Even though I have played with big fat chalk on a sidewalk with my kids when they were young, I have never attempted ‘actual’ pavement art. I decided this was the thing to try today for my ‘Something Different’. So, I found some coloured chalk – even though all pastel colours – and a piece of charcoal (from my husbands’ art case). I then went outside and got to the task.
It was a nippy Autumn morning! The sun was shining but I could certainly feel winter approaching. My short sleeves have become longer, and I am finding my neck wrapped in a scarf most days now. It was a beautiful day of changing season non the less, and a perfect day to do something outdoors.
I got my inspiration from artists showcasing their talent on the Internet. And what talent is out there! Wow! I am in awe at what these artists can achieve with chalk and charcoal… especially their 3D pictures. I know I will never be as good as they are, but I wanted a challenge and it looked like a fun art medium to try.
I drew three pictures. My first attempt was a large drop of water, trying to get it to look 3 dimensional. The result was not bad for a first attempt but certainly not excellent. The second picture I drew was of a large crack in the flagstone with an alien popping out – as if the alien were arriving on earth through a crack in the ground, feeling somewhat apprehensive. This one was a lot of fun to draw. My third picture was of a little mouse watering plants through her window (or arch), from inside her home. This one was challenging and took me the longest to do – and I would have liked to have had more intensely coloured chalk, but hey it was fun to draw, and the result was sweet – nowhere near professional artist standard – but sweet.
I found this exercise fun and quietening. It was almost like a meditation sitting outside my house alone, drawing with chalk. Once done I felt calm and peacefully uplifted (if that’s a thing). I would highly recommend that everyone tries their hand at this, even if its just drawing stick figures in chalk and charcoal on the ground. I must admit here though that I wore my yoga kneepads. I am no longer able to kneel on the ground for a long period of time without padding on my knees!
So, there you go – a successful ‘something different’ for today. I think I will rally up my whole family soon to share a pavement art moment together. I reckon that will be fun!