Street Painting and Pavement Art

Street painting has been recorded throughout Europe since the 16th century. Street painters in Italy are called madonnari (singular form: madonnaro) because they often created pictures representing the Madonna. In England they are called screevers.

The first street painter in the US was Sidewalk Sam(pictured), who began painting in the streets of Boston in 1973.

Over the past decades various artists have developed new styles based on the work of artists such as Andrea Mantegna, M. C. Escher, Michelangelo, Hans Holbein and others. Today this work is called anamorphic or 3D, although in the past it was called one-point perspective.

In 1982 Kurt Wenner, an American, began street painting in Rome. By 1983 he took the already-existing anamorphic art form to the street by drawing, then brushing, his home-made pastels into a painting. In 1984 he was documented by National Geographic in their film Masterpieces In Chalk. That same year he won the title of "Master Street Painter" at the Grazie festival.

Later in the early 1990's Michael Kirby began to work in Europe as a streetpainter creating more original work based on contemporary issues and not on classical ideas and designs. He would go on to become a master streetpainter in all the major festivals across Europe including Germany, Italy, and Holland. He would later bring the art form to other countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ireland, Canada, and various parts of the United States. His work was featured at the Smithsonian Institution in DC, National Geographic, David Letterman Show, North Carolina Museum of Art, Rai Television, and others. Today his studio, Murals of Baltimore, is hired to create public art around the world and is considered the leader in street painting.

And The rest is History!

Every year in London, Canada, The Imadon Street painting Performance Group puts on 'Expressions in Chalk Street Painting Festival'. The Imadon Street Painting Performance Group is a non-profit organization, incorporated to bring the art of street painting to the citizens and artists of London, through public performances and special events, teach street painting to London youth, utilizing local artists and arts groups and to promote London as a creative arts destination.

The 2009 Expressions in Chalk festival featured an 18 x 92 foot reproduction of the Central Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 9 panels painted by 9 artists and lead by Internationally renowned street painter, Melanie Stimmell.