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Joe Mahley works on "The Girl with a Pearl Earring." The design took the fan favorite award at the 2014 Sweet Chalk Festival. (ENP STAFF PHOTO)

Despite having to start from scratch this morning, Lockport artist Joe Mahley earned the title of Sweet Chalk Festival fan favorite for the second straight year.

Mahley, a computer analyst by day, recreated the Johannes Vermeer masterpiece, "The Girl with a Pearl Earring." Or rather, he recreated a recreation of it. Saturday, he had worked from the original. But with a fresh start today — after vandals damaged his work overnight — he decided to chalk up a photograph he had taken in February of Rachel Winter posing as the original painting.

"I took a chance to start over because re-gridding would have been a pain in the butt," Mahley said after learning he had won the award.

Mahley said he was actually glad to have a chance to start over because he wasn't happy with his work Saturday. "I noticed yesterday I didn't have as much detail as I would have liked."

For a while, Mahley had Winter pose in costume as he worked this morning and early afternoon. Then he switched to the photo he had taken in February as part of a project the Port Photography Club was working on at the time. Among other things, Mahley leads the club which meets every Tuesday at Sweet Rides, 51 Canal St.

Mahley's art includes photography, sketching, and painting. And occasionally chalk drawing.

"It's way more difficult working in chalk," he said.

Ryan Chapman won the student division of the Sweet Chalk Festival awards.

There's more Sweet Chalk Festival photos here.

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