Artists of all ages painted the town every color one could imagine at the 25th annual Syracuse New Times and Family Times Street Painting Festival, which took place on July 25 in front of City Hall.
Participants grabbed their buckets and even carts full of chalk and began their masterpieces at 8 a.m. The weather held up, with some slight drizzles here and there, so artists brought tarps and blankets to cover their works so that their pieces would remain intact.
In concordance with the annual ArtsWeek and the AmeriCU Arts and Crafts Festival, these murals covered the pavement and wowed visitors as they scanned each piece. Local restaurants such as Modern Malt were represented through chalk murals as well as the ever-popular minions and Calvin and Hobbes.
For first-year participant Katie Mulligan, a recent high school graduate destined for the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan this fall, the Street Painting festival allowed her to artistically represent a recent photo she had taken. “I do commissions for family, friends and whoever wants a portrait drawn,” Mulligan said. “She is someone I drew probably about a year ago and I had the photo left over so I used it for today.”
Street Painting allowed participants, whether novice or expert, to hone in on their creativity and skills to create freehand as well as preplanned drawings. While some artists had planned for months, others decided their plan of attack upon arrival. “My favorite part is just the freeness that comes with chalk drawing,” Mulligan said. “It’s just so fun to draw with chalk. It makes you feel like you’re a kid again.”
Watch participants at Street Painting 2015:
