E.M. Forster once said that “one person with passion is better than 40 people merely interested.” Perhaps it is this mentality that has allowed Florida based Carolyn Schultz, accomplished street painter and realist artist, to carry out her passion for art without sacrificing her career or family. Environmental specialist with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection by day and “Maestro Madonnari” (Master Street Painter) in her “free” time, Schultz has managed to build a successful career without losing sight of her life’s passion: art.

As a child, Schultz would spend countless hours completing numerous pencil drawings and still-life sketches, focusing on capturing all the different shapes and angles that intrigued her. However, as so often happens, Schultz entered college and became disillusioned; straying from her artistic fervor for replicating images that would simply pass by the less imaginative eye. Yet, after 20 years of experience working as a professional in the environmental field, Schultz was given a second chance to reunite with her aesthetic side. A former employer, Carol Lotspeich, aware of Schultz’s artistic talents, offered her an opportunity to represent their company at the Orlando Rotary Street Painting Festival in Florida, where she would ultimately fall in love with street painting — its ephemeral nature, the performance aspect it offered, and the room it gave her to create larger than life realistic compositions.

Her original artistic expressions, practiced previously as a child, were not lost in taking on this new art form; rather, she developed her initial experiences and cultivated them into finely detailed figurative works. Managing to take objects as simple as a ribbon — utilizing its angles, at which it was photographed, or the shading and color schemes, all the while bending perspectives and imagination alike — Schultz has created street paintings so realistic in nature that they take on their own life form. The prestigiously awarded artist travels throughout the U.S. and internationally, working at different street painting and chalk festivals, such as the Uptown Altamonte Arts and Living Expo in Altamonte Springs, Fla., the La Piazza Dell Arte in Denver, Colo., and the Haines City Main Street, Street Painting Festival in Haines City, Fla. Most recently, Schultz, along with Zoey Carr, her 21-year-old daughter and accomplished artist, completed a series of murals at the Firefly Music Festival, the East Coast’s Premiere Music Festival, in Dover, Del. These murals were auctioned off to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital.

With paintings taking days to complete, and events located overseas, one might assume that Schultz devotes her time wholeheartedly to the street painter’s life. Instead, she has worked hard to balance her work life with her personal life, and the demands afforded to her via street painting. Using her vacation time to travel to different events and to work alongside her favorite artist, her daughter Zoey, Schultz has built a solid career, strong mother-daughter relationship, and an incessantly growing credibility as one of the most talented U.S. street painters.

GALO: Street painting is a less traditional form of art than others. What made you first realize your passion for street painting and creating murals?

Carolyn Schultz: Well, there are two main things here. Street paintings are large; I had never done anything that big before. Street paintings are at minimum 4 x 6 feet, sometimes 8 x 10 or 10 x 20 feet, and it’s so much fun handling the challenge of larger than life replications. The other reason was the performance aspect of street painting. You meet and speak with so many different people about your work and the whole history of street painting.

GALO: Street painting, while sharing some similarities, is much more widely accepted than graffiti. In what ways do you see these two forms of art crossing paths? What element of street painting do you think makes it a more popular form of street art?

CS: They are really very different, but with some similar components. Graffiti is traditionally done without permission in public places and can evoke some pretty strong reactions. Graffiti artists can do some pretty amazing things quickly, on the fly and in the dark. [Both] street painting and graffiti often make a statement, political or social. However, street painting is a planned event, done with permission, and it welcomes the public to see it and participate in its creation.

GALO: You spend hours working on your street paintings. For those that are done using chalk as a medium, rain can destroy them in a matter of minutes. Is it difficult having to part with pieces knowing that they aren’t permanent?

CS: It can be. It’s easier now with years under my belt, but I’ve shed some tears in the past. It’s part of the whole experience. Short street painting takes at least one day or eight hours, but usually it takes two days, sometimes even three or four. I always take a lot of pictures to hold onto [the paintings].

GALO: Looking through your portfolio, there is one thing that jumps out at me right away and that’s the depth and the dimension present in many of your pieces. Some of your street paintings literally look as if they are 3D objects. How do you utilize color and shading to create such realistic images?

CS: I’m working toward doing true, 3D paintings right now, but with most of the pieces that I’ve been doing, I have really been staying true to the photograph — what you see rather than what you think it should look like. You can really create depth by realizing the value of the colors and shapes that exist in a photo. If the picture was taken at an odd angle, my painting Crabby Jim is an example, it really makes the image stick out and pop. You can utilize the angles to give them more depth too. True 3D pieces are done by playing with the mathematics of perspective, to trick your eye, and I’ve played with that some but haven’t fully gotten it yet. I just recently was offered an excellent opportunity working with Kurt Wenner, he’s the father of 3D street painting and pavement art. I am ecstatic. I’ll be working with Kurt in Sarasota on one of these pieces at the Sarasota Chalk Festival, it should be a great learning experience working with him.

GALO: You’ve mentioned that street painting is a performance art. How important is it to interact with observers, letting them share in the experience? And do you find that you are able to provide meaningful feedback to aspiring artists through your work?

CS: It’s huge. A handful of us got invited to the 2010 Super Bowl to do murals in the VIP area for certain attendees, the band and the different staff working [that day]. Then, last minute, they had us come prior [to the event] for security reasons. Unfortunately, we were gone before the public came in, but they really missed the boat on this [one], because the piece looked great [and] was only replicated [as a] photo, since they missed seeing the actual art take place. Many of the people that you meet at the festivals aren’t the type that you’re going to see in a museum, so you’re introducing them to the art and the actual process of it being created, and they get inspired from seeing it all firsthand. It’s a great feeling.

GALO: Street painting is also an effective way to draw attention to a notable cause, such as seen at the Firefly Music Festival, at which the proceeds went to St. Jude’s hospital — what have been some of the more moving causes that you’ve worked on? Do you find that your art, and the collaboration of street painters, can have an impact on making a difference on the lives of others?

CS: St. Jude’s at Firefly was the best. We raised almost $3,000 for four pieces that we did and that we auctioned off for the benefit of St. Jude’s. One time, in Tampa, I participated in an ocean themed event. I got to choose the piece I did and I chose an lionfish because it’s an invasive species and many people don’t realize this. Even though it wasn’t part of the Safety Harbor event, I put a card up telling people not to release these aquarium fish into the Atlantic, since they’re from the Pacific and they can’t compete with the native sea life of the Atlantic. Also, some events will get corporations to sponsor a street painter in exchange for advertising their name at the festival. The money from the sponsor then goes to a charitable organization or cause. ArtHaus is one of those causes that come to mind, they are known for helping disadvantaged children through art, and use street painting as a fundraising event each year.

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