KINGMAN – The city could always use more color, be it paint, neon lights and even chalk.
That’s exactly what local artist Luis Tellez spent a good portion of Friday morning and afternoon doing – chalking an assortment of circles, swirls and other abstract designs along the sidewalks around the Kingman Center for the Arts Gallery & Gift Shop in downtown Kingman.
It was a way to lure in Saturday’s downtown crowd to check out the gallery’s newest exhibition “ABSTRACTIONS”, a collection of art exploring an array of abstraction in contemporary art.
Tellez is among more than 30 artists who have displays at the Art Hub for the next few weeks.
The Southern California native has been living in Kingman for six years and expanding his art resume while looking for computer network administration jobs here and elsewhere.
The chalk art was just a side project while his main gig is acrylic on canvas, mainly painting abstract lines. Tellez has been at it since childhood.
“I used to doodle a lot through school,” he said. “Instead of paying attention, I drew lines.”
Now 40, Tellez has taken what might seem a simple concept and honed it into a more abstract art form.
“I came up with a concept of directing the flow and didn’t realize how much I could direct it until recently,” he said.
Tellez wanted to explore the concept with acrylic on canvas.
“I noticed it’s infinite,” he said. “I could paint the same thing 40 times and it still won’t look the same.”
The sidewalk art is also just another way for Tellez to express his talent. He went through more than 70 pieces of chalk that day.
Tellez doesn’t focus on chalk – or color. Friday’s adventure was the third time in a few months he’s played around with the medium.
He’s been volunteering at the gallery for the last few weeks and decided to start chalking freestyle abstract on the sidewalks.
“Most of my art is in black and white,” he said. “I decided to try random colors and see what happens.”
Apparently, those few hours crawling on hands and knees paid off.
“It came out really nice,” said Tellez. “It got a lot of attention, and everybody liked it.”
The idea is to inspire people to create their own art.
“They see it and realize they’re capable of doing it,” he said. “All they have to do is try.”
Tellez plans to push his art as hard as he can. He’s entered three paintings at the gallery, has entered online competitions and hopes to get recognition at Las Vegas galleries.
The ‘ABSTRACTIONS’ exhibition began on February 17 and runs through April 4.
Go to https://www.facebook.com/kingmanarthub for details on the gallery, artists and activities.
Visit www.kingmanarts.org for information on all Kingman Center for the Arts activities, including submissions to the gallery.
Aaron Ricca
