Paint n’ Roll: David Garibaldi brings unique painting talent to Northwest

As a modest crowd of no more than 75 people entered the Ron Houston Performing Arts Center to a throbbing stereo playing "What's My Name" by Rihanna, they knew they weren't in for a typical show that usually graced the auditorium's presence. They did not know they would soon have the energy of a crowd ten times their size by what they were about to see. 

The lights went down and a deep voice instructed them to look at the canvas on stage.  No more than 10 minutes later, a portrait of Lil' Wayne would be on stage.  This is the fast-paced and explosively creative world of David Garibaldi.

Garibaldi is a 28-year old artist born in Los Angeles who then relocated to Sacramento, who always knew he had a talent in art, but in his early days, he dedicated his talents to the illegal act of graffiti.

"I just wanted to create," Garibaldi told the audience, still in awe of what he had just done. "And one day I thought, ‘what am I doing with this gift of creativity that I didn't ask for?'"

When Garibaldi reached high school, he started to turn his attention away from the streets and relocated his art to the classroom, but by then the damage had been done.  He would find out his senior year that he did not have enough credits to graduate due to his time spent on the streets.

In 2003, Garibaldi found himself in his friend's living room staring at a painting of Jimi Hendrix.  He was in awe.  From a distance it was clearly Hendrix, but as he looked closer, Garibaldi saw tons of little splash marks on the canvas, like they were wildly put together.  The artist was a man named Danny Dent, who became Garibaldi's biggest inspiration for his work.

Since then, Garibaldi has developed a show called "Rhythm and Hue" where he frantically and creatively paints a portrait to the rhythm of music.  This was on full display when Garibaldi did his portrait of Lil' Wayne to the popular song, "Lollipop" and then a wild 60's-inspired portrait of Jimi Hendrix to "All Along the Watchtower" and "Fire."

"I lose about eight billion calories up here," Garibaldi joked after finishing his Hendrix portrait. "I weighed about 250 pounds, now I weigh about 180 to 190."

Indeed the energy that Garibaldi puts into his show is a sight to see. He throws paint in seemingly random places on the canvas while dancing, which then creates distinct works of art. Garibaldi doesn't use his talents just to show off. He wants to inspire others to find what they love to do and to show it to the world.

"What if we didn't just entertain, but benefit and inspire?" Garibaldi asked the audience.

This energetic artist has used his talents to raise money for non-profit organizations. He has raised $700,000 and hopes to reach $1 million by the time he's 30.

Garibaldi would then not only used his words to describe how he inspires people, but also his paintings, as he created a portrait of President Obama and then to close out the show, an upside-down portrait of Albert Einstein, which led many in the crowd to hoot and holler, and others to let their jaws drop.  He left the audience with some final words of inspiration and instruction to create in their own unique ways.

"You guys are honorary artists from now on," Garibaldi said. "I want you to go and create your own portraits."