Larimer Arts Association (2012)
"The creation of a chalk painting takes many hours and is often not as simple as it seems. First, the artist must draw an outline of the original painting in proper proportion using pencil or a charcoal pastel. Then they begin to lay the base of colors. Using a number of colored pastels, the artist layers the chalk, blending the colors to create shadow, contrast, and depth. So one might ask, ‘why street paint when the artists’ efforts disappear immediately?’ As avid street painters will tell you, this is performance art, where the process of creating the work is more important than the finished piece. For many, the dialogue with spectators can be as rewarding as creating their masterpieces. People can view the work in all stages of progress, from layout and design, to applying colors, to the finished creation."
Street chalk has to be the most interesting form of chalk drawing. They can be used for advertisements on university campuses, for elementary schools to play games, or even for creating new fun art for people to enjoy. Artist like Tracy Lee Stum make these paintings on the pavement and create an optical illusion to the audience's eyes.
3-D Street Chalk Art done by Tracy Lee Stum
What I like about Tracy's work is that when she draws, Its freehanded. Stum stated,"I tend to work intuitively, often creating or developing each painting in the moment- I may not know exactly how it will look before I begin but I listen to my impulses and find they always led me to wonderful discoveries and results." I've always had a problem of drawing things from my imagination, so her being able to do that full-effect of 3-D drawings from her mind is phenomenal. Tracy was also a featured artist in the Artizen Magazine in their "Chalk It Up" article.
Tracy Lee Stun, and other artists, is in fact an actual street painter; it's her job. In this video, she speaks about her life as a street painter and also mentions that the beautiful form of art only has a life span of a few days! Why would an individual consume so much time in something that won't even last forever? Well after watching her video, Tracy does what she does simply for the enjoyment and satisfaction of other. Street art became apart of her and it allows her, and other artists to come out the isolated room and share the creativity with the public eye.
Chalk art festivals occur in places like Denver where people can enjoy the beauty of chalk. The Denver Chalk Art Festival is a free two-day street-painting festival where more than 200 artists spend hours that weekend turning the streets of Larimer Square into a museum of chalk art.
"Resting Place" by Khadija Azzam (me)
Crayola Chalk
"In Love And Death" by Khadija Azzam (me)
Made for my sister Julie
Crayola Chalk
"Sunset" by Khadija Azzam (me)
15 mins worth of time, Crayola Chalk.
"Dragon" by Khadija Azzam (me)
Crayola Chalk
11 hours; First Chalking Drawing of 2013
Experiencing with chalk was very annoying at first and a challenge, until I finally mastered it. I first did a chalk drawing in my art class in high school, sophomore year. I hated it a lot because it was so hard to stay in the lines when the edges eventually becomes dull. My trick to staying in the lines is to continuously break the chalk so that the edges remain sharp. Blending the chalk on the paper would have to be the easiest part because chalk is dust and it smears smoothly. After three years of practice and dedication to art, chalk art has become my strongest point in drawing.
Works Cited
Becker, Kirsten. "History of Chalk Art." Denver Chalk Art Festival -. Larimer Arts Association, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
You had some really engaging posts this week. I think you'll enjoy the mini-lecture for week 6, as the first topic of discussion is "3-D" writing spaces, and I even highlight chalk artists! (Great minds think alike, right?)
ReplyDeleteOnce you got on a roll here, the text really flowed. I like how you mixed in anecdotal (personal) experience with some reporting on successful chalk artists. And the images you added here really drive the point home. I agree with you--chalk is a great medium for your art! This made me wonder: have you ever conceptualized a street chalk scene? Want to try it and write about your results in another post?