It’s never too early to mark your calendars for the annual Mission Federal ArtWalk in Little Italy, which will be celebrating its 31st year April 25-26. The featured artists were revealed this month at the 2nd annual presentation of the Artie Awards at The Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego.
No artist is alike providing an eclectic body of work that is sure to move you. This year’s theme is Discover your Inspiration. Christina Leta, a watercolor portrait artist grew up around art, her mom is a sculptor. She also majored in it in college and decided to take the plunge and make it her full time career. Emotions motivate her. “Emotions that feel like they’re unending, like you might not escape them, I think capturing moments like that and putting them in sort of a raw form on paper in the form of a portrait is just a really interesting juxtaposition and I think it’s an interesting way to connect with people,” she said. “It was such a great reception from the San Diego community. I was really impressed. I think I will do it for many years to come.” This is Leta’s third year participating in ArtWalk.
Native San Diegan, Scott Palmer, has evolved throughout his career from a traditional artist to making unique copper pieces. He sculpts metal and uses acrylics and oils for his designs. “I had some friends who work with copper and they had hired me to do some painting on the copper pieces and then they asked me to expand and do some design work for them and it kind of serendipitously took off from there,” he says. He has participated in ArtWalk for about 8-10 years with the last 4 years exhibiting his copper work.
Mixed-media collage artist, Mark Allen, has been featured on several national television shows and films and considers it an honor to be a part of ArtWalk. He says that many of his pieces start out with one idea but evolve in the process. His advice for new artist is to “just do as much work as you can possibly do.” He’s been in the art world for approximately 25 years so I’d listen to him.
Leta, Palmer and Allen are just three of the artists that will be participating. Thousands of people are anticipated to attend the free event that spans 15 blocks and features over 350 artists. The event also features food vendors, live music, and art activities for kids.
http://www.artwalksandiego.org/
Hillcrest Fat Tuesday seemed a little dead in comparison to prior years. That didn’t stop the small crowd that did show from having a great time. Beads were flung from the stage to the dancing crowd. There were performances, food vendors, and giveaways. VIP guests enjoyed food from Babycakes, East Coast Pizza, Fiesta Cantina, and Mo’s Universe. Surrounding business also had several specials to attract customers. Perhaps that’s the reason the crowd seemed so small as they were supporting the local businesses and not the street vendors. Either way, I hope to see more of you next year. 50 percent of proceeds went towards the GSDBAF Charitable Foundation Annual Youth Scholarship.
