Wild at Heart Illustration: Sweet Chalk Fest 2016

The Sweet Chalk Fest 2016 in Lockport, NY was another success. It was another learning experience. It was another event in which I made friends.

Per my previous post, poison dart frogs made their way to my piece. I had a final size of 8x10 ft. I approached this years subject in a different way. Using the edges to create dimension. I wanted to break into the 3D frame of mind and think I did all right for the first time. I chose to show the frog and a hidden buddy hanging out on a ginger flower. Ginger flowers come in a variety of colors. I took artistic liberty with mine. I went for pink.

We enjoyed my friend's wedding the night before. I arrived with hubby in tow to set up by 11am and began my prep work a little behind schedule.

I started by gridding out the 8x10 space. Then drew the outlines of the piece leaving bare blacktop for contrast. This was my first year using Tempera paint and it really did help with the chalk and fingers. I painted it on and then regridded inside the drawing space. At the end of day one I had most of the base color down and the overall shape defined.

The finished result! I was happy with the look of it and regret not getting a ladder shot. It took 14 hours of chalk time. My family helped with set up, take down, sunscreen/burn monitoring, hydration, blood sugar, and moral support. My sister, Grace was a trooper and kept me on track. When I get in work mode I tend to obsess and forget to take care of myself. Ellen and her volunteers were fantastic as
always in addition to my support team.

I learned some new techniques this year and met some really cool artists!

One of which, took this working shot of me in the finishing stages. Thank you Alex for all your wisdom and awesomeness!

I used synthetic suede fabric cut into strips for blending like I have done in years past. My friend from Florida, Alex told me about using cuts of indoor/outdoor carpet for blending. This doesn't waste as much pigment and can cover a large area with no risk to your finger tips. Also, packing foam sheets wrapped around finger tips are good for areas of detail. I used a lot of hair spray to get the black chalk to stick on the frog's spots when tempera paint could have helped with detail in hindsight. I also saw that some artists would tape off edges with painters tape for cleaner lines when finished. I will end up doing the same the future. Thanks, Debbie.

Alex and I at the end of the festival.

Ellen Martin, the mastermind behind this event and our community champion.

I know there are more photos out there with other artists that will soon get to me. For now enjoy other artist's work. Thank you for your enthusiastic support for chalk art. Our festival goers make it all worth it, even when it rains the very next day.