Powdered hands and stained jeans were the result of hand-drawn artwork that blanketed the Marketplace parking lot for the annual event of Via Arte on Oct. 8-9.
The “Italian Street Painting Festival” celebrated its 13th year of live and admission-free entertainment. It inspires the community and is sponsored by the Bakersfield Museum of Art.
Bakersfield College student Jesse Calderon attended the weekend event and took a liking to the scene that lay beneath his feet.
“My buddy and I went on Sunday for a couple of hours to check out the work, plus the company I work for, Ordiz-Melby, was participating in it and had its own square,” said Calderon. “They made a rainbow-colored zebra and it looked pretty real.”
Ordiz-Melby Architects Inc. along with other companies, such as Chevron, Knights Services Inc., Starbucks, Sequoia Sandwich Company, The Boys and Girls Club, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, and political leaders like Kevin McCarthy occupied different sponsorship squares with their names alongside their signature artwork.
“My favorite image, I’d have to say was the black Jesus and the portrait of Steve Jobs,” said Calderon. “Pretty sad actually.”
The hands that created the commemorating profile of the Steve Jobs portrait were those of second place winner, Beth Ansolabehere.
“I found the picture on the cover of TIME Magazine from April of last year and I loved it,” said Ansolabehere. “I decided to go ahead and use it for my piece this year.”
Ansolabehere has been competing in Via Arte for 10 years and started when she was a junior in high school.
She used specific materials for her presentation in this year’s event.
“I used chalk-pastels in black and white and made a very photo-realistic portrait of Steve Jobs,” said Ansolabehere. “Although it was a drawing and not a photo, it was drawn in a way that is detail-oriented in order to look like a photograph. It was a tribute to a great man that had recently passed away, way too young.” said Ansolabehere. “He was a brilliant man that changed the world of technology.”
Ansolabehere’s efforts were successful in sponsoring the Bakersfield Museum of Art and were an appropriate attribute in contributing to the live entertainment.
“I am sponsored every year by Peggy Darling, under the sponsorship title ‘The Hayden Building,’” she said. “She has sponsored me every year and I can’t thank her enough for her generosity and consistent support of the arts here in Bakersfield,” said Ansolabehere. “ The square I did this year was an 8-by-8 foot square and I believe it was 400 dollars.”
Ansolabehere earned second place in the “Reproduction” category and is enthusiastic about competing again next year in Via Arte.
“It’s such an amazing event and brings great awareness to the arts and all the talent that lives here in Bakersfield,” said Ansolabehere.
A live jazz band decorated the opening as visitors traveled around the vicinity to visualize illustrations and representational images of iconic figures, cartoon characters, influential leaders, and even anti-government and pro-civil rights pieces of work. This year’s Italian Art Festival featured not only talented artists, but also live jazz music and exotic belly dancing.