Via Colori: Italian Street Painting Festival
By Renee Targos

Street painter Melanie Stimmel, dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt, stood smiling by a projection screen while giving tips to a room full of artists downing bagels and coffee at the Scottsdale Artists’ School. This summer she coached a group of 30 artists on the etiquette of street painting, such as never blow chalk dust or use lidless, liquid containers on site.

This Oct. 18-19, Stimmell leads 100 artists in creating 150 large masterpieces on the sidewalks, streets and parking lots of Scottsdale’s arts district for the Via Colori Festival. Originating with the 16th century Italians of the Early Renaissance, who painted religious icons on cathedral courtyards, the allure of street painting has gained ground in the U.S. since 1986, inspiring artists like Stimmell.

Based in Los Angeles, the award-winning fine art and street painter, Stimmell has traveled to Italy, Germany, Turkey and Holland to create realistic artworks as large as 3,000 square feet. As a former technical director for the animated television series, South Park, Stimmell has brought her art to the streets full-time since 1998.

The Big Wash
The strange aspect of street painting is that after artists spend approximately 10 hours crafting a work of art, the piece is scrubbed off the ground 48 hours after creation. The short life span of the artwork makes the crowd gathering for the festival just as essential as the artists creating their works. “Street painting is something that you have to experience first hand,” says Stimmell. “Photos or verbal descriptions never do it justice.”

Andrea Beaulieu, general chair and executive director for Via Colori Scottsdale says the appeal of the event is that Via Colori is an act of spontaneous creativity... “The vast display of creation, which will be taking place throughout the entire time of the festival, is unlike witnessing art at a gallery or museum,” she says. “People will actually mingle amongst, and speak with the artists, as they are creating their works onto the pavement. After (attendees) wander through, seeing each artist at work, they return to their starting point to see how the first work has evolved.”

Surrounded by food and beverage vendors and live entertainment, the day-long event is truly a festival of sounds, sights and tastes. On Saturday night, a Luminaria Party uses bags with candles to illuminate the paintings organized into sections such as Via Arreas, Via Musica, Via Bambini and Via Luminaria.

Via Colori founder Rick Compton says he started the festival in 1994 in Naples, Fla. “I saw a chance to ally the arts community with the business community, and to display to the public the creative process.”

The Big Picture
As the Via Colori Festival makes its way West, showing up in cities like Houston, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, its inaugural year in Scottsdale has created some uphill battles. Beaulieu says the biggest obstacle has been finding supporters. “Via Colori is a sponsorship- and volunteer-driven event, and getting sponsorships has been challenging, since this is a unique event, which has not yet taken place here,” says Beaulieu.

Compton says, “In every city, there is only one challenge—expressing the vision. It is sometimes hard to help people understand the palpable, intriguing, mesmerizing joy of witnessing the creative process, in very large scale, multiplied by a couple of hundred artists. Once the vision is communicated, after the first year’s event, the entire community becomes enthusiastic participants.”

As volunteers, artists and sponsors come forward such as The RoomStore, this year’s event is shaping up to be a breathtaking festivity.

For Stimmell, the joy of being able to create works outside is rewarding in itself, even if it can be physically demanding. “One of the biggest difficulties is the weather,” says Stimmell. “Especially when it is hot, it can be a miserable job. You not only have the sun blazing down on you, but also the heat that comes up from the hot, black asphalt.”

Heat or no heat, Stimmell says she’ll coach artists into creative bliss. “I will give them all the techniques and advice I can to prepare them for what will be a really amazing experience.”

The Via Colori Festival is scheduled from
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Oct. 18; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 19.