Art

Memorial Chalk Tribute for Edwin Aguilar

Last weekend I had the honor of participating in a chalk collaboration that honored our friend Edwin Aguilar, who passed away recently. We miss him very much but we know he is now without pain or illness. My condolences to all of his family and friends.

Memorial Chalk Collaboration for Artist Edwin Aguilar
Our finished Memorial Chalk Collaboration for Edwin Aguilar. We put his portrait in the center and added elements that represent his life & art career all around.

Check out our time-lapse here.

Headless Horseman Halloween Chalk Collaboration

For our second chalk collaboration, we chose to chalk the Headless Horseman for Halloween. The figure is traditionally depicted as a man upon horseback who is missing his head. Since the pandemic lock down, the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena has remained closed to the public and they gave us permission to chalk in their parking lot. That was super nice of them!

Halloween Headless Horseman Chalk Collaboration
I was assigned to chalk the bottom right corner of our image. The artist pictured is Zoila Cobian.
Halloween Headless Horseman Chalk Collaboration
For my contribution to this collaboration, I chalked the front legs of the horse and I also added a ghoul with a pumpkin.
Halloween Headless Horseman Chalk Collaboration
In the home stretch. Artists pictured above are Marcella Swett and Mri Scott ElBey.
Halloween Headless Horseman Chalk Collaboration
Our finished master piece. Participating artists from left to right are Monica Orozco Thaller, Shawnet Sweets, Keith Dubois, Marcella Swett, Zoila Cobian, Lori Antoinette, Mri Scott ElBey, and myself.

Check out our time-lapse here:

2020 Halloween Chalk Festival

My chalk square for Halloween Chalk Festival.

Halloween Chalk Square
And so it begins! Having a blast surrounded by chalk!
Halloween Chalk Square
The Halloween kitty likes candy corn.
Halloween Chalk Square
Finished!

Check out my time-lapse here:

 

Release The Kraken!

During the covid-19 pandemic, many artists have not had the chance to attend any art events around the country. During one of our online zoom hangout meetings, we came up with the idea that we could create a collaborative chalk piece at home. That’s how the idea of chalking our kraken came about. We came up with “kraken” because around the time that we chalked it, we would have been chalking at the Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival which is held each year at Harbor Village in September. We started with our sketch and divided it into six panels, which were assigned to the six artist collaborators, with the instructions that they could each add whatever whey wanted to their kraken panel. The participating artists are myself, Lori Antointte W, Mri Scott ElBey, Marcella Swett, Keith Dubois, and Monica Orozco Thaller.

Lori Antoinette W, getting started on her corner.
Lori Antointte W, getting started on her corner.
Marcella Swett, her kraken tentacle is halfway done.
Marcella Swett, her kraken tentacle is halfway done.
This is my corner, I decided to add an ice cream to my kraken tentacle because it had been scorching hot the weekend before.
This is my corner, I decided to add an ice cream to my kraken tentacle because it had been scorching hot the weekend before.
Lori Antointte's corner is coming along, with an outer space battle scene.
Lori Antointte’s corner is coming along, with an outer space battle scene.
Progress! Mri Scott & Marcella Swett are getting down (literally, we played the funk jams on her blue tooth speaker).
Progress! Mri Scott & Marcella Swett are getting down (literally, we played the funk jams on her blue tooth speaker).
The bottom right tentacle was chalked by Monica Orozco Thaller, you can see her little Poseidon taking form in the kraken's tentacle.
The bottom right tentacle was chalked by Monica Orozco Thaller, you can see her little Poseidon taking form in the kraken’s tentacle.
This is at the half-way point. The kraken is starting to come together, you can see Mri working on some of the green tentacles.
This is at the half-way point. The kraken is starting to come together, you can see Mri working on some of the green tentacles.
Detail of our Kraken collaboration.
Detail of our Kraken collaboration.
It took two days, but we finished! Final collaboration measures 16' x 24'.
It took two days, but we finished! Final collaboration measures 16′ x 24′.
The artist team from L-R/top row: Monica Orozco Thaller, Keith Dubois, Marcella Swett, L-R/bottom row: Lori Antoinette W, Grasiela Rodriguez, and Mri Scott ElBey.
The artist team from L-R/top row: Monica Orozco Thaller, Keith Dubois, Marcella Swett, L-R/bottom row: Lori Antoinette W, Grasiela Rodriguez, and Mri Scott ElBey.

Check out our time-lapse here:

2020 Census

Behold my 2020 Census campaign below! I had so much fun chalking this square for the Census Bureau, in the City of El Monte. Hey everyone, the deadline to complete your 2020 Census has been extended to the end of September! Get the word out, Everybody Counts! For more information visit Los Angeles County Office of Education.

2020 Census
LA County 2020 Census Chalkathon, Everybody Counts!
2020 Census
LA County 2020 Census Chalkathon, Everybody Counts!
2020 Census
LA County 2020 Census Chalkathon, Everybody Counts!
2020 Census
LA County 2020 Census Chalkathon, Everybody Counts!

Check out my time-lapse below.

2020 LA County Census Chalkathon

I am excited to participate in the 2020 LA County Census Chalkathon. From August 17 – September 7, there will be weekly giveaways on Facebook live. Everyone counts in the 2020 Census and Los Angeles County has many more households to count! Results from the 2020 Census will support our community for the next 10 years. In addition to funding for healthcare, public safety, roads and schools, the Census is important because nonprofits depend on Census data to determine funding for the arts, Pell Grants and much more. So get your chalks out, chalk your heart out and post using the hashtags #LACcensuschalkathon #CaStudentsCount, and most important, fill out your Census form. Everyone Counts! ¡Todos Contamos! 2020Census.Gov.

2020 Census English Chalkathon flyer

 

2020 Census Spanish Chalkathon flyer

 

 

2020 Chalk Mafia Epic Virtual Chalk Fest

It’s the middle of summer and Covid-19 still has all outdoor gatherings cancelled! That still doesn’t stop us from making art at home. This year I participated in Chalk Mafia’s first annual Epic Virtual Chalk Fest for the Fourth of July weekend. I challenged myself by creating a flag with lots of folds in it.

Starting to chalk the US flag
And so it begins! My 8′ x 8′ chalk square, which is right next to the last square I chalked last month.
US flag art, almost finished
Almost there! This is about half-way through, it was really hot too. I really love how all of the folds are coming out. I should try this type of art more often.
Picture of the finished art
Finished! My house is ready for the Fourth of July now.
View of my chalk square from the sky
View of my chalk square from the sky.

Check out my time-lapse below.


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2020 Pasadena Chalk Festival-Chalk At Home!

Covid-19 did not stop the festival chalkers from chalking at this year’s 2020 Pasadena Chalk Festival. The event was cancelled, but we all chalked at home! This year, my chalk square was about hope. I hope all is well with everyone, and I hope this pandemic ends well for all of us.

Inspire Hope by Grasiela Rodriguez
And the 2020 Pasadena Chalk Festival starts now… Chalk where you’re quarantined!
Inspire Hope by Grasiela Rodriguez
Almost done!
Inspire Hope by Grasiela Rodriguez
Inspire Hope it’s all in the details.
Inspire Hope by Grasiela Rodriguez
Finished!

Check out my time-lapse here: