Next month the Wall Street Journal's Liesure and Arts section will feature an article on streetpainting and the 20th anniversary of the I Madonnari festival in Santa Barbara. I was interviewed today by a reporter from the paper and spoke of my role as this years featured artist and the image I am designing for the special event. Should be for sale around the 20th of May.
Get um while they're hot!
Napa Street Painting Festival
I was honored to be invited as this years Featured Artist at the 2nd annual Napa Street Painting Festival. I painted in last years event and had a great time. I painted a painting called "Bridesmaide" by Millais. I am still deciding on the image I will paint this year but I have to make up my mind soon...May 19-21st
http://www.napastreetpainting.org/
Street Painting Featured Artist
I will be this years Featured Artist at the Santa Barbara Street Painting Festival. This will be there 20th anniversary so it is a very special year. This was the first festival in the United States and one of the largest and most popular street painting events. This is my 5th year painting there and my first time as there featured artist. Very exciting. I have been asked to do an extra large painting in front of the Mission on the history of street painting in the Italian tradition. It is something that should be easy for someone who has been doing this for 8 years but really, I have been a little stumped. I want the image to include images of the Madonna and child, of course, but without making the image too religious. While the tradition has it's roots in religion, the evolution has taken it to something much more accessible to people regardless of there beliefs or backgrounds.
Street Painting of the Mountain Mist
This is a detail of the image i painted in Germany the last time I was there. It was for the international streetpainting festival in Geldern which is about an hour from Dusseldorf. It was my 2nd year participating as the only American artist. I won 1st place in the Meisterklasse which is the equivilant to the Maestri category in Italy. Geldern is a lovely little town with the nicest people. The best thing about Geldern is the ice cream. With the money I make in coin donations from streetpainting spectators I buy myself a little treat (Ok, by little I mean huge. But streetpainting is a lot of hard work in what can be pretty severe weather conditions). They have about 3 ice cream parlors in the small town square with the most outrageoulsy decadant creations you have ever seen. Beautifully sculpted into a frozen mountain of sweet, mouth watering delights, the ice cream is garnished with an avalanche of chocolate and fresh fruit garnish.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
A Street Painting In Progress
This is an in-progress shot I took in of my work in the 12th hour of the 24 hour international street painting festival in Mantova, Italy. My 3rd time at the festival which always takes place on August 15th for their religious holiday- the Feast Assumption. You begin painting with the ringing of the cathedral bells at 6pm on the 14th and finish painting with the closing bells at 6pm on the 15th. Most painters, including myself, work through the night in hopes of finishing enough to take a break when the sun really kicks in around 2 or 3pm the following day. With over 200 artists, most participants are Italian but there are also artists from Germany, Holland, and the US.
The festival is split up into 3 categories.
Simplici- the lowest category which every artist has to begin in.
Qualificato- Only a 1st place win in Simplici allows you to paint in this level.
Maestri- 1st place in Qualificato must be received. This is the highest honor you can receive.
By winning two 1st place awards I am now a Maestri but have yet to win the Maestri 1st place award.
I will be traveling to Italy this summer to participate in the festival and do my best to win that coveted prize.
Street Painting History
Streetpainting started in Italy around the 15th century with artists painting images of the Madonna and Child outside of churches and cathedrals. They were termed Madonnari. Madonnari today has evolved into a much broader term. Madonnari paint everything from the Madonna and religious themed images to highly realistic anamorphic pieces that trick the eye.
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