… from Picture Perfect

Crowds descend on Paseo's street painting festival to observe art in action
Judy Seckler, The Pasadena Weekly

… nothing is quite as immediate as watching 600 artists over two days transform drab sidewalks into a gallery of artistic expression at the 12th annual Absolut Chalk Street Painting Festival.

Taking their cues from a centuries-old tradition of Italian processional art in which street painters called "madonnari" created chalk paintings of the Madonna, artists turned the outdoor plazas of the Paseo Colorado into a giant canvas Saturday and Sunday. In all, about 200 murals were completed by the event's end.

"At most events, you worry you're going to have enough content but it's [the festival] bursting at the seams," said Tom Coston, executive director of the Light Bringer Project, organizers of the festival. "The public sees the whole process being done."

A flood of artists lined the open plaza of the shopping center, spreading out to the plaza on the second level and across the street to Garfield Avenue, between Colorado Boulevard and Union Street. This year, artists and design teams worked on images that ranged from realistic and whimsical portrayals of animals and people to abstract shapes and bold graphics, recreations of masterworks of the likes of Van Gogh and Francisco De Goya.

… The festival is the brainchild of the Light Bringer Project, a nonprofit arts organization that not only produces the irreverent Doo Dah Parade each year but also raises funds for vital arts education programs in public schools and provides other cultural events …

Photos Copyright © 2004 – Jon Slater, Altadena, California

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Yes, her hair turns into a waterfall.