Chalk artist to give festival preview Tuesday

Organizers of the upcoming Bigfork Chalk ’n Rock festival have arranged a sample of things to come next Tuesday in Bigfork Village.  

Scheduled festival guest artist Bill Spiess will demonstrate his techniques on the patio in front of the Pocketstone Cafe from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26.  Aspiring street artists and those just curious what street painting is all about are invited to come, watch, and ask questions. There is no charge for the demonstration.

Street painting, as an art form, dates back to the sixteenth century when out-of-work cathedral painters literally took to the streets with their talents.  The art form migrated to North America, which now hosts enough festivals that talented street painters, or Madonnari as they’re called in Italy, can again make a living by coloring the streets in one town and the next.

The Chalk ’n Rock Festival is Bigfork’s first foray into professional street painting, although it for several years hosted a chalk festival in which local artists, many of them young, drew on the sidewalks.  This festival differs in the size of the drawings, their placement on the streets rather than the sidewalk, the attraction of professional and talented artists both locally and from a distance, and the fact that it will include live music on stage for its duration.

The Festival is Sept. 20-21.

More information is available at the Festival website, www.chalknrock.org.  

Spiess will be back for the Festival to produce a large, fully rendered drawing on Electric Avenue.