After a busy Friday, we knew Saturday would be busy. We were right! Thank goodness for our small army of volunteers who made the process seamless for participants and kept the wait times to a minimum.
Our good friends (l to r) Matt, Brian, Kathy, Robin and Anita were in good spirits as we walked to our venue space.
With our freshly cleaned brushes from the night before, filled paint containers, and stickers, we made our daily trek to the venue. Upon arrival, the painting had to be moved from inside the Hyatt to the area outside the entrance. This was easy with help and required the canvas and both easels be repositioned outside. Fortunately, the weekend and upcoming weather forecast was favorable and we were able to get set up quickly.
Matt and I carry the canvas from inside the Hyatt where the easels and sandbags awaited.
Since we would often have people ready to paint, we’d quickly get the supplies ready to hand out. No lines were necessary to manage, but we’d encourage people to select their paint color and begin to look for a spot to paint.
As paint began to fill in the spaces, it became more obvious what the project was about, and people would be eager to fill in their spot.
It was fun to see people approach the canvas with different plans for painting. Some would struggle with what spot to paint. Others would immediately know where they wanted to go. Some would take their time, carefully filling in their area, while others made quick work of it.
Some participants took great care to fill in their areas just right, even though the brushes could be a challenge to manage.
While many people on Thursday and Friday were workers downtown, Saturday brought more ArtPrize visitors out who were looking for art in any corner.
It was fun and easy to chat with people passing by. Some needed encouragement to paint while others were anxious to contribute.
As Saturday continued, we began seeing a large number of people assembling. Between handing out and retrieving brushes and paint, each participant was asked if we could take their photo for the poster.
I take photos of a couple participants while people assemble to paint. It could be challenging to catch a photo of everyone and I’m sure I missed at least 100 people over the course of the painting process.
Not only was I taking photos of the participants, it quickly became apparent that the painting made a great backdrop for photos. Many would hold up their “I Painted the Calder” stickers as proud proof of their participation.
Two friends proudly display the stickers they received for participating.
The project would have been so much more difficult without the generous help from our friends who donned aprons and helped participants with their paint and brushes. We were able to fill the full two weeks of time with volunteers who’d greet people and encourage shy ones to select a color.
Our good friends made the process so much more enjoyable and festive. We ended up having a couple dozen volunteers over the two weeks of painting.
Painters of all ages were encourage to paint. Some required a bit of help from an adult, but all enjoyed the process.
This adorable young artist quickly caught our attention shared her enthusiasm for the project.