‘Annyeong haseyo!’ (‘Hello’ in Korean) I was recently commissioned to create a large 3d street painting for the renowned Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul, South Korea. I had never traveled to Korea and was very excited about the opportunity to go there and share my work with the citizens of Seoul.
Meticulously created using documents from Da Vinci and other contemporaries who
Back in 2003 I got a call from then director of the Youth In Arts Italian Street Painting Festival, Sue Carlomagno, about a crazy idea she was dying to share with me. ‘How would you like to tackle the Sistine Chapel ceiling?’
I knew she & her husband Joe were planning something big for the 10th Anniversary event but I didn’t realize how big! Talk about ambitious – over 300 figures and yards of architecture, this masterpiece would surely be a show stopper if created. A feat never before undertaken at any festival in the world this was going to be a dream project for many folks involved.
Sue asked me to spearhead the project as I had extensive experience in art directing / painting large mural projects and was used to managing teams of artists. I had recently finished off several large Vegas casino mural projects which involved creating over 11,000 sq. ft. of images. I was game and eagerly jumped into the project planning. Additionally, Sue honored me with a request to create the original art for the event poster: a portrait of Michelangelo’s Delphic Sibyl. I used chalk pastels on paper and the original art was framed and then auctioned off as part of the festival fundraising.