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October 7, 2018 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2018

Pastel Autumn tree

I was, unfortunately, unable to get back to Pastels on the Plaza in the evening to get some good pictures of finished artwork, so this year I’ll be focusing a bit more on the in-progress works. I did the above pastel, as usual, for local landscaper Genevieve Schmidt.

When I arrived at the plaza at 8AM it was wet from the night’s rains. After picking up my pastels and choosing a square in a location that seemed promising, I settled in to get to work. It seems like every year, the supposedly 3’x6′ and 3’x’3′ squares get smaller and smaller, this year by about 25%. I’ve learned to bring a tape measure. It’s not so much an issue of them being too small, although that further limits what can be done, but it can throw a wrench in well laid plans to find yourself with a whole different aspect ratio than you expected. I was hoping to put my lettering down the sides to frame things and give me a taller end result and keep me from sitting on the lettering while I worked, but the square was too narrow, so I reluctantly went with left and bottom.

My mom was here to work with me again this year, and I was grateful for her assistance. There’s space for someone both above and below the square, so I highly recommend bringing a friend. It’s also a good idea to bring brushes, regardless of whether you plan on working wet, because sometimes the weather doesn’t give you the option. The day dried out once the sun came out, but starting in a wet square was nice. I learned on my first year that it makes things easier to get an initial layer of pastel down and blended wet, and that it’s important to go over everything before it dries out, or else it’s really obvious where the division between wet and dry pastel happened.

Holly Yashi 2018

Leah Vaughn, working on behalf of Holly Yashi Jewelry, warded off the changing of the seasons with this summery likeness. I never would have considered trying to do herringbone. I can barely even draw a crisp line under these conditions, much less keep my lights and darks separate.

Alibi 2018

The artist who does The Alibi every year is consistently excellent. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see it finished, and so far, I seem to be the only one giving the event much coverage. I like her use of color here, and there are a lot of challenges doing this kind of thing. Faces are hard,  more than usual due to rough surface and colors that don’t like to blend in expected ways. She even managed to draw in glasses. I’ve never done anything as crisp as that logo she does every year, and that square is twice the size of mine.

pastel portraitPlaza work in progressThese two were doing some high level work too. A big portrait, done quickly, and this other complicated work that I would have liked to see when it was completed. Working in outline over white is tough. Mistakes show, and I don’t see any.

Plaza DragonThe girls working on this dragon were doing the event for the first time. They did a great job, and I hope to see them back in future years.

A few more that caught my eye:

Pastel Plaza Pastel elphants Primal pastel emerald tiger Sea serpent Om Shala pastel Vote you can do it PBS passtel

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Ideas, Reviews Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, Pastels on the Plaza, Review

October 9, 2017 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2017 – Arcata

Pastels on the Plaza is my favorite of Arcata’s yearly events, and this year was above average. The weather was pleasant, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the event, the music, and the farmer’s market.

This was my tenth year doing the event, and as always, I was doing a square for the best landscape designer on the north coast, Genevieve Schmidt.

I like to use the event as an excuse to try out new ideas and tools. For several years now, I’ve been wanting to try something more impressionist, and this year, I finally just dove in and went for it. I ditched my usual tame color palette and my small blending tools in favor of using every color in the box, and a full size, 8″ bench brush as my paint brush. My mom also drove half way across the state to help me out and was instrumental every step of the way, not least by doing all of my lettering so I could focus on other things.

Pastels on the Plaza 2017

I didn’t push things in the foreground quite as much as I had intended because the navy and purple pastels were a bit too drab and crumbly.

When a business donates to Northcoast Children’s Services, the get either a 3×3′ square or 3×6′ (usually actually 3×5′) landscape. I really wanted to do something in a portrait orientation, so I moved the text area from the bottom to the sides, and I think it worked out well. I continued the black border a bit at top and bottom, which really framed it and took it out of the fray.

Leah Vaughn did the square next to me for Holly Yashi jewelry. I love how it came out. It manages to have a strong subject in the masterfully done hummingbird, and also fade smoothly into a whole different kind of design around the edges. The grey background really left a lot of open color palette for the rest, and probably saved a lot of frustration transitioning between foreground and background.Holly Yashi hummingbird pastel

Stencils seemed to be the innovation of the day all around the square. Getting perspective and spacing to look right can be really hard in this format, with the big horizontal space and ever changing lighting. I don’t think Casey Vaughn’s perforated paper method worked out as planned, but luckily, he’s got enough lettering skills to freehand it anyway. He was working on behalf of Pizza Gago, a local woodfired pizza maker.

Pizza Gago plaza

Due to some scheduling conflicts, I didn’t get to do my usual afternoon walkaround to see all the finished squares, so this year, we’ll go with more of a look at things in progress.

This guy was doing a fun square using a small brush and spray bottle. It’s a technique that didn’t work out for me when I tried it, but maybe I’ll have to revisit it. It seems like it helps to fill in the crevices and make solid color areas, which I could have used to get my black areas darker.

Unicorn sunglasses

Cafe Mokka is a great little local coffee shop with hot tubs and saunas. Their artist did an impressive job of  translating an iconic design, and getting an extremely smooth, crisp look on the concrete, which may not come through in the picture because it was in the dappled shade of tree branches.

Cafe mokka chat noir

I didn’t get to see the artist working on this piece for the Siren’s Song Tavern, but I think they must have perfected some kind of template technique.

Siren's Song

This lady really had her system worked out, with her muffin pan mortar and pestle, and Yuban water. They don’t really make tool sets for sidewalk pastel, so we have to come up with our own.

Mike Craghead did another big black and white of an awesome locomotive with Buster Keaton.

Mike Craghead pastel 2017

Though I must admit I mistook it for Bill Nye.Science guy

 

The Alibi has a great pastel every year. Their artist has an impressive ability to get their logo perfect with just a picture, a fistful of bushes, and a ruler.

Alibi pastel 2017

One last shot for a bit of context:

Arcata Pastels

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Ideas, Reviews Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza, Review

October 3, 2016 By Zog

Pastels on the plaza 2016 Arcata

I’ve never understood why they pick the first week in October for Pastels on the Plaza. We inevitably have our first rain that week. While I’m sure some bureaucrat somewhere thought this would be a good way to make sure all of that unsightly artwork didn’t stick around, it also makes for a tense morning wondering if if we’re going to spend the whole morning sitting in a puddle getting rained on. Even a couple weeks earlier would be much better. This year our first big rain arrived the evening of the event, so if you didn’t show up to the event itself, you missed it.

Pastels on the plaza 2016 - sparrow and flowers

This year my mom came to help me, which was awesome. I like to get the creative work mostly done before I arrive. There’s enough chaos to think about on the plaza without having to come up with a plan too. We did this sketch of a bug’s eye view of a house sparrow and flowers. I like to have a central subject for some crowd appeal, and come up with a design that works well with both the pastel colors and the rough sidewalk. I was working for Genevieve Schmidt, a local landscaper. This one went quick and easy. Maybe next year I’ll have to challenge myself again.

Leah Vaughn Pastel flowers

 

I was sitting by Leah Vaughn, working for local jewelry company Holly Yashi. I like the fancy flowers and the way the two unblended background colors went together. The colors didn’t come through completely in the photo. The best weather for photographing the event is  bright overcast. We had alternating sun and shade all morning, and then sun for the end of the event.

Pizzagago pastel

Casey Vaughn did the square for Pizza Gago. Bricks and walls are always a good choice. They work well with the chalk pastel pigments and the roughness of the sidewalk.

Susan Devine - Pastel 2016

Susan Devine did this for the Morris Graves Foundation, and I think it’s her best one yet. All of the companies in the event are donating the money for the square to North Coast Children’s services, and the artists are donating their time. Combine it with live music and a farmer’s market, and you have a great event.

Priimal Decor - pastel

This one for Primal Decor was actually my favorite this year. Their artist always does an exceptional job. It isn’t complete in this picture, but when I came back later, it had been dulled down by the wind. As an artist, sometimes it’s just some little thing that catches my eye. There were other squares that arguably came out better in some overall sense, but there is something in the colors and textures on the face that I found really enviable. I’m going to have to spend a few minutes watching them work one of these years.

Ramones pastel

This still life for Ramones Bakery also impressed me. She was working wet, with brushes. It’s a common method, but not one I’ve employed unless it’s already raining. I tend to just make mud. It does make for a smooth and vibrant result though. I was most impressed with the gold border on the plate. I think a bit more black in the background would have brought things up a notch.

Humboldt Area Foundation

Erin, Jill, and Cat have been making my list for a while now with their excellent work for Humboldt Area Foundation.

And below are some others that caught my eye this year. You can click any of the pictures in this post to see a larger image.

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Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Ideas, Reviews Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza, Review

October 3, 2015 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2015 Arcata

Chicken portrait pastels on the plaza

Pastels on the Plaza might just be the most weather dependent event Arcata has. There’s nothing like sitting in the middle of the town square from dawn till midday at the edge of winter, drawing with colored powder. This year brought the dreaded wind. Everything is going along fine a few hours in and then a gust plows through the plaza and throws all your highlights across neighboring artwork, eliciting a collective groan.

This year, I did a portrait of Esther for Genevieve Schmidt Landscape. She was a sweet old hen. We had her for many years, and she was old when we got her. I stopped sketching at the point I realized that the wind was taking things away from me faster than I could add them. Despite the wind, or maybe because of it,  this was the fastest I’ve completed a pastel. I was 80% done in two hours, and then stuck around a while adding finishing touches.

Each year I try to add some sort of innovation to my process. This year it was a boxing glove on my off hand, so I wouldn’t have sore knuckles from leaning on concrete all morning. It worked great and will be back in my kit next year.

Holly Yashi floral pastel Leah Vaughn

Next to me on one side was Leah Vaughn, doing a large square for Holly Yashi jewelry. This is twice the size of mine, but I think it would feel like four times the work. I’m always impressed when someone finishes one.

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To my other side was Casey Vaughn with his epic square for Pizza Gago. The only way Pizza Gago could be any more awesome is if eagles really did deliver their pizzas.


The Alibi- Pastel 2015

The artist who does the Alibi is consistently excellent. I didn’t get a shot of the finished product because she was still working up near 2:00. She gets bonus points for not compromising her quality through adversity. If you click the picture to zoom in, you will see the toll the weather has taken. I’ve worked under that tree a few times. It’s great on the sunny days. Not so much in the wind or rain.

HAF pastels 2015

Humboldt Area Foundation is another one I’ve featured before. This one was signed Cat Erin and Jill. Whatever their division of labor was, the results came out awesome. Like the previous pastel, this is done with water and brushes. Whenever I’ve tried this, I’ve ended up with mud.

Wallace -pastel 2015

Here I was three squares away from Wallace and didn’t even notice or I would have stopped to say hello.

Craghead 2015 pastel

Never one to stay within the lines, Mike Craghead has been doing this near forever, and has consistently been one of the better squares. He was a couple squares down from me. The east side sets the bar high.

And some honorable mentions. There were several I just couldn’t get a good picture of due to crowds and shadows, so if you made an awesome square and it isn’t here, I’m sure that’s why.

Soul to soul

Garden Gate- pastels 2015

Heart Bead art

Pacific Buildere

Stacey Kett Acupuncture

Emerald City Laundry pastels

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Reviews Tagged With: Animals, Art, Design Inspiration, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza, Review

October 4, 2014 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2014 Arcata

It was a scorching hot day in Arcata, and the sidewalk artists were out in force.

borage and honey  bee

A morning of wrestling with the lamp post that was right where I wanted to sit and squinting into the sun made me grateful I had planned my design out in advance. I went with a honey bee and borage flower for my sponsor, local landscaper Genevieve Schmidt. I thought it would be well suited to the chalk/pastel color palette. It took longer than I thought because I’m not the kind of artist that will be satisfied with a solid color out of the box, so I ended up blending everything anyway.

Leah Vaughn Holly Yashi pastel 2014

I always come home at the end of the day sore and tired and complaining that I didn’t get to stay longer and finish that last thing. Leah Vaughn, who did this square for Holly Yashi jewelry, takes this hard headed determination to  whole different level, doing a square twice the size, baby in tow, only scant weeks after giving birth.

Plaza whiskey pastel

There are a lot of things we think about in planning a pastel design for an event like this. The commentary of passers-by teaches us a lot about what people like to see. Mine was polarizing, with people either loving or hating bees. I like to do something that gets the kids excited. Local graphic designer Casey Vaughn did the above pastel for Plaza, which was a hit with the graybeards, but for whatever reason, today’s youth has little appreciation for a decanter of single malt whiskey. One of my favorites of the day. I kinda want to hang it up over my bar.

Susan Devine 2014 pastel

Susan Devine did this dreamscape with stained glass bird for Barbara Rips.

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Here’s a view of the action. I’m sorry I didn’t find time to get more shots like this..

the alibi pastel

My favorite of the day was this spider with geometric web for The Alibi. This artist has been consistently excellent over the years.

Wallace pastels 2014

Jerry Lee Wallace is a personal favorite of mine every year. This one I would hang on my wall.

flatmo pastels 2014

It wouldn’t feel like Pastels on the Plaza without Duane Flatmo. As usual, this was huge, about four times the size of the average square, but it probably seems small to a guy who paints whole buildings.

Talisman jack o lantern art

Talisman beads had an interesting concept here, and executed it perfectly.

And there were hundreds of other artists on the plaza. Here’s a small exerpt:

ramones bakery pastel
garden gate pastel 2014

 

jitter bean pastel

pacific builders pastel

pastel elephant

 

trooper

 

Filed Under: Design Inspiration Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza

October 8, 2013 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2013 – Arcata

Pastels on the Plaza was clearly scheduled by either a gambler or someone who doesn’t have to sit on the cement for five hours. Being about a month into the season of varying weather that is the Arcata norm,  it is always worrying that it may be windy or rainy (as it has been in the past week) but this time it worked out. This was quite possibly the clearest, calmest day I’ve ever seen in Arcata. Pastel -Arcata Plaza 2013

This year, I had my mom in town, so I figured I’d do something tougher than usual under the assumption that she would bail me out if I got in over my head. Above is our end result. I’m pleased with it, though I always feel like I want to go back down there and fix some things after looking at my photos. This event is like running a mile race; long enough to be tiring, but short enough to make you feel like you could have run harder. My concept for the piece was a woman sitting in her window on a winter day, enjoying her garden, with a vase of cut flowers. It was done for local landscaper and garden writer Genevieve Schmidt

Leah Vaughn - Holly Yashi

Above is an art nouveau peacock done for Holly Yashi by Leah Vaughn.

Below is her husband Casey Vaughn’s work for Plaza. Three of the toughest things to do on the rough sidewalk are smoothness, fine details, and perspective. He managed all three. To quote a passer by, “It’s a chair, but it’s cool”. Casey Vaughn - Plaza Pastel

You may remember Susan Devine’s dragon on the Trinidad lighthouse from last year. This year she brings us a dreamscape for Barbara Rips: Susan Devine

I think my favorite square of the day was for SuddenLink. It was kind of hard to find since it was behind some giant sandwich board from the neighboring square. The background wasn’t much, but the horse was exceptional. Suddenlink-Pastels 2013_thumb

The neighboring square, for armack, clearly had a fantastic artist and self-important planning. Not only did it take up the entirety of the sidewalk, it also came with a large sandwich board placed in front of the previous square.

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The Pacific Builders square was cute:

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This elephant looks like a great collaboration between several artists for Gallagher’s Irish Pub. I love how they got the texture on the trunk. If you zoom in, it looks like there is some real dimension there.

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This one is from Baroni (and sometimes Y). The artist did a beautiful job on her first solo year.

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And this crystallized sea dragon for the Big Blue Cafe was very nice (click for full image)

big blue cafe

And finally, a shout out to the Six RIvers Montessori people in the square next to me. Their kids were courteous, personable, and responsible; a better advertisement than any pastel square.

Thank you to the businesses who donated money for the Children’s Center in order to reserve a square, the artists who volunteered their time, everyone who came down to cheer us on, and to whoever put the farmer’s market around us. It was nice to have them there rather than a bunch of traffic. Same time next year.

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Ideas, Reviews Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, Pastels on the Plaza, Review

October 7, 2012 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2012

Pastels on the Plaza Arcata 2012

Pastels on the Plaza 2012. What a beautiful morning in Arcata California. Around here, a sunburn is a mark that you have just returned from distant lands with “summer” and “shadows”. Well. believe it or not Arcatians, I got a pretty good sunburn despite two layers of sunscreen. It was worth it. I’m displaying my results (above) large and proud this year. I drew our cat Tamir in our apple tree for Genevieve Schmidt and her awesome gardening blog and landscaping service. It took nearly six hours and measures 3′ x 3′. I’m going to have it printed on canvas and hang it in the living room.

We were surrounded by farmer’s market booths selling fresh local produce, bands, street performers, and crowds of people coming to enjoy the event. I met several old friends I haven’t seen in a decade, and I was in good company. There’s nothing like sitting yourself down in the midst of famous local artists and designers to up the pressure to perform. They set the bar high.

Sitting to one side of me was Leah Vaughn, representing Holly Yashi Jewelry, who have recently opened their own store at their studio. A great place to shop for jewelry or other gifts. I think this image would make an awesome postcard. This pastel was twice the size of mine, and I have no idea how she managed to get it all done by herself. A side note on this for anyone planning on participating in the event; They kicked us out at 3:00, so if you think your concept may take more than seven hours, either rethink it, or get a helper.

Casey Vaughn, Baroni Plaza Store Pastel

Beside her was her husband Casey Vaughn, representing Plaza. This is his first year doing a three foot square, rather than the double size. I think the extra time per foot really allowed him to show off his skills. One of the top looks of the day in my opinion.

To my other side was Susan Devine, representing Barbara Rips with this picture of a dragon on the Trinidad lighthouse. You don’t have to be a business to support the event. North Coast Children’s Services takes charitable donations and we artists donate our time in the name of donors. Everyone wins. And the kids loved this one. Susan was fond of telling them that if they wanted to see the dragon, they had to get to the lighthouse really early in the morning.

Linda Parkinson-Pastels on Concrete

This is a great pairing of the Wildlife Care Center with award winning artist Linda Parkinson. These two really are perfectly suited.

Duane Flatmo 2012 Pastel Arcata

Duane Flatmo, larger than life as always, for a guy who is used to paintings that take up whole buildings, this must seem easy. I spoke with him briefly. It seems he is still touring with his giant fire breathing octopus contraption. Go check it out.

Humboldt Area Foundation

This one was the most vibrant and eye catching hing I saw all day, and beautifully done by these two artists. My only criticism is in the decision making process. If you are going to have one pumpkin spilling out of the square, don’t chop off the one next to it at the edge, and if you are going to sign it, either work it in and make it look nice, or keep it outside the bounds of the picture. There is just no way to crop this to make it look right.

Jerry Lee Wallace - Outstanding in his field

I took a break to stretch my legs and go see what Jerry Lee Wallace was up to. I’ve been a fan of his work since before I started doing the event myself. He has the most distinctive style, with his obelisk-like people and vibrant landscapes. This is a portrait of a guy who is “outstanding in his field”. I love the reflections and the shadow going up the tall grass. The donor was Humboldt Family Services.

B&B

And lastly, a couple of honorable mentions. B&B always cracks me up with their poop-to-rainbows attitude. And I like this one by Ca Redwood Co. I don’t get it, but I like it.

Each year, I improvise a few new techniques, with varying success. This year I brought a chunk of neoprene, with the hope that I could use it as a dry paintbrush. It was remarkably effective, and held up unexpectedly well. It allowed me to blend the pastel I had already applied, so I ended up using less, and having less dust. In total I used less than eight pieces of pastel.

Please feel free to post your thoughts or experiences with the event, and I hope to see you all there next year, same place, same time.

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Reviews Tagged With: Animals, Art, Design Inspiration, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza, Review

October 1, 2011 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2011

Pastels on the Plaza 2011 Arcata

Pastels on the Plaza time again. My entry above (click for actual size), for the lovely and talented Genevieve Schmidt, a local landscape designer and garden writer. See her work in this month’s Fine Gardening Magazine pages 42-47, as well as this month’s issue of Pacific Horticulture.

We arrived at the Arcata plaza at seven in the morning with a fist full of sidewalk chalk, art ideas in the other hand, and a bag full of new tricks to try out. The weather was ominous. I’d heard rumors flying for a few days about the big storm coming in and estimates for when it would hit.

The weather was great though. It was overcast and warm, though I imagine it will all be washed away in a muddy rainbow in a day or two. Keep in mind that these vary a lot in size, most being either three by three feet or three by six, but I’ve mostly cropped them to the same width, so if the rectangular ones look more detailed, it’s because they are shrunk twice as much. It took me about five hours. These entries are all done by local artists and paid for by donations from local businesses for a local children’s charity. Let’s take a look at this year’s event:

South side of the plaza looking west

That pastel for Moonstone Grill in the front with the fun shape was done by local author Joan Dunning. I should really take more of these shots, but things are usually so crowded. If you look at the upper left of the image you can see a rare Tibetan Mastiff. I love the red reinterpretation of Starry Night as well.

Holly Yashi Pastels on the Plaza 2011 - Leah Vaugn

Above we have the entry by Leah Vaughn for Holly Yashi Jewelry. And below, her husband, graphic designer Casey Vaughn for Tomas jewelry.

This was the first year for Susan Fridley, the artist of the below entry for A to Z Eye Care. Pretty good for a first try!

This one by Primal Decor Body Art Studio is a contender for best of show in my opinion.

I wish I had gotten to watch Renaissance Painting Company work. I’d be interested to see their process.

Duane Flatmo was there of course. It just wouldn’t be the same without him. When I mentioned to him that I had seen his SteamPunk octopus from Burning Man on The Huffington Post, he hunted down a flyer for me, which I’ve put a scan of below his entry below.

The Humboldt Area Foundation had real leaves mixed in with the pastel.

B&B Porta Potties clearly has a healthy sense of humor with their flowers below.

 

I’ve worked in the rain before. I’ve worked in the wind. I’ve worked in the sun. Each has its own challenges. For anyone out there who may be attempting this kind of thing for the first time, I’ll pass on a few of the things I’ve learned.

You can work wet, or you can work dry, but you really need to decide at the beginning, Trying to spray water on pastel after it is on the ground just kicks up chalk and then beads up and sits. Working wet will get you richer colors, smoother blending, and an almost total inability to deal with mistakes. Once the wet chalk goes somewhere, trying to remove it or alter it just makes mud. Working dry lets you change everything as you go, and gets you finer detail, but builds up dust and sometimes doesn’t adhere well. Below is this year’s entry by Alan Sanborn, a talented watercolor artist. He works wet and with brushes.

Paintbrushes are great if you are working wet and those foam ones work better than expected. If you are working dry, it just flings everything about like a broom. This year I was working dry, and I brought an old towel and cut it up into pieces. It worked much better than a brush for blending crumbs into the sidewalk and mixing colors. We also brought a Dust Buster for when we had chalk buildup and didn’t want to blow it on the neighbors. I highly recommend it.

I prefer to work dry, but sometimes the weather doesn’t make it an option. I work wet when it’s raining or windy. Morning or evening sun casts a lot of shadows, which add to the difficulty of keeping track of perspective while sitting on your work. I end up sitting on wet grass most of the morning, but this is easily solved by getting a good bath mat to sit on with a solid rubber backing. If it’s thick enough, it is also a good alternative to knee-pads when kneeling on cement.

I leave you with a few more honorable mentions:

Update:

Looking around for press coverage I came across this youtube video posted by radmul:

And an image from someone flying over:

Arcata Plaza overhead

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Reviews Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, Design Tool, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza

October 6, 2010 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2010

It’s that time of the year again. The first Saturday in October is one of those few days of the year when I’m glued to the weather channel, hoping to see that little puffy cloud icon that around here means dreary, overcast weather. Photography weather. Pastels on the Plaza weather. Overcast weather seems like such a fixture around here that I don’t know why we bother having a weather forecast at all. The weather guy could just put up a poster with a dreary little cloud and a sign reading, “Partly cloudy”, and go on vacation for a few months. He would probably improve his record. Somehow, that first Saturday in October seems to be an exception. In recent years we’ve found ourselves sitting in a puddle in the rain, trying to draw on the sidewalk with a muddy piece of chalk, or plagued with steep shadows and gusts of wind that erase an hour’s work in an instant. This year, things were terrifyingly different. The weather was perfect. There was no excuse for failure.

Pastels on the Plaza 2010 (Click to see the rest of the image)

I was worried there for a bit, but it all came together pretty well. Click the image above to see my full picture. My entry once again was dedicated to local garden coach and designer Genevieve Schmidt. The event brings together local businesses and local artists on behalf of a north coast children’s charity, which is a big win for everyone involved. Here’s a shot of the east side of the plaza, one of the four sections of pastels:

Pastels 2010 East Side of the Plaza

I noticed a lot of returning artists from past years, though notably absent was Coco Thorpe, veteran of 17 Pastel years, who stopped by to cheer us on, but didn’t deign to coat herself in chalk this year. In her place for Holly Yashi, we once again have Leah Vaughn, with what I think is her best entry yet:

Clockwork Bird

Her husband, graphic designer Casey Vaughn, designed this square for Tomas Jewelry:

Casey Vaugn- Humboldt Graphic Design

Shortly after staking my claim on an empty square, an artist settled into the square beside me. It turns out it was Alan Sanborn, a former watercolor instructor for HSU with a master’s in art and quite a portfolio. At one point I accused the man of using luminous paint. His way with light is enviable. He was doing a farm scene from memory, a reproduction of one of his previous works which can be seen here on his site.

Also returning was a personal favorite of mine, Jerry Lee Wallace, who I missed once again this year. I was too focused on my own work to do a walkaround until later.

This one clearly came from Duane Flatmo, a man of many talents, everything from building fire breathing dragons, to playing the guitar with an eggbeater.

I was especially impressed by the square for The Sushi Spot. They did a flawless job of making the nori, and from concept to execution, it was truly exceptional. Their sushi is awesome as well, a contender for the best in town, and they do take out even when they’re busy, unlike someone else.

Sushi Spot Pastel - 2010

Another square that has been consistently good in recent years is The Alibi. If you like your bars dark, your gin and tonic glowing and with a burger on the side, this is the bar for you. I don’t know who the artist was on this one either, but I like their work.

I thought the entry for Kash Boodjeh was cute.

And this one from Humboldt Wildlife Care center was fun. I didn’t even know they made beer out of smashed owls.

Next year, should I participate again. I want to take a break part way through and just spend some time taking pictures of works in progress.

Related Posts:

Pastels on the Plaza 2011

Pastels on the Plaza 2009

Filed Under: Design Inspiration, Reviews Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, DIY, Pastels on the Plaza

October 10, 2009 By Zog

Pastels on the Plaza 2009

pastels-on-the-plaza-2009

Pastels on the plaza is an annual event in Arcata California, and is put on as a fund raiser for a local children’s center. Local businesses can donate a hundred dollars for a three foot square (two hundred for six by three feet) to have a local volunteer artist draw a picture with the company name attached on the town square. It’s a great example of an event where everyone wins, from local businesses and artists, to the public who comes to see the end results, and of course the children who benefit from the charity.

I’ve been going to this event for eighteen years now, and the square above is the first time I can recall seeing two artists with a seamless transition between their squares.  I did the third on the right for Arcata landscape designer Genevieve Schmidt, while the two thirds on the left were done by local artist Leah Vaughn For Holly Yashi Jewlery. Her husband Casey Vaughn did the square below for Mad River Brewing Company, and managed to work their Jamaica Sunset logo in nicely.

Casey-Vaugn_09

This was my second year participating in the event (Pastels on the Plaza 2008 entry), and I’ve already found that the weather has a big impact on the end result. The even tis held on the first Saturday of October. Last year it was raining when I got there and I started drawing in a puddle with chalk pastels. The results came out fine as they dried, but it was a bit daunting. This year the weather started out beautifully, until it very suddenly got windy, at which point the chalk started blowing right off the sidewalk, destroying the finer details and highlights and making it hard to continue.I’ve also found it very helpful to have someone else to do the lettering (thanks Meadow!), as this stuff isn’t as easy as it looks on the Internet.

pastels east side 08

This shot from the 2008 Pastels on the Plaza should give you a better feel for the event itself. There are usually around a hundred entries, about an eighth of which can be seen in the photo.

The mouse below was done by Coco Thorpe, a talented veteran of the event and master of all things chocolate.

Coco Thorpe-09

Probably our most famous local eccentric artist, Duane Flatmo (you may remember him from his appearances on Jay Leno, America’s Got Talent, or our previous photos featured recently on Environmental Graffiti of his giant steel firebreathing dragon. He had an oversize square protected from the wind, but not unfortunately from the shadows. My apologies for the picture quality.

Duane Flatmo Pastels 09

The picture below I didn’t get a full picture of but I believe it was done by Jerry Lee Wallace for the Humboldt Family Service Center. I’ve long been a fan of his pastels, which are always instantly recognizable and of similar theme. His is the one I always seek out first, though I’ve never met him.

Jerry-Lee-Wallace_09

I’m already looking forward to next year and will likely make this an annual post.

Update:

Pastels on the Plaza 2010

Filed Under: Design Inspiration Tagged With: Art, Design Inspiration, Pastels on the Plaza

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