Art in the Gardens 2009

Jennifer has an audience of enthralled onlookers.

Weather was pretty good all weekend at Midtown on PGA Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. The event was from 10 am - 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday. I got started around 9 am, but had some trouble getting my tempera base to dry. Recent rains and no direct sun made the asphalt "moist". A hairdryer was brought in to complete the drying process, so the template could be implemented. It was nice to be in the shade all day, though, for a change. I was positioned in front of the Marble Slab Ice Cream Store, so there was plenty of foot traffic. I finished the piece around 3pm on Sunday.

"Temptation" by W. Bouguereau, 7' x 5'

Disney Festival of the Masters 2009

Great weather made for great chalking at Downtown Disney this past weekend. I chalked all day Friday and Saturday and did some touch up on Sunday before the judging. Carmen and I received our Semplice Professional Designation Certificate from the Florida Chalk Artists Association. Unfortunately, Carmen couldn't attend this year, since she was sick recently and missed too much school.

Even though it was much cooler in Orlando than it has been here in North Palm Beach lately, it was still hot in the middle of the day, reaching the low 80's, and I was in the full sun the whole time. I was over near a fountain, rather than in the main area, so it was a little quieter, but the muzak that Disney pipes in drove me crazy! They looped the same hour long tape over and over and over again. Even my MP3 player couldn't drown it out.

The piece I did solo this year was "Work Interupted (Penelope)" by William Bouguereau . It was 7' x 9' on concrete, which was very rough in spots. It was done directly on the concrete, no tempera base, which had a lot of shell in it, making coverage difficult. We weren't allowed to bring any "shade" with us, either. There was a lot of great art, and the high school teams really did a great job.