Art Institute Students Bring Chalk Art to The Streets

With chalk art gaining more and more popularity, Art Institute students -- like Interactive Media Design student Lesley Perdomo and Media Arts & Animation graduate Julio "JJ" Jimenez -- are among those who have joined the growing list of artists who are spending their weekends at Chalk or Street Painting Festivals to compete for prizes such as airline tickets, cash, trips and art supplies. Both students have won titles, including Best 3-D Effects, Best of Color and Best in Show.

Jimenez, who creates very life-like drawings, says, "I learned so much from my Life Drawing class. The class focuses on drawing the tremendous structure of the human anatomy... and, with that, I have been able to add my own little twist to my chalk drawings."

Perdomo, who recently won Best in Show at the Topanga Chalk Festival: Memorias Street Painting Festival, credits some of her success to the basic skills she has learned at The Art Institute, stating, "Street painting has helped me realize how important a grid is... any great design or great mural always start with a simple grid. Grids make a difference and can dramatically change your work from good to fabulous."

Perdomo and Jimenez teamed up to create a drawing of a lady next to a pool, which won Best 3-D Effect at The Absolut Chalk Festival in 2005 - only the second festival in which they had ever participated.

"One way for sure to tell when something is gaining popularity is when you get forwarded emails with a subject line saying things like "Check This Out - It's all done with Chalk" with attached photos from random festivals. I actually had someone forward an email to me containing a photo of one of my drawings that someone else took at a festival, which was pretty amazing to see that it lives on after they are washed away," stated Jimenez. "Thanks to my education at The Art Institute, I was able to hone my skills and learn concepts and techniques that have helped me create award-winning images."

Their work can be seen at the 9th Annual Street Painting Festival on May 19-20, 2007, in Mission Viejo, California. For more on the festival, visit www.funwithchalk.com.