There is something so sad and temporal about street artists. I don’t mean the kind who sell their paintings on the sidewalk, but rather those who use the sidewalk itself as a canvas.
Chalk has been the medium of choice since a child first wandered outside his house on a boring summer day. Most kids moved on to other activities, but some stuck with it until they became accomplished artists. They no longer paint outside their homes, however, but at various street painting festivals around the world.
Yesterday, one of the largest in America kicked off in Santa Barbara, California. The 21st annual I Madonnari Festival celebrates the craft of chalk-on-sidewalk with a three day event where 400 artists will transform the streets and plaza of the Old Mission into a spectacular, albeit temporary canvas.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain.