Fun With Chalk celebrates the arts

Mission Viejo’s annual “Fun With Chalk” street-painting event will be held at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way (off LaPaz Road), May 20-21, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission and free parking.

The featured artist, Lori Escalera, a nationally recognized street-painter, will create a 12’ x 12’ reproduction of “Boy Bit by a Lizard.” The original artwork was created by Carravagio, an Italian Renaissance painter. Escalera is well known in Southern California for her street paintings of Italian masters and lesser-known Italian Impressionist painters.

The annual Mission Viejo event is now in its eighth year. The Fun With Chalk/Fine Arts Festival features hundreds of artists of all ages and skill levels creating masterpieces directly on the asphalt. Local fine artists display their oil, watercolor, sculpture and photographic works at the festival to celebrate the arts. Free entertainment, music, and great food at moderate prices will cater to every taste. Art workshops are available.

Street painting is a 400-year-old type of performance art, which began in Italy as a means for artists to make money. Today, large temporary artworks are created in a short time – a matter of days, and street painting is experienced by the public as "process" art.

This award-winning festival benefits fine-art programs in Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified School Districts and provides scholarships for graduating high school seniors. It also enriches the lives of children living in domestic violence shelters. To participate as a Festival Sponsor, volunteer or artist or for general information, call the Festival hotline, 1-877-932-4255, or email motv8@pacbell.net.

General Website: http://members.cox.net/design.etc

Fine art Website: http://members.cox.net/lori.art