Driving through Palm Springs at 5:20 am on Saturday morning I'm wide awake, excited about making it to Paint Phoenix 2015 in Arizona. I found out about this event via Instagram through some desert friends I made here in Los Angeles. Sent a few direct messages and made some phones calls to get more details, and suddenly I was making plans for a two day road trip.
The outdoor art festival ran from March 5th-8th, and invited artist from Hong Kong, Hawaii, Texas, Los Angeles and Arizona to paint murals in the Valley of the Sun. Paint Phoenix was put together by local artist Breeze One and with help from the folks in the arts community, they were able talk with business owners and set up mural locations for artists to paint.
I arrived in Phoenix around noon and made my first stop to the Roosevelt Row Arts District, a two block area of restaurants, galleries and murals. The aerosol in the air and marbles rattling let me know that Paint Phoenix was in full swing. Reaching for my phone and I called my photographer friend Niba DelCastillo, an Arizonan who has this city on lock. Everyone in the arts community knows him and I had the distinct pleasure of getting the grand tour from Niba.
The day culminated with a the "5th Street BlockParty" which featured live music by local bands. A lowrider show and live art battle was also taking place during this event. My first whole day in Phoenix was coming to an end and it was great a experience. So I headed back to the motel and rest up for Sunday, which was sure to be another big day of exploring Phoenix.
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