Artists decorate the streets with chalk

By Jeff O'Brien

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 | midnight

Artists of all ages and abilities will transform the 20-acre Summerlin Centre Community Park into a colorful outdoor gallery for the 8th annual Summerlin Art Festival on Sept. 27 and 28.

Summerlin Centre Community Park is located at 1800 S. Town Center Drive, between Charleston Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.

The festival, which is free and open to the public, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and includes two events in one — the Celebration of the Arts and La Strada dell'Arte.

The Celebration of the Arts is an outdoor festival that includes more than 125 artists and craftsmen from throughout the Southwest displaying and selling their work.

On the sidewalks surrounding the park will be La Strada dell'Arte, a street-painting festival adopted from Italian tradition.

The sidewalks will be open to professional street painters and festivalgoers, who can purchase sidewalk squares, colored chalk and kneepads for $5.

"By Sunday, the entire park is covered in sidewalk art," said Nikki Liesse, marketing director for Summerlin developer The Howard Hughes Corp.

The roots of the Summerlin Art Festival go back to 1993, Liesse said, when the community held its first arts event.

What began with only a few booths has grown into an event expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors throughout the weekend. Guests can peruse thousands of hand-made creations including paintings, glasswork, pottery, jewelry, sculptures and apparel.

"Each artist has to show samples of their work to Tamara Badik, who has been the coordinator of this event since it started," Liesse said. "We try to make sure that we have very authentic artists."

Among the festival's highlights will be ice-carving demonstrations, living statues and performances from the musical group "Stomp Out Loud" at 1 p.m. on both days.

The chance to adorn the sidewalks with colorful artwork is a hit every year, Liesse said. "It's amazing how much people love the chalk art," she said. "Some parents have made it a tradition with their kids each year."

One of the artists who will be breaking out the chalk and kneepads is 23-year-old Donovan Fitzgerald of Centennial Hills, a full-time artist who began delving into chalk art about two years ago.

"A lot of people create their own images, but I like to take classical paintings and reproduce them," Fitzgerald said. "The whole idea of the chalk painting is based on Italian traditions from centuries ago. I like to pay homage to classical artists."

In addition to his love of chalk art, Fitzgerald paints murals and custom canvas portraits, some of which go on sale at art festivals and others which adorn the walls inside homes.

Throughout the festival, Fitzgerald will have his own 8-by-12-foot concrete canvas — cordoned off from pedestrians, of course.

"Generally, when you do a painting it's always got a price tag on it," he said. "You finish and people ask how much it is. Here, everyone gets to see the entire process and how it formed from nothing."

Jeff O’Brien can be reached at 990-8957 or [email protected].