GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Over the past couple weeks, downtown Grand Rapids has been full of people and art. But Sunday, ArtPrize came to an end.

Although it was the last day, the streets were filled with spectators, like Zachary Palmieri, an artist from Howell. 

“Quite a few of the exhibits are gone, a lot of the venues are closed, a lot of the vendors have moved on, but still a lot to see,” Palmieri said. “It’s great that people are enjoying it all the way from start to finish.”

Palmieri attends ArtPrize every year and he enjoys being inspired by other artists. 

“All the pieces out here are always extremely inspiring,” Palmieri said.

One artist group that he likes is called Studio 6d6. The artists create spray paint art pieces right in front of live audiences on the street. One of those artists is Patty Owen, or “Froggy,” from Wisconsin. She has been to ArtPrize before, but this was her first year without her instructor.

“You walk through museums and you never get to see the person that painted it, so getting to do that is really special,” Owen said.

She has been creating this kind of art for a year and a half, but her skills were already impressive to some spectators.

“Getting to see everybody’s smiles and how excited they are when they see the paintings, how they don’t believe that it’s spray paint. So it’s cool to show them what you can do with spray paint and really anything around you,” Owen said. 

Although the winner of the grand prize has already been announced, for some the prize is not what makes ArtPrize great.

“All art really is, is people trying to address an issue and this is the medium they choose, whether it’s metal, whether it’s a type of sculpture, ceramics, painting, any of that,” Palmieri said.

Owen said she hopes to come back to ArtPrize next year and Palmieri is planning on entering his own artwork for next year’s competition.