For a number of years I took a week off in August to do chalk drawings on the Edmonton Streets during the Fringe Festival. It was long hours of cold hard work, crouched down on the pavement, getting ridiculously filthy, hungry, and tired. But it was worth it to bring artwork to life for the people passing by.
Most of the people who stopped to talk to me while I was doing this were homeless guys, and usually they just wanted to borrow a dollar, but afterwards, they would come and sit down and watch me draw for hours.
I sometimes created my own original work, but often I would choose to reproduce something from our shared history. One thing I liked most was the fact that it would inspire people to ask questions. What was this painting? Who originally did it? Is there a history behind it? And what does it mean?
Just having these kind of impromptu discussions with random people on the streets was so incredible and interesting, crowds would often gather to hear what was being said and look at the images.
The last one I ever did:
3 comments:
Beautiful - so peaceful, tender and filled with love. The more I look at it, the more wistful it makes me feel...
I love the way you captured the shadows and lights and the feel of the piece. All that with a few pieces of chalk and a chunk of pavement. You are incredible, Aaron
Me
This is so wonderful.
Thank you. I learned a lot from doing this kind of work and from talking to the people who stopped to look at it.
Post a Comment