David Garibaldi is a successful performing artist who combines his passion for painting, dance and music in truly inspiring performances. Holding a paintbrush in each of his hands, he strokes the canvas as he dances to modern tunes, creating incredibly detailed portraits of pop icons.
Born in Los Angeles to entrepreneur parents, David Garibaldi moved to Sacramento when he was just four years old, for his dad’s business. Ever since he was very little, David had a strong sense of creativity, and although they didn’t share his passion for the arts, his family always encouraged him. He started by drawing cartoon characters, then moved on to encyclopedias, comic books and anything else kids his age were into back then. Then, during middle school, he started getting into hip-hop, so his friends suggested he use his artistic talents to do graffiti. It helped him develop his own style and explore all kinds of new design elements, but all those late nights he spent leaving his artistic mark on the walls and trains of Scaramento really affected his education. By the time he realized he was neglecting school, it was too late, and he couldn’t graduate with the rest of his class. It’s one of his biggest regrets, but also one of the things that motivated him to become the great artist he is today.
Right after high-school, David moved out and started working at video stores, Abercromie & Fitch, and just about anywhere else he would get hired, in order to make ends meet. It was during this period that he discovered his love for dancing. He would spend his days working and practice dance moves during the night. It helped him physically express himself even better and ended up defining his style of painting. “The figures I would draw at the time would look like how I was moving on stage as I was dancing,” he once said in an interview. “The faces they were making expressed the feelings that I felt while I was dancing. So, the whole period of dance really helped me define who I was.” So now he was drawing, dancing and had a passion for music. But what he didn’t have was a plan. It was only after he got fired from his job as a phone banker, and got his car repossessed that he decided to try and make a living with his art. David decided to teach himself how to turn his drawings into paintings. He then discovered the performance art of Denny Dent, and although he has never actually met the legendary performance artist, Garbaldi admits his works greatly influenced his career.
After mastering the art of painting, he decided to give it his own personal twist, by combining his three great passions into one amazing performance. Although he has been practicing his art for the last 9 years, David Garibaldi had the chance to show the world just how talented he really is on America’s Got Talent, where he wowed audiences with his explosive painting style. With the help of four “minions”, called the CMYKs (like the 4 color printing process), David used his brushes and fingers to add paint strokes to a canvas in order to create colored portraits of icons like Mick Jagger or Albert Einstein, while dancing and communicating with the audience. What made his speed painting performances so special was the fact that no one really knew what he was painting until the very last moment. It wasn’t just America who discovered his immense talent, but the whole world, and these days he and his CMYKs are entertaining audiences all around the globe.
“I create images in an entertaining way and my hope is to inspire the audience to use their passion to benefit and inspire others,” Garibaldi says. “That is music and color. That is rhythm and hue.” At the young age of 29, David Garibaldi is an established artist, who, among other achievements, managed to raise over $1,000,000 for nonprofits and charities across the country through his art. The photos of his paintings just don’t do him justice, so make sure you watch some of the videos I posted, as that’s where the magic happens.
Photos @ David Garibaldi
