Chalk artists gather to illuminate the sidewalk with colorful displays

Byby Justin Sedgwick and Jeff Mercado KGO logo
Monday, June 27, 2016
Check out these creative and vivid pieces of chark art
Artist gathered to color up the streets of Pasadena, Calif.

This isn't your typical schoolyard chalk art.

Equipped with their bare hands, colorful chalk and some fiery creative ingenuity, artists gathered in Pasadena, Calif from June 18-19 to create stunning visual displays using the city sidewalks as their own personal canvas. Artists spent hours in the hot California sun, creating pieces of chalk artwork that were individually unique but collectively similar in their awe-inspiring artistic vision.

Some artists paid homage to their favorite movies or cartoons, with Gus Moran and his family drawing an almost 3D version of Bugs Bunny and classic characters from the Looney Tunes series.

"This is my tenth year with my kids, me and my kids have been doing it for 10 years," Moran told ABC. "I've been painting all my life, I've been kind of a mural artist. My son does a lot of oil and acrylic on canvasses so I think art is kind of in the family."

Many artists paid tribute to celebrities and musicians who recently passed away like Bianca Ornelas did with her David Bowie tribute. Ornelas says the temporary nature of chalk art is one of the most rewarding parts of the process.

"If you're okay with that, with chalk washing away, you can deal with anything in your life," she told ABC.

One of the most inspirational pieces of the festival was a collaborative effort organized by artist Tom Wang. Titled "One Hand, One Heart, One Pulse," the art display served as a memorial to the victims and survivors of the Orlando shooting, where people were invited to put down their own handprint and color it in with chalk.

Wang describes the festival as a "reunion" of chalk artist friends, where in a short weekend colors and personalities come to full life in colorful magic.

"The chalk art itself it actually demonstrates really well the impermanence of life and that this is a fleeting moment. Enjoy it while you can."