Chalk painting San Diego, 2002

John — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:25:59 +0000

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′) and creating a pounce to transfer 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.

Chalk painting | Little Italy San Diego 2002 Madonna and Child

John — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:14:03 +0000

This was my opening foray into chalk painting on the street in San Diego as part of one of many chalk festivals up and down the west coast. I never chalked outside of San Diego, though I did contribute to this annual October event in Little Italy every year from this project in 2002 through 2008– I actually left San Diego to drive across the country the second time on the weekend of this event.

Chalk painting Madonna and Child John Hiemstra Little Italy, San Diego 2002

custom art | John Hiemstra, scenic artist » madonna

Chalk painting San Diego, 2002

Chalk painting | Little Italy San Diego 2002 Madonna and Child