987 and expanded further with the work and dedication of Sue and Joe Carlomagno with the Italian Street Painting Festival by Youth in Arts  celebrating its 16^th year of showcasing this wonderful, positive art form. 

   Joe & Sue Carlomagno

In the new century, street painting artists and fans can look forward to great things from the Festival Bella Via Street Painting Festivals in Monterrey, Garcia, and Durango, Mexico founded by Rosy Loyola, Maria Elena Quiroga, with the coordination of Rosa Maria Leal Dominquez and their team of hardworking, dedicated people bringing the beauty and camaraderie of the street painting experience to artists and viewers alike since 2004. As Sue and Joe have passed the torch to Laurie Vermont, the Italian Street Painting Festival is continuing its tradition of presenting street painting at its fine level to the tens of thousands of people who stop to see and marvel at the artists from the area, the region, from around the USA, and some from around the world.  The majority of street painting festivals make an effort to give back to their communities through arts education in the schools and striving to present art in its most supportive and positive interpretations. We at Blog Now on Streetpainting.tv are proud to annually participate in street painting festivals (Youth in Arts and Festival Bella Via) in which we can street paint and be part of the arts solution, making people feel good, think, and recall their experiences to others to come back again to the festivals every year.

 Anthony with street painters from Italy and CA

We know we have not mentioned many fine festivals in the USA and internationally, and we not only salute them all, but welcome all to talk to us about their events, share their videos, their tweets, and above all the human interaction that comes from designing and/or reproducing a work of art, on your hands and knees, for hours or even days on end, with a finished product though temporal in physicality but living on in the memory of artists and viewers alike.  Nor have we mentioned the many friends that we have made and the interesting street painters we have interviewed on Blog Now on Streetpainting.tv that have provided depth and candor about street painting transcending just silent pictures in cyberspace.  We are happy and grateful that we can be friends and enjoy their company on our street painting experiences.

   Street painters and friends from Mexico & CA

We at Blog Now on Streetpainting.tv, our Streetpainting.tv website, our video channels on YouTube, Facebook, and now throughout Web 2.0 offer our user generated videos one on one with hardworking, creative artists expressing their pride in the work that they create as well as being able to be a conduit for festival directors who strive to bring the message of their festivals to the public on or offline.  We are proud and grateful to be a part of the street painting art experience.

Via Colori street painting festival in Scottsdale, AZ: October 18th and 19th, 2008

The Via Colori street painting festival will be having a street painting festival in Scottsdale, AZ for the first time on October 18th and 19th at the Downtown Arts District. 

Via Colori is a street painting festival program operating in six cities across the USA with over one hundred particpating street painting artists.  Via Colori events bring thousands of viewers to experience the creation of beautiful street painting art.

Streetpainting.tv welcomes stills and video from the public who attend this festival, as we do for all street painting festivals and events.