Street Painting and a Bit of Utopia
by Jan Hughes

When I first ventured into the village of Tivoli the year was 1971 and I was nineteen years old. I came up from Southern Dutchess County driving a putrid green Volkswagen Beetle filled with friends, all of us drawn by the name, Tivoli. As I drove down Broadway from Route 9G I imagined red tulip-lined streets, probably my vision of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. The distance into the village, which you can't quite see until you come right up to the stop sign at the four corners, seemed endless. Imagining an artistic utopia, I was disappointed to find a derelict village of boarded up storefronts and sad, worn looking homes. I drove down to the river, turned around and drove back out again, never finding my utopia and never imagining I'd ever come back.

Thirty-two years later I'm back, immersed in the artistic utopia that really does exist in Tivoli. The village still has its air of worn paint and old homes, but they appear quite different to my eye now, charming and quaint, and the artists and their art are definitely alive and visible.

"Left Eye, Right?" by Tim Haley

As a member of the Tivoli Artists Co-op, located at 60 Broadway, I have spent a lot of time setting up the gallery for shows and presenting the Co-op and the village of Tivoli, through press releases and interviews, as a unique place in Northern Dutchess. Although I live in nearby Red Hook my affiliation with the gallery has made me feel a special fondness for the little village that I quickly passed through so many years ago. Others are even more involved, people who have lived in the village or its environs for many years, committed to its quiet growth. One of these is Phyllis Gay Palmer, a Tivoli artist and portrait painter who was an instrumental early member of the Tivoli Artists' Co-op and in 2001 was one of only three artists outside the five boroughs of New York City to receive a prestigious New York Foundation for the Arts Grant. Another of those people is Linda Murphy, who moved to Tivoli thirty-four years ago and now owns the Bird's Nest, a snug B & B perched on top of Clay Hill Road.

Not only is Linda Murphy a member of the Tivoli Business & Professional Association, she has also been instrumental in bringing to the streets, literally, one of the annual events that draws so many people to partake in the artistic activity happening in the community. This will be the third year that Linda's passion for street painting comes to Broadway with the Third Annual Tivoli Street Painting Festival. Scheduled for Saturday, October 4th, with a rain date of Sunday, October 5th. Art Festival Day is expected to draw two thousand people—all come to watch seventy-five artists paint the street.

Hands & Knees Expression
Street painting is part performance art, part gritty hands and knees expression. When Linda Murphy talks about it, her eyes light up and her enthusiasm is contagious. "Once you do one you'll want to do another," says Linda. Her interest formed during visits to the annual Street Painting Festival in Lake Worth, Florida, a two-day event that began in 1994 with twenty artists and has grown to include 400 artists. This past February Linda and her friend, local Tivoli artist Tim Haley, participated as street painters in the Lake Worth event , for the first time.

As far back as the sixteenth century, disabled soldiers would draw chalk portraits of the Virgin Mary in the streets of Italy. This street painting was a way both of soliciting alms and of thanking the Madonna for their safe return from war. In the process, the painters became known as Madonnari. During the 1970s, just about the time I was erasing Tivoli from my search-for-utopia map, a more secular revival of street painting began in Europe. Now that revival has reached the United States. Annual street painting festivals have become increasingly popular—especially in the south, where the climate is more reliable. A rainy day is a disaster, and even a two-day event can pose problems. The artists cover their work at night with tarps, to protect it from dew and any rain that might fall, but moisture seeping under the tarp can ruin a day's work.

Before approaching the Tivoli Business & Professional Association with the idea of bringing street painting to Tivoli, Linda tried out a painting of her own, "Mona Lisa Rabbit," on Clay Hill Road outside her B & B. Once she was satisfied her idea would work, she approached fellow members of the association and the first street painting festival became part of Tivoli Day in 2001. It drew twenty artists from the area. Each was given an eight by eight foot square to work in and a box of fine artist's pastels. Although it is called street painting, the work is actually done with chalk. Sometimes an undercoat of tempera is rolled on first to give the artists a flat base tone to work on. It is a painful process, fingers that rub the chalk into the cracks in the street become raw, knees sore, backs painful. The sun burns, clothes become dirty, and faces streak with color as the artists become absorbed in their creative endeavors.

Many artists choose to paint a well-known work of art, selecting from the old masters, or more contemporary artists, often studying their subject for months in advance; and then there are the professional artists who dream up their own designs. Maria Ciancanelli, a local amateur artist, has participated in the event each year. For her first painting she decided to stay true to the original Madonnari intent and painted "Our Lady of Tivoli." Maria generally prepares a stencil and uses a paper drop cloth to transfer the basic shape of her design to the street. (Another method of transfer, aside from free drawing, is to enlarge the work by diagonals, starting in one corner, or by preparing a grid.) Maria also comes to the event with a laminated color photocopy of her work, so that it can be wiped clean repeatedly during the day as her hands become dirty.

Street painting scene at Tivoli's Four Corners.

The Performance Begins
Once the basic design is on the ground the performance begins. There is a lot of interaction between the artists and the spectators, each enjoying the event. Maria said that people are very friendly and clearly enjoy watching, but after a while you get into your own little world; you become focused on what you're doing and forget they are there. The spectators are thrilled as they watch each square take shape, coming back many times during the day to see how the work is coming along.

Linda Murphy said that last year, during the second street painting festival, more than fifty artists participated as part of the October Tivoli Arts Festival with music, performance art and street painting comprising the event, which had gloriously warm weather.

This third year she hopes to have seventy-five artists, both adults and young people, individuals and groups, with a special section for children called the Children's Quilt, where even the youngest artists can chalk up their own one by one foot squares. The artists are the event, without them there would be no festival, and this year, Linda said, they will be treated like royalty. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and Joy Scarano, a Tivoli Massage Therapist will offer massages to them as well. The Tivoli Business & Professional Association provides all of the materials used in the actual painting. Each artist is assigned an eight by eight foot square of turf, which will be rolled a flat color if desired and then boxes of fine artist's pastels are handed out as needed. Street painting events around the country generally feature local artists who introduce an aspect of community pride to this street performance art. Maribeth Tuton, who lives in the village of Tivoli, will be the featured local artist this year.

Broadway, the main thoroughfare in Tivoli, will be closed to traffic from 8 am until 4 pm on the day of the festival, from the four corners, past the Tivoli Artists Co-op and the Post Office to Pine Street. An art show, crafts vendors, children's entertainment, and music are planned throughout the day, and awards will be given for the street paintings themselves, a People's Choice Award and an Artist's Choice Award. Food and beverages will be available from local restaurants and organizations. After applying for a grant from the Dutchess County Arts Association, and receiving $1250, Linda was able to put together a brochure to help advertise the event. She sees the potential for it to become a major fundraiser for arts programs in Tivoli and would like to see it blossom into a worthwhile civic event that not only brings people to the village, but earns enough for scholarships to send children to summer arts camps. Bring hats, sunscreen, plenty of water, and pray it doesn't rain.

While the street painting festival will be taking place on one day in October, there are exhibits at the Tivoli Artists Co-op every month. During the month of September, the Co-op will be showing "The Magical Feminine II: Exposing War and Exploring Endless Peace." A three-person show in October will feature landscapes, gardenscapes, and wood sculpture by co-op members Mike Bufi, Marie Cole and Mary Untalan. In November, the Tivoli Artists Co-op Gallery will show paintings, monotypes, and mixed media works of expression and abstraction by members Scott Clugstone and Anna Cinquemani

I no longer drive a Volkswagen beetle, nor am I still searching for a utopia, but I have come to understand that the little village of Tivoli is well worth driving to, and even if the streets aren't lined with red tulips on the day you visit, it just may be that you didn't stay long enough to see them.

To participate in the street painting event either as an artist, vendor, or volunteer contact Linda Murphy at (845) 757-4279 or look at the website: www.tivolibusiness.com. For more information about the Tivoli Artists Co-op check out their website at www.tivoliartistsco-op.com or call (845) 757-2667. For information about having your portrait painted by Phyllis Gay Palmer call her studio at (845) 757-3808 or see her website: www.palmerpaintings.com/Phyllis.