David Garibaldi’s performances resemble a rock concert more than a painting session.

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE) booked Garibaldi as the keynote speaker for the “Be-U-nique” Leadership Conference.

The conference, hosted in the SURC Ballroom, is focused on teaching students how their uniqueness can help them become better leaders.

“He has his canvas up, and while he paints, it is kind of this choreographed dance,” Tabitha Hardy, student programmer at the CLCE said. “While he moves around, he jumps up and makes swipes on the canvas with paint.”

According to Hardy, Garibaldi is a great representation for the conference theme.

Garibaldi, a high school dropout, grew up in Los Angeles, a part of his past that he feels shaped who he is today.

“It was so instrumental in [who] I became,” Garibaldi said. “I went to an amazing high school that had an art program and it changed me.”

Garibaldi started out with graffiti and a small amount of painting, but truly found inspiration after he saw the work of Denny Dent, another famed performance artist.

“A friend of mine owned a couple of his paintings and he was like ‘have you heard of this Denny Dent?’” Garibaldi said.

Garibaldi felt inspired by Dent’s process and his style helped Garibaldi shape his own.

Dent is notable for painting with multiple brushes in each hand while loud rock and roll plays in the background, dancing with his painting movements.

“Early on, he definitely inspired the base of the techniques,” Garibaldi said.

Similar to Dent, Garibaldi paints with both of his hands, a feature that is not common among painters.

Often during a performance, Garibaldi will forgo the brushes and paint with his hands.

“If I could use my hands all of the time, I would, but there is just certain things that certain brushes can achieve that I can’t with my hands,” Garibaldi said.

Garibaldi breaks the painter’s mold by using black canvas instead of white.

“The style that I paint is that I am basically filling in the negative space,” Garibaldi said. “Normally when you have a white canvas you are just doing the shadows and adding the shadows, for me – I leave the shadows behind.”

Garibaldi also feels that the black canvas adds another dimension to his paintings.

“I love how the black stands out so much in the portraits and the face,” Garibaldi said.

Garibaldi’s work primarily focuses on famous and inspirational people.

“Painting Einstein or Mickey Mouse, or even Steve Jobs; people who are iconic around the world to many different cultures and many different economic backgrounds,” Garibaldi said.

Garibaldi said he tries to study who they are and what they are known for, trying to bring those elements to life.

According to Garibaldi, a lot of preparation is involved before some performances.

Garibaldi said his goal for performances is to inspire people.

“It is more than just art; I want it to be inspirational as well,” Garibaldi said. “I want to inspire people to do whatever it is that inspires them, whether it is art, business, charitable works. I want to inspire people to do all things.”