The Verona Arts coalition is holding its first chalk art festival in the center of town this weekend, and one of the featured artists will be Madelyn Boyle, who graduated Verona High School with the class of 2014.
Boyle graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a major in illustration in 2018, and now works for a healthcare public relations agency, doing illustrations for materials on disease awareness. She also has joined Verona Arts, a group that she says she wishes had been around when she was in high school.
“It is great to have people from all different arts experiences getting together,” Boyle says. “I think it is nice that they are creating this community and putting emphasis on the arts.”
Boyle took a variety of art classes while she was at VHS, including digital art, a skill that she often uses in her job. She says that while most of her work now starts as a hand drawing, it then moves onto a computer. “I’m also getting more into animations, which is something that I didn’t know I’d be doing,” Boyle says. “I’m still actively trying to learn new things.”
Verona Arts has showcased several pieces from Boyle’s college portfolio in its promotions of Chalk Fest, including an assignment to re-design the cover of one of her favorite books, The Sun Also Rises. “I loved that story but I wanted to play around with the tone,” she says. “It’s about yearning but not being able to grasp.”
On Saturday, Boyle will be grasping a lot of chalk to render her art for the festival, which she says will be a tribute to women who have inspired her. Chalk Fest will be held in the loop in front of Town Hall and H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Boyle’s spot will be near the flags in front of HBW. People will be able to view all the art for free, simply by walking around.
