Artists participate in Paint Out in the Park Aug. 3 during Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.
Artist Thy Hoang, 20, of Sterling Heights, creates an acrylic painting Aug. 3 during Paint Out in the Park at Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Fifty-four artists from southeast Michigan added color to the city’s annual Homecoming Festival during the Paint Out in the Park event at the top of the hill at Ford Field.
The event, Aug. 2 to 4, coordinated by local artists Sunshine Durant and Sasha Corder, a mother-daughter team, dealt with rain the first day, but were enjoying sunshine the second day of the three-day festival.
Corder said Paint Out in the Park started in Wyandotte for a few years before they switched to Dearborn. It has run for six years, with a one-year interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Durant said many of the artists return after their first year because they enjoy being part of the artistic community that the event creates.
“They found a sense of family in this,” she said. “They spend three days hanging out and engaging with the public and educating people about art.”
Artists participate in Paint Out in the Park Aug. 3 during Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.
Durant said many of the younger artists were also excited to learn of the free concert with The All-American Rejects the second night of Homecoming.
Corder said she enjoys watching the artists put in the work on their canvases to create their works of art.
One of the artists, first-time participant Thy Hoang, 20, of Sterling Heights, said her middle school art teacher, who was also one of the participants, mentioned the event to her and encouraged her to attend.
Although she was at first hesitant, she said she is trying to move outside of her comfort zone.
“I made a vow to myself at the beginning of the year to say yes to everything,” Hoang said. “And so, I sent in an application – there’s no way they’re going to pick me, and I’m not doing this — and I got a ‘yes’ that I’m going to be in here, and I went ‘oh, no.’”
She usually paints in oils, but was using acrylic paint for Paint Out in the Park, feeling it was more suitable for the mood and the message she was trying to convey on her canvas.
Artists participate in Paint Out in the Park Aug. 3 during Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.
Another artist, Megan Lui, 35, of Berkley, a mixed media painter participating for a second year, was creating a collage with origami paper, layering them in different patterns, which she followed up with modeling paste imprinted with a pattern to create texture.
“I love being able to connect with other artists, because whittling away in my studio can feel rather isolated,” she said. “We’re in this together, and its’s a very communal environment and it brings people and introduces them to art that they might not normally see. It’s just a fun event.”
Artist Robin Trevino, 46, of Dearborn, was using acrylic and spray paint as well as markers on her canvas, along with some paper maps.
She said she grew up in Dearborn, used to play at the Ford Field playground next where Paint Out in the Park was taking place, and was pleased to be able to give something back to her community.
Trevino explained where her work-n-progress was headed.
“I love pictures of cityscapes where there’s a car driving and then rain, where there are headlights shining down, so tomorrow you’ll see that part,” she said.
Trevino said she enjoys being part of a community of artists during Paint Out in the Park.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve met so many lifelong friends through this.”
Artist Megan Lui, 35, of Berkley, creates a mixed-media piece Aug. 3 during Paint Out in the Park at Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.
Robin Trevino (left), 46, of Dearborn, creates a mixed-media piece Aug. 3 during Paint Out in the Park at Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.
Kyle Kitchen, 28, of Taylor, creates a spray paint and marker piece Aug. 3 during Paint Out in the Park at Dearborn Homecoming at Ford Field.