This year, Pintar Rapido will take place across London on July 29th and 30th, a celebration of painting which aims to get artists at all levels of experience to capture the spirit of their city across one day, with every piece produced at the festival then going on public display at Chelsea Old Town Hall.  

 Roger Beckett, the founder of Pintar Rapido, agreed to give us a short interview detailing the aims behind the project, and to expain how we can all get involved.

Roger Beckett

Hi Roger!  Can you give us a brief history of the Pintar Rapido festival and talk about your aims in launching it?

The aims of Pintar Rapido are to encourage a greater appreciation of our urban environment by celebrating its people, places and spaces through art; to donate to charities which encourage the use of creative skills as tools for individual and social development - and generally to encourage more people to paint, draw sketch and be more creative.

The promotion of visual literacy is one of the main goals of The Big Draw - we believe that it not only underpins important ways of working but also ways of thinking.  What does visual literacy mean to you at Pintar Rapido?

It's extremely important.  Making a mark on a surface to communicate feelings, ideas or even simple things like directions on the street is very important.  As stated above, one of Pintar Rapido's aims is to encourage more people to paint, draw, sketch and be more creative.  When the public see artists out on the street they are often thrilled and encouraged to have a go themselves.

You've stated on your website that your aims for Pintar Rapido are to give artists an opportunity to capture the spirit of the city they live in.  Do you feel this is something that painting and drawing is better suited to than photography in our digital age?

I don't want to belittle photography as it is extremely accessible to many people via smartphones but in my view drawing and painting allow us to express our view of the subject and engage many more skills and a greater thought process than simply taking a picture.  I am always surprised and delighted with how many artists at Pintar Rapido events can create such diverse images of the same subject, for instance Albert Bridge. It just goes to show how people view things differently, and a photo can't always demonstrate that.

What is it about drawing and painting in cities and urban environments that fires your imagination?

Urban spaces are so important.  They are where most of us live, work and play.  They show architectural, ethnic and social diversity.  Don't get me wrong - I love the countryside, but cities are where my heart is.

The exhibition that takes place as the second part of the weekend is a huge undertaking, requiring collection and display of a huge amount of artworks in lightning quick time! What are some of the challenges you've faced with this part of the festival?

After four years I have very good systems in place to make it all work as well as possible. However, Pintar Rapido relies on enthusiastic volunteers to help run this exciting weekend. Without our volunteers we could not make the event happen or raise money to donate to charity.  

Being a volunteer is fun and counts as meaningful experience if featured on your CV.  If any of your audience wants to volunteer, they can do so by going here and signing up.  It's great fun!

Roger, thank you very much for the interview!

Pintar Rapido London takes place this year on July 29th and 30th.  For more information visit www.pintarrapido.com