Chalk Art Oasis
As of 2021, the festival features nationally recognized street artists who create “3-D” masterpieces out of temporary paint and chalk during the festival weekend, underwritten by Visit Tallahassee. These live-action works of art create a lot of excitement amongst our visitors and offer interactive social-media-worthy photos! Attendees repeatedly visit the chalk artists throughout the weekend to observe their progress, with the finished piece typically completed by Sunday afternoon.
This year, we are enhancing this offering even more by creating a Chalk Art Oasis. Our hope is to create a nature-themed oasis surrounding our professional chalk artists with plants and shade for visitors to observe their progress in a beautiful space. We’re planning to have live music, refreshing food vendors, and a Birdhouse Sculpture silent auction in this area to make it a true destination.
Carlos Alberto Garcia Hernandez
Carlos Alberto GH is a painter from Guadalajara focused on street art. He has a degree in art conservation, but after he discovered street art in 2010, he began to get more involved until making it his profession. He has participated in festivals around Mexico, the United States and Canada, as well as several European and Asian countries, winning awards in international competitions. He has been recognized by the United Nations and his works have been included in various printed and virtual publications worldwide.
He says his greatest inspiration is always found in nature, which is why he has been involved in campaigns for the conservation of wildlife and ecosystems, collaborating in large campaigns with the United Nations Organization, the WWF and the WSC in countries around the world.
Instagram = @carlosalberto_art
Carlos was originally scheduled to participate in the 2020 Chain of Parks Festival which was canceled due to the Pandemic. We are delighted to have him back to create a masterpiece!
Naomi Haverland
Naomi Haverland has been painting for as long as she can remember and has been “doing chalk” since 2011. She specializes in humorous and hyper-realistic portraits. She has been recognized for her chalk art, including winning 7 awards at the Denver Chalk Art Festival in Colorado, where she is from. She has been invited to travel to many national and international chalk art festivals, including those in Germany, Canada, Mexico, and The Netherlands. Her chalk art has been utilized by companies such as Harley Davidson, Blick Art Supply, Amazon, Microsoft, Skittles, and 7-Eleven. Originally from Denver, she currently resides in Florida. In the summertime, she focuses her artistic skills on oil painting in her studio.
As an anamorphic artist, Naomi says her goal is to collaborate with the viewer. She loves to create an optical illusion that captivates those who see it and entices them to interact with it. Once she has completed her artwork on the ground, the “baton of creativity” is passed on to the audience. The meaning of the artwork is dictated by how the audience decides to pose with it. “The possibilities are endless,” she says.
Website = Www.NaomiHaverland.com
Instagram = @NaomiHaverland
Jolene Russell
Jolene Russell is a freelance artist from Sacramento, California, specializing in murals, chalk art, and anamorphic (3D) art. Creative at a very young age, Jolene followed her interest in art through college, receiving a BA in Fine Art from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She began street painting as a teen, becoming an annual artist at the Marin Street Painting Festival, one of the largest festivals in California. Jolene participates in street painting festivals across the country annually, and she says she is excited to return to Chain of Parks for her third year as an artist.
In recent years, Jolene has focused primarily on murals, working in locations across the United States and Europe. She finds that creating work publicly and allowing the audience to observe the process creates a stronger emotional connection between the viewer and the art. Jolene’s work tends to juxtapose well-rendered, realistic forms with flat, graphic, or abstract design elements. To bring depth, space, and movement, she utilizes perspective, shadow, dynamic strokes, and clean lines. Her work tends to be colorful and saturated, and people, animals, and the natural world are major themes in her work
Website: http://www.jolenerussell.com/
Instagram: @joleneroserussell
Returns to the 2023 festival!
Jeff Pilkinton
Returns to the 2023 festival!
Jeff Pilkinton is a mural painter, and 2D and 3D street artist with over ten years of experience. Over the years, he has done many projects for businesses, high schools, city projects, and residential properties. Jeff has traveled across the country creating art at street painting festivals. He is a full-time professional artist and says he is living his dream. Jeff says, “Doing those kinds of things has taught me so much about art and different styles. One of the main things it taught me was people skills and how to please people with art.” He currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but has plans to move to the Sunshine State this year. Jeff’s style is modern, expressive, and energetic, focusing on color composition.
Website = www.jeffpilkinton.com
Instagram = @jeffpilkinton
2022 Highlights