On a June weekend for the past 15 years, the streets around Larimer Square in Denver, Colorado, are transformed into colorful artworks by over 200 professional and amateur artists in a free event called the Denver Chalk Art Festival. I went to the festival a few years ago--see that post here--and felt it was time to revisit it again this year.
The dedicated artists spend two days completing their works, all the time on their hands and knees, and most in the bright sun.
The subjects of their artwork can be reproduction of a famous art work or ones they imagine themselves.
The idea of street chalk art began long ago in 16th century Renaissance Italy, when artists of the era began creating temporary masterpieces in the piazzas (streets) as passerby's would toss them a coin or two. Very often their artwork was of the Madonna (Mary), and so the artists became known as "madonnari."
The tradition was revitalized in Italy in the 1970's when the small town of Grazie di Curtatone started the first international street painting competition and other areas around the world soon followed. This is Denver's 15th annual competition, and every year it grows more popular.
Not only do attendees get to walk around and watch the artworks being made, there was also food for sale, wine tasting tents, music, and an art gallery and a children's corner where they could also draw on the ground to their hearts content.
So, are you ready to see some of this year's chalk artwork?
My favorite
I made as many images into collages --to see the details click on to enlarge each set.
This one had a very three dimensional effect!
I hope you enjoyed seeing the array of different chalk artwork! If you'd like to know who the winners were, you can find them in this article in 303 Magazine--click here. Voting is done by a panel of 3 judges, and there is also a People's Choice award that is done through text messaging the artist's number to the judges. Winners are awarded a plaque for the category they were chosen for such as Best of Show, Most Colorful, Most Whimsical and Youth Challenge.
Although beautiful, the artwork is erased the day after the festival by special street sweepers to prevent any of the chalk residue from entering nearby Cherry Creek. The artists look at the process of creating their artwork as performance art, with the process more important than the final result. They enjoy the interaction and comments of attendees to the festival and that is the reward for many!
What was your favorite artwork ? Please let me know in the comments.
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64 comments:
So coool! What a fun day!
It would be fun to watch the chalk artists at work. They have created some beautiful pieces. Your favourite is lovely. But oh, how hard it would be to see it all erased and washed away the next day.
This chalk art is brilliant. very talented and creative artists
What an amazing event, your photographs are fabulous and have turned into stunning mosaics. My favourite has to be the 3D one of the mouse conducting turtles! It's mad!
Performance art I like that expression - I would have to get into that different headspace for sure as it seems sad to be washed away after all that hard work. I also agree with you on your favourite but It doesn't look like they were a winner?
What a wonderful thing to be able to do, I'm sure mine would be a smudgy mess, they are very talented.
Wren x
What a great post, how amazing the different artists and their beautiful chalk renderings. I would have a very difficult time choosing just one, just really wonderful Pat~
Wonderful! Amazing! Beautiful!
Have a great week!
This is so fantastic, I would love to see it. And I caught a glimpse of one of my favourite subjects, Frida!
Hello, the chalk art looks amazing. What a fun festival. Happy Monday, enjoy your day and the new week ahead! Wishing you and yours a happy 4th of July!
I envy people with such talent! Thanks for joining Blue Monday!
Wow! What fun! Each one is so different and the color is amazing. Happy Monday! Enjoy the holiday.... ox
Those are some amazing pieces. They have that here in my little town during the summer too on a much smaller scale.
That is amazing!!
So incredible! I always love the 3-D ones! It's so sad that they are only temporary! What a fun festival to attend!
I can't believe my eyes - the works are incredible!
What a fun chalk art festival. Love the one with the three heads on the backs of turtles.
Wow, I've only ever seen this much chalk art in Palo Alto at a fair. They're so beautiful and such a shame that they get washed away!
Thanks for photographing the amazing chalk art. I found your post in the Blogging GrandmothersLinkParty.
Jude
...these are wonderful, I see many on blogs, but have never seen them in person. The 3D ones blow my mind. Thanks so much for sharing.
They are each and every one amazing! Wish I could have seen them in person! Hello from Kentucky!
http://nanahood.com/paradise-point-revisited
It's amazing at how many talented people there are in this world that we live in! It's hard to pick a favorite...I like the owl, and the hawk...oh and the one you like best! heehee! Hugs!
Oh Wow! What fantastic artwork and such a lovely way to spend a day. They are so talented. Thanks for sharing your day with us at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.
What an awesome event! Wish I could have been there! Thanks for sharing this #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.
Love your favorite! Not easy to do, because people look at it from an angle, not straight, like with paintings on the wall! Hope "someone" psys them for their effort, because pastel is not cheap between $3-6 per stick, depending on the brand. Will come back later to see more details.
Many thanks for sharing their art experience with All Seasons, Pat, and wish I could be there! Have a beautiful week!
Pat, we have a similar event in our town and we always try to attend. I love it when we have artists recreating famous paintings. Your event is much larger as I see many beautiful chalk drawings. It would be hard to choose, but I do like the "aquarium look" one with the pink fish with the heron? standing on its back. Lovely post. ♥
Pat - thank you so much for this post. I know I will go back and look at this again and again because there is so much to see. I have a hard time deciding a favorite without going back and studying them thoroughly, so I will just go with my initial impression and choose the peacock!!! The 3-D one was also a stand-out.
Wow - these artists are so talented!
Thanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/07/splish-splash.html
This is some impressive artwork!
Quite an amazing collection of street art!
WOW! Those are amazing designs.
How awesome those all are!!! Loved seeing them. I so wish I was talented enough to draw or paint. Thank you Pat for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I shared this post.
So colourful and interesting. Have missed you so much and missed coming here too. Hoping to start blogging again :)
The chalk art is vibrant and varied. I don't have just one favorite. I like the one with the heads on the turtles and the one titled Jaroslava by Salon Studios.
Pat, Thanks for sharing this great art with us. The artists don't have a lot of room to maneuver around their pieces. My favorite is the blue eye girl. Have a great day. Sylvia D.
What a cheerful festival, Dearest Pat, you always share the most amazing and stunning shots, and I'm so, so grateful to you for sharing them !
Wishing you a most Happy 4th of July,
I'm sending blessings to you and yours
XOXO Dany
So very cool. I love events like this. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely and safe Fourth.
I love the Denver Chalk Art Festival!! When I lived there, we'd try to go every year. Some of them are so realistic...you'd feel as if you were about to step in a hole, or run into a wall.
Thank you for sharing, and for sending me on a trip down memory lane. :-)
So much creativity in one place ~ love sidewalk chalk art photos ~ ^_^
I like this so much! There is a chalk festival in the town I live but the works are not even close to what is done in Denver. I would love to attend a festival like this (art festivals are a favorite of mine).
That's a lot! And they are all beautiful. I wish there is something like that here.
I'd love to attend this. Great shots of beautiful art.
That is so amazing!
These are really amazing. We saw one of these events in Santa Barbara one year. So interesting. Hope your 4th was great!
well, that looks like a ton of fun.. for the artists and the viewer
It is just amazing to me how such talent can pour out of one person's head.
Why can't I do that
I guess it is a God given talent
So much talent and creativity. Thank you for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.
These are works of talented artists. How happy these chalk art makes everyone.
Great shots of this event
That art is amazing! What a fun event!!
Thank you for sharing at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.
This is a 'drop dead beautiful' post. I've seen numerous street artists in the past, and it mystifies me that they create such [ephemeral] works of art. It's a shame that they are not preserved....
Amazing how talented these chalk artists are!! Great photos, and love the variety you captured.
I am just in awe of the talent and how willing they are to participate in such a fleeting display of artwork.
Hello, visiting once again from #TPThursday. Thanks for entering the link! Have a great weekend.
Chalk art is one of my favorite forms of street art. This looks like a great festival. Thanks for linking in to #wkendtravelinspiration!
I enjoyed this so much Pat! Especially the 3-D looking one; cannot imagine how they do that. It's very Zen creating such beauty on a temporary basis -- art for the sake of creating, not collecting! I love this idea, but on the other hand I'm glad you got photo before they were swept away.
I am getting ready to post about our visit to Royal Gorge and Canon City and wanted to thank you for your post about it which reminded me of this fascinating Colorado place that we'd missed on all of our previous visits. Many thanks as always for everything I've learned from you!!
What a fun way to spend the day, Pat. Amazing talents. Thanks for taking us along.
Amalia
xo
But ... but ... but ... what if it rains? Such beautiful artwork and it's gone in a day!
This is so interesting to me and I am so glad I found your blog! We missed a chalk festival just yesterday in a town about an hour and a half away. There were threatening thunderstorms here and we didn't want to drive there to find it canceled. It never rained, so we missed it! We did go to a local arts festival and there was one girl doing street chalk art there. It is phenomenal what the artists can do. My favorite is the same as yours. The girl....her skin looks amazing!
I'm always fascinated by the 3D effect so I choose that as my favourite, but they are all so good. It seems a shame to get rid of them the next day, but I'm all for saving the environment.
So much artistic talent in one place! The chalk drawings are amazing! I live in Savannah, GA where the students from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) put on a similar sidewalk chald-art festival every year. I'm always blown away. Thank you for linking up at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I’m sharing your link on social media.
Carol (“Mimi”) from Home with Mimi
Patricia there is so much beautiful art in the streets. Such talent and its a shame it cannot be permanent. I can only scribe some letters with chalk.
How cool! I love street festivities and how fun to see artists at work!
I've never seen so many.
They are wonderful.
All the best Jan
Those are incredibly, incredibly beautiful! It is hard for me to imagine that people are that talented. I would be drawing stick people! Its too hard to pick just one! Thank you so much for sharing this at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty!
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