Monday, October 31, 2016

Marietta Chalktoberfest 2016 - part one

For the fourth year now we have attended the chalk festival in Marietta, Georgia.  I wrote posts on this festival in 2013, click here , in 2014, click here , and last year, click here , for part one, and here , for part 2.  It is now called the "Chalktoberfest" because on the first day of the festival, on Saturday, there is a beer festival offering more than 125 craft beers.

This year the chalk and beer festival was held on October 8 and 9, 2016.  We went on Sunday afternoon, October 9, to see the finished chalk drawings.  There was a larger crowd than last year, and last year the visitors numbered over 30,000.  Live music was provided from the gazebo on the Square by the local variety band Prime.  I took more photos, about 455, and will have to write two posts to show some of them.  (Click on collage to enlarge.)

The theme for the 2016 Chalktoberfest was "Old Masters."  More than 80 professional chalk artists participated in the festival.  The Canadian Consulate inaugurated their partnership with the festival this year and an artist came from Canada.  I stopped at the Canadian booth.  It was nice to speak French with a Canadian from Quebec - she gave me some sweet maple candy.

The event took place on three streets around Marietta's public square.  The fourth street was reserved for the public chalk competition.  Some of the chalk artists had chosen religious themes from the old masters.  Below at the top is David Lepore's art.  In center, is Lee Mobley's work, from Douglas, GA, and at the bottom is the drawing by Darrean Brown of Columbus, Ohio.

Anat Ronen, a fabulous artist, came back this year.  She used boards instead of the asphalt for her drawings.

Some of the chalk drawings were reproductions of well-known 16th century artists such as Botticelli (top drawing) and Johannes Vermeer, drawn by Jessi Queen from Atlanta, GA.

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa appeared on the street, as well.  Below is Alexandra Alfeo's Mona Lisa.  Alexandra is from West Palm Beach, Florida.  She has been chalking for a year and a half and is 17 years old, currently in high school.  (There is a distortion when taking chalk drawing photos close to the ground.)

The chalk artists had chosen a variety of subjects from the Old Masters - such as sculpture, animals, flowers, battles, etc.

Food trucks and artisans' tents were set up along the chalk colored streets.

Ian Hugh Morris came from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to participate in the festival this year.  He has been working as a chalk artist in Victoria for 12 years.  Ian's specializes in Renaissance masters.  Look at his beautiful work in progress below.

It was a warm and very sunny day.  Taking pictures with the crowd surrounding the chalk drawings was not easy and in addition, there were also some heavy shadows.  Below, Cheryl and Wayne Renshaw of Santa Clara, California entered a 3-D drawing and Joan Finn of Kansas City, Missouri, drew a portrait of Marguerite de Polon.

Lury Norris has been working in art in the San Francisco bay area for many years and chalk street painting throughout the state of California for the last 8 years.  See her chalk art below.

Another California artist who has been one of my favorites in the last several chalk festivals in Marietta is the very talented Joel Yau of San Rafael, CA.  He is very skilled and has an outgoing personality - he enjoys talking with the public about his art.  He has won many accolades and awards in the United States as well as Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico and the Netherlands.  This year Joel's chalk painting was Portrait of a Young Man by Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish 1577-1640.

We spent the whole afternoon enjoying the great festival atmosphere and the magnificent work of all the gifted artists.  There will be more drawings to see in part 2 of my post.  More to come ...


23 comments:

Thérèse said...

Bravo pour toutes ces photos prises dans une telle foule. De plus il n'est pas facile de se concentrer dans un tel environnement où l'on doit en plus faire très attention où l'on met les pieds. Je retiendrai Cheryl and Wayne Renshaw of Santa Clara pour leur dessin en trois dimensions.

ELFI said...

absolument magnifique!!! un vermeer par terre :)))))biz

Moving with Mitchell said...

Great photos and, of course, chalk art. I am always in awe of these artists.

Linda said...

Wonderful photos and art! :)

donna baker said...

I have seen that fest and it looks like such a fun idea.

molly said...


Almost speechless! But I can manage a resounding --- Wow!

Mae Travels said...

All those images look wonderful, and the whole event must have been a lot of fun. Being a collector of parodies and re-uses of Mona Lisa, I linked to your blog on my FB page. Thanks!

from mae at maefood.blogspot.com

DJan said...

I just love chalk festivals and have enjoyed every one of yours. I'm glad there's more to come, but these pictures are wonderful. Our chalk festival was canceled a few years ago and I still miss it. :-(

Summer said...

Wow! Pretty art pieces ♥

Pat said...

What a fascinating exhibition. I imagine it was very tiring shooting the paintings when one can't get head on. It would be lovely if one could be suspended over them. I was relieved to see they seem to have kneeling pads. Thank you for sharing such interesting art.

David said...

Vagabonde, Very creative works of art! With 80 artists Chalktoberfest is becoming a really significant event isn't it... Nice that you had a chance to speak French. I do recall that my stepfather (from Scotland via Quebec) told me that French-Canadian is a bit different than the original. Food Trucks...a wonderful phenomenon! We have 3 or 4 of them here in Knoxville that are really fun and imaginative... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Nadezda said...

They are really talented gifted people, Vagabonde! I especially liked seeing Vermeer's copy on the road.
I remember your post about a chalktoberfest last year, thank your for sharing, dear!

Arti said...

Another amazing post on the chalk art festival. I still remember your previous ones from past years. And, so intriguing to find Canada has a booth joining in the fun with our PM Justin Trudeau standing there in cardboard. Anyway, those amazing old masters replicas just make me think: are they really that great after all if people can readily copy same, exact lookalike? Ummm...

Pixel Peeper said...

A lot of very skilled artists! It is kind of sad to think that such pieces of art will be washed away by the next rain storm.

Shammickite said...

80 chalk artists, amazing. I had no idea so many artists worked in chalk! And I'm happy to see the whole event was watched over by Justin Trudeau, our Prime Minister who has been in power now for a whole year.
Stunning art on the streets of Marietta!

Magic Love Crow said...

Yeh, Canada!! All of these artists are amazing! What a wonderful experience!! Wow!!!

Carola Bartz said...

What a feast for the eyes! Such amazing art just on the street - it's beautiful and inspiring. I love the snippets with the chalk you included, it makes this festival come to life in your images. I would have loved to see tis and walk around, admiring this wonderful artwork. Thank you for letting us participate through your words and photos.

Vicki Lane said...

Such amazing work! And so ephemeral -- which may add to its appeal.

Glenda Beall said...

One day I hope to attend that festival. I don't hear about it until it is over. Your photos are phenomenal and the art work fabulous.

Jeanie said...

Well, as you might remember, our number one kid is a chalk artist so I find this stuff always amazing. Looks like quite a wonderful festival -- your photos are terrific.

Hope all is well with you. I'm in grieving mode this week. Shock and disbelief...

Jenn Jilks said...

Great post! I love our Prime Minister!!!
Good luck with your new President-elect!

joared said...

Enjoyed your chalk festival account and sharing so many photos featuring works of truly skilled artists. I've viewed TV news stories featuring chalk art in various locales. Has seemed such a loss to know weather will erase most of these masterpieces, but there are memories and photos.

Marja said...

Wow I am impressed with the super amazing chalk art. I understand that anat Ronen uses boards as the only disadvantage is that these fabulous asphalt works get lost eventually. Nice to see the milkmaid of Vermeer A great festival!!

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