I’ve always liked this picture from the very first day of chalk painting I ever did, back when the annual chalk painting event in Little Italy was called Chalk La Strada and lots of skilled artists came out to have a go.
Predictably, I didn’t screw around much my first time, taking on a Botticelli Madonna and generating a full size drawing on paper ahead of time (9′ x 12′) to make a pouncefor transferring the drawing to my chunk of pavement in the original production style of Renaissance Italian fresco murals. Perfecting the drawing beforehand and simply transferring it to its final surface is a particular kind of time saver, like when your fresco plaster is setting up or when the chalk festival only runs two days-- its what makes chalk painting a performance art more than anything else.
This photo was taken not quite half way through the first day, with the complete outline visible in white.
wow, john. that is absolutely amazing! do you have any pix of the finished piece? i’d love to see more!
and happy birthday tomorrow!