Ok Art Walk-ees! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK TO SEE YOUR PIECES AND TAG YOURSELVES!  Hold tight- they will be up soon and then we want to see you represent!

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/theopencanvas

Thank you EVERYONE we knew and didn't know for participating in the latest The Open Canvas Project event.  It was wildly successful and the art was out of this world.  We had a blast painting with you guys.  Follow our Facebook page for links to the AMAZING pieces you all painted.  Look for pics and videos this weekend and hashtag us to continue following! #theopencanvasproject #thankyoulosangeles

Alright, so here is the exact location for The Open Canvas Project- LA Art Walk :

We will be in front of Spring Street Park, on Spring Street, between 4th and 6th, in the Arts District.

Here is a link to the exact address and a map!  And there is 5$ flat rate parking right across the street, in addition to many others.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/07/historic_cores_spring_street_park_getting_dogchildren_divider.php

Hello everyone!  Our next event will be at the LA Art Walk in Downtown LA- this Thursday, August 8th, from 6-11pm.  Come out and catch us.

https://www.facebook.com/theopencanvas
http://downtownartwalk.org/artwalkwhatisitwhere/

So Santa Monica was extremely welcoming to The Open Canvas Project (as you can see below).  The event was a smashing success and we had a lot of firsts.  There was one very unassuming man who rolled up to us in a wheelchair, and just sat looking curious for a while.  He then asked in a jovial, almost joking way if he could paint.  Of course. 

Slowly getting out of his chair, he approached the canvas.  At first, it just looked like a bunch of sweeping paint marks, and we did't think much of it except for the fact that he was obviously enjoying what he was doing.  But also, he had a certain strange command at the canvas.  When he stood up to paint, there was an authoritative air as if he was accustomed to this arena and knew exactly what he was doing. 

It was his canvas now.  All of a sudden, the most beautiful, delicate flying bird took shape.  We saw that each of those paint strokes was actually a blend of several colors, bleeding and blending into each other to make a rainbow-esque rendering of a bird. 

Holly (the photographer) and I just looked at each other.  We may have had our mouths gaping open, and we may have taken more than just a few pictures, and we may have more than once mouthed the words "Are you kidding me??"  We may have.  

Either way, it was perfect.  It turns out he was an artist (now blazingly apparent), and his whole family had been artists.  Growing up, he had worked with charcoals, dusting, shading, and the art was in his blood.  He gave the impression he hadn't really done a lot of art since and said he was rusty- I couldn't imagine what the un-rusty version would have looked like. 

After serving our country, this veteran was now living in Santa Monica, where one Saturday evening he happened to come across our project.  And we are so glad he did.  

Santa Monica

Thank you to everyone that turned out and painted on an open canvas with us this weekend!  The art was superb.  We will have many many pictures posted soon, along with our favorite stories from the day.  Santa Monica was super supportive about the whole thing, and we got some wonderful art out of it.  Thank you Santa Monica for covering yet another open canvas with us.

The idea for The Open Canvas Project came when a few of us wanted to provide something of value to the places we'd be frequenting over the summer.   In order to help draw out the creative bug in as many people as possible, we decided on finger painting - a very forgiving, non-intimidating medium, with a ton of inventive possibility.  Essentially, we wanted to honor the creative person inside of the average person, and be able to provide yet another format where people can collaboratively (and without judgement)- create.  We had our first launch at the Huntington Beach Pier on Fourth of July weekend, and met with surprising success.  Watching average people get completely absorbed in their work and react to each other's contributions was an unexpected and, as one of our group members says, soulful experience. The pieces will be held until the end of the project and then displayed by city at a location TBA. 

We will be at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday July 20th for the next opportunity to create.  Come out and be a part of The Open Canvas Project- along with everyone else.