April 9th, 2016 - 300 and 400 Blocks of 

St Johns Ave. in Palatka, FL

This Year's Theme-

"Visions of Putnam County, Florida"


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This year's Palatka Chalk Explosion is, as always, free and open to the public. The 4th annual event will be a day of live music, street chalking, chalking competition, and more. The family friendly Palatka Chalk Explosion invites all to come participate, view, and enjoy a fun filled day of art in the streets. There will be a kids area where visitors can just stop by and add their touch to the outdoor art gallery. Live music will fill the air and art will fill the streets.

Artists

It is free to compete and chalk is provided for competition artists. This years theme, "Visions of Putnam County, FL", is a broad theme that will feature our beautiful, mostly rural county. The theme can be interpreted in many ways. We incourage artists to think outside of the box and take in consideration, but not to be limited by, some the following aspects that Putnam County, FL is known for:

  • Waterways

  • Pristine natural Florida areas

  • Trails

  • Exploration by William Bartram

  • Historical Architecture

  • Palatka's rich past as a tourist destination

  • Bass fishing capital

  • Civil War occupation

  • Native American population

  • Agriculture

  • Music and art

Check-in for competition artists is from 8-10 AM and judging is at 4 PM.

The 2016 Palatka Chalk Explosion is free and open to the public, features 5 professional featured chalk artists, four live bands throughout the day, a free street chalking competition with prize money, and provides chalk for kids and adults to help decorate the street in Downtown Palatka. The Arts Council of Greater Palatka’s 4th annual Chalk Explosion will be held Saturday, April 9th, on the 300 and 400 blocks of St. Johns Avenue. Competition artists check in from 8AM to 10AM. Artwork will be judged and awarded cash prizes at 5:00 P.M. Helen Hayes’ Daddle Do Ya Food Truck will serve food all day and a local youth sports team will serve drinks and deserts.  

The Chalk Explosion’s theme this year is “Visions of Putnam County, FL”. The theme will highlight Putnam County and Palatka, increasing exposure to the wonderful things we have to offer here. Visiting artist are encouraged to spend the weekend and enjoy Putnam’s trails, waterways, and many ‘fishing holes’. The competition is free to enter and chalk pastels are provided. There will be a youth contest for ages 11 to 16 and an adult contest for ages 17 and up. No prior experience in art is required to enter and the Arts Council is currently accepting pre-registration on a first come, first serve basis. Information to sign up can be found at artsinputnam.org, at the Larimer Arts Center, and at facebook.com/chalkexplosion. Chalk will also be provided to anybody of any age who would like to participate non-competitively. The Palatka Chalk Explosion is a member of the Florida Chalk Artists Association and the International Street Painting society. 

Event Chairman, Luke Taft, encourages non-artist, beginners, and youth to also enter the competition. “Vibrant chalk pastels will be provided to contestants to express themselves in their own unique way. The theme, Visions of Putnam County, can be interpreted in an endless amount of styles, ideas, and imagery. It can be abstract, imagistic, just whatever creative way to visually express Putnam County, FL. We have so much to offer here including history, architecture, natural beauty, wildlife, and more.” Compositions must be non-political in nature, family friendly, and not negatively attack any group. A rough sketch of the proposed competition drawing must be provided before check-in. 

A major highlight of the event is five professional street painters who will create masterpieces throughout the day as visitors watch the works come to life and enjoy the live music. This year’s featured artists include Nancy Naulty, Tim Ritter, and Beth Shistle, Julie Graden, and Beatrice Flag. All are accomplished chalk artists who continue to amaze their audiences and will add a learning experience for amateur competitors.  

Nancy A. Naulty is a freelance artist, writer and photographer specializing in many different mediums including:  Pastels, Acrylics, Sculpture, Multimedia, Murals and Photography. 

Established as an award winning “Chalk Artist” or “Mondannari”, Nancy has over 10 years experience participating in many street painting festivals across the state of Florida.  She is a designated Master Chalk Artist with the Florida Chalk Artist Association and a member of the International Street Painting Society. Nancy also enjoys gardening, music, playing guitar, cooking, boating, fishing and the theatrical arts.  She is a “foster mom” to abused and neglected animals with the Animal Rescue Konsortium 

Beth Shistle is an award winning artist from DeLand, FL who has been participating in street painting festivals since 2004.  Retiring early from teaching elementary school, she now happily creates a variety of works of art from her home studio.  Her work favors a realistic style and mostly portrays pets and people in either pastels or acrylics.  She has been published in the North Light Magazine, and Sarasota Chalk Festival 2011 Collector's Edition.   She also enjoys creating miniature 2.5" x 3.5" paintings that have been collected internationally.  Beth is a member of the Florida Chalk Artist Association and a member of the Women Painters of the Southeast organization. 

Tim Ritter is an avid chalk artist, and travels around Florida to different festivals sharing his creative side of his brain. He also paints mostly with acrylics, and is a sculptors apprentice of Kumpa Tawoanprom (he has done work for Disney,Universal Studios,Six Flags,George Lucas and most recently the movie" Dolphin Tale" filming in Clearwater) Ritter and Kumpa collaborated on a Thai angel at the Master Of Arts Chalk Festival, and won best original artwork out of ten categories out of 200 artists. 

Julie Graden, a graduate of Florida School of the Arts in Palatka now lives and works an artist in Land o' Lakes, Florida. She created a giant 3 dimensional for the first Chalk Explosion and was a featured artist in the 2014 Chalk Explosion. Graden is an award winning street painter as well and is the current president of the Florida Chalk Artists Association. 

As an award winner at various Chalk events, Beatrice Flaig recently expended her participation to festivals throughout the Southeast. " Street Painting used to be a hobby and recently became an addiction". "I enjoy large scale art and participating in street painting events rekindles a familiar passion shared by many other artists every time we rendezvous at various chalk festivals throughout the year".  

The 2016 Palatka Chalk Explosion boasts an impressive live music line up as well. Lee Kelly, a folk rock, Irish, children’s music banjo and guitar picker will entertain from 10Am to noon. Stephen Chandler and Sleek will take the stage at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM with funky soul and jazz.Cracker the Box, known for a creative blend of blues and rock genres, will play from 3:15 to 4:45. At 5:15, as the competition is judged and finished pieces fill St Johns Avenue, Chuck Hardtwick and Heartline will finish up the day with an early evening concert featuring a Putnam County flavor of Florida folk music. 

Visitors are invited to come throughout the day and watch the outdoor street gallery unfold as they listen to great live music. Taft said the event encompasses a large portion of The Arts Councils mission in bringing cultural activities out into the public in an accessible forum. Not only can visitors enjoy the art, but they also have the opportunity take part in its creation. The 2016 Palatka Bicycle Festival will be held the same day and include many extra activities including tours, boat rides, and more. Many of these activities will be walking distance. The River Center will be open to the public as well as tours of the historic Bronson-Mulholland home. Visit putnambluewaysandtrails.org for more information about the 2016 Palatka Bicycle Festival. 

The Arts Council’s Executive Director, Denise Aiken, is excited to see the Chalk Explosion grow as it attracts more attention visitors each year. Aiken has put much work into cultivating Palatka’s own street painting event after realizing the impact that similar events have had on small towns as they have started to become very popular in the past 15 years.  

The Arts Council’s Palatka Chalk Explosion appreciates all of its sponsors and volunteers who continue partner in growing the event each year. Some of the major sponsors are the Putnam County Tourist Development Council, Miracle Signs and Designs, Seminole Electric Cooperative, Red Beards Vapor Lounge, and Attorney Robert M. Perry. A full list of sponsors and more info about Arts Council programs can be found at artsinputnam.org. 

The Arts Council of Greater Palatka is the designated Local Arts Agency for Putnam County and continues to provide many cultural programs that are free and open to the public.  With the support of local businesses, corporations and individuals the Arts Council of Greater Palatka can continue to be a leading advocate of the arts through music, art classes, and exhibitions and much more.  Events such as the Palatka Chalk Explosion bring in professional artists and families to the area, which strengthens the vitality and commerce of Palatka. 


Sponsors
Mirical Signs and Designs
Putnam County Tourist Development Council
Seminole Electric
FESTIVAL  SPONSOR
Red Beard's Vapor Lounge Palatka, FL
Robert M. Perry
Putnam Community Medical Center
PALETTE SPONSOR
Dr R.A. Perallon DMD
205 Zeagler Dr. Suite 301
386-325-4504
Kids Care Pediatrics
Vernon and Linda Myers
Friend of Chalk Explosion
Robert Taylor
Architect
3d saloon
Badcock Furniture Palatka
Beef O Brady's Palatka
We Believe in this Community
Merril Hanncock and Turner
Click Here to See Previous Years' Web Pages
Contact Us
Arts Council of Greater Palatka 
artsinputnam@aol.com 386-328-8998