Henderson festival to feature street-painting event, among other attractions

Everybody probably has, at one time or another, scrawled on a sidewalk with a piece of chalk.

But when Donovan Fitzgerald puts chalk to sidewalk, the results are apt to be nothing short of amazing.

How amazing? How about, perhaps, Caravaggio's "The Entombment of Christ," which Fitzgerald drew last year for Piazza Colori, a street-painting event at the ArtFest of Henderson.

This weekend, Fitzgerald again will join other artists, both amateur and professional, at the 13th annual edition of ArtFest, which runs Saturday and Sunday at the Henderson Events Plaza.

Nicole Johnson of the Henderson Department of Cultural Arts and Tourism said this year's ArtFest will feature more than 100 booths manned by artists and craftspeople, from painters to jewelry-makers to photographers to ceramic artists to glass blowers.

And, if this year's ArtFest is anything like other years' ArtFests, the attendees will be as eclectic a group as the artists.

"You definitely have the serious art connoisseurs," Johnson said. "They definitely are out there to look and find a piece specifically for their home and office.

"Then you get the others, who bring their families out. In the past, we've had great weather for this event, and they have a great time bringing the family and enjoying, basically, the first heat wave of the year."

In addition to arts and crafts exhibitors, the event will include live music and arts performances, a "Made in Nevada" showcase of works by local artists, food vendors and such kid-friendly features as a bounce house and a Kids' Gallery where children can create their own arts and crafts.

This year's ArtFest also will mark Piazza Colori's second year as an ArtFest attraction, Johnson said. For Fitzgerald, Piazza Colori -- organized by the Green Valley Rotary Club and a fundraiser for Henderson charitable organizations -- is an opportunity to work in a medium he became acquainted with about four years ago.

Adorning public streets and sidewalks with intentionally transitory art is a tradition that "really goes back to Italy" and dates back several centuries, Fitzgerald said. There, street artists were dubbed "madonnari," because their work often would depict Mary, the mother of Jesus, with child.

Today, the art remains "very common in Europe," Fitzgerald said. It's also popular in, for instance, California, but Fitzgerald said that, as far as he knows, "I'm really the only professional madonnari artist in Las Vegas."

"I do all types of custom artwork in my day-to-day job, whether it be portraits or murals," Fitzgerald added, as well as "a lot of large-scale religious paintings," many of which find homes in churches and religious institutions.

But, Fitzgerald continued, "the chalk work is fun for me because I get to educate people in classical art and get to enjoy myself."

Piazza Colori serves as a local version of an Italian street-painting festival, where artists work on patches of pavement ranging in size from 3-by-3 feet to 10-by-10 feet.

Last year's Piazza Colori attracted more than 60 local artists, both professional and amateur, who offered up a varied array of designs. For instance, Johnson said last year's "people's choice" award went to two artists who used their space for an illustration of Marilyn Monroe.

But if patrons wish to see what the street artists create, they'd better do it this weekend. Given the nature of the medium in which they work, the Piazza Colori's artwork won't be there for long.

For Fitzgerald, that's part of its appeal. Passers-by can witness art being created, he said, while artists -- knowing that their work literally will disappear in a day or two -- can focus on the joy of creation.

"I enjoy the process of creating just as much as the final product," Fitzgerald said. And, lacking a canvas to sell or otherwise deal with after the process has ended, "you're merely there to enjoy the process of creating art."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@review journal.com or 702-383-0280.