Oh what a great day I had
At a public event in Australia
Here’s the secret to inspiring thousands of people at a festival
It’s a simple idea
And very childish too
Pakofesta is always a great success in Geelong and 2014 was no exception
This is the answer…
Face painting
Kids are amazed
And totally inspired
By their own imagination, and what they might become
The parents also stand by intrigued and entertained as their children take center stage adopting a new character
Plus the artist has heaps of fun as well
Everyone Wins
Simon painting the early stages of a tiger face at Pakofesta in Geelong
At this Aussie festival families were strolling around with little kids
The sun was shining
People were happy
And the food was gourmet delicious too
Countries represented came from most parts of the global community even including Croatia, Serbia, Indonesia, Nepal, and Mexico
The festival is called ‘Pakofesta’
Hosted in my hometown of Geelong, it celebrates cultural diversity in the community. I gave my time and energy to the event, and had an absolute blast face painting the kids
Actually, I was surprised how much fun I had
But it was exhausting
Point 1. Concentrating for hours on end painting in public is hard work
Each persons skin color and texture is different
So too are the proportions of each child’s face
Many kids could not keep still and wriggled forever. One boy even fell asleep in my hands as I was painting, he’d obviously had a big day out. These uncontrollable variables made the job challenging
But great fun
The most popular face painting character on the day was the tiger, closely followed by the Princess mask, then the butterfly, and the least favorite was the pirate
As families walked by our stall I could hear children nagging their parents
“Can I get my face painted mum?”
We had a long queue down the street, and the naughty children kept pushing in front, some 8 year old boys ended up in tears when they were caught cheating, and told to get back to the end of the queue
But my first face painting customer made a difficult request
I could tell she was creative
This young girl wanted a rainbow color tiger face. So after 30 minutes my rainbow tiger was complete, and the child was very happy [pictured below]. She was a sweet kid and stayed perfectly still during the process
Two brother’s came along and became young tigers for the day, annoying their mother roaring at each other down the street in their new persona. But it wasn’t only the little kids enjoying the face painting, in fact, many 20 year old girls requested flowers on their cheeks too
This was not the first time I’d done a public painting demonstration, the many times I’ve painted in public I’m always surprised by one thing…
Point 2. People love to watch an artist at work
It always draws a crowd
Adults become intrigued and stare for hours
And kids just love all the colours
There’s something that fascinates people when paint is applied on a canvas
Or a face
This pretty girl chose a Princess mask from the menu for her face
As I’m painting away, I think to myself a strange thought… “I want to watch the people watching me, because I wonder what interests these people so much about painting?”
But I’ve come to these conclusions
I believe this is what fascinates people the most…
It’s interesting to watch an artist’s vision originating from the mind and beginning to appear in real life on the canvas (or face). But that’s just something a creative person takes for granted, going from one stage to the next, from a blank canvas to the finished artwork
People enjoy watching the development of a vision being realised
Because it’s different
This little girl was thrilled with her butterfly and ran off to show her parents
They also admire the skill involved, because a lot of people can’t draw or paint themselves
Without a doubt, when I’m being creative in public, here’s what happens…
Point 3. The creative process inspires people
And people ask me all sorts of interesting questions. Creativity creates conversation. And generates opinion
Especially doing abstract art that’s a little different, like a rainbow tiger
Everyone has a different personal interpretation unique to their particular perspective
Life is like that
When I was in Jakarta, I did a public painting demonstration on canvas, in a busy shopping center. Afterwards a mainstream Indonesian television station named TVONE interviewed me about my abstract art, and what inspires me to become involved in public events
Simon being interviewed by TVONE a mainstream television station in South East Asia
Here are 10 reasons why I love being involved in public events
1. I love meeting new people
2. I value receiving inspiration
3. I love to provide inspiration
4. I value spontaneous experiences
5. I love collecting new ideas
6. I enjoy sharing conversations
7. I enjoy being outside
8. I learn & develop new skills
9. It’s fun to test new business strategies
10. I always enjoy exciting fun events
So if you have a public painting event in mind and would like to pay for the services of a professional artist, please complete the contact form below and we can begin planning the event together
