Sketchy Stuff.

My wife Amanda and I recently had the great honor of being able to participate in the first annual Pastels on 5th event in Loveland, Colorado. The event was presented by a local non-profit called Alternatives to Violence whose goal is to help build the Southern Larimer County Safehouse, a refuge for women and children who are affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and other violent crimes. It’s a great cause, and a much needed one at that.

Local businesses and individuals sponsored a sidewalk “canvas” (a 4×4 concrete square) on the sidewalk outside the local art museum. Artists used pastel chalks to decorate over 65 of these canvases. Each square was very diverse—everything from abstracts and portraits, to landscapes and still-lifes, to serious to whimsical. Our company, Awesomesauce Creative, sponsored one of the squares. As our business name would suggest, it probably comes as no surprise that we chose to do something whimsical.

The day, although very hot, was extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I really enjoyed bonding and sharing the time with my wife. We worked harmoniously together as we brought our image to life. As of the night before, we didn’t even know what we were going to draw as neither of us had ever done anything like this.

Learning to use the chalks effectively was a challenge, but a fun one. We ended up using water and brushes to essentially paint the pastel chalks into the concrete, otherwise they weren’t really adhering properly. With fine details in our image, I was very grateful for Amanda’s steady hand.

Spectators were encouraged to “vote” for their favorite piece by purchasing a sticker that they could place on the corresponding artist’s sponsor sheet. Had more children have had the financial means to vote, we would have won by a landslide as our spot seemed to be definite lingering point as their parents strolled past. We did not win top prize, but thanks to two of our friends who voted more than one time, we managed to get in the top few who will be featured in an upcoming 2012 calendar. Winning wasn’t the point anyway.

It was a great day, filled with wonderful artists and volunteers (those behind-the-scenes people were amazing and so generous)—one that I will remember fondly as I look forward with anticipation to next year’s event. The goal was to raise about $8,000, and they surpassed that by a generous amount, which I know was encouraging to and appreciated by the non-profit.

On a sad note, because of local regulations (which we are hoping will be changed for next year), the art was only allowed to live on the sidewalk for only a few short hours after the event. Unfortunately, the city power-washed it away with no trace of anything ever happening there. At least there were some fantastic photos and the calendar will help commemorate the event.

Hopefully more artists will lend their talents next year to continue in supporting this great cause.