Get creative with chalk! Inspirational ideas for artists of all ages
When it comes to childhood memories, there is nothing more heartwarming than the memory of a warm sunny summer day, passing the time playing with neighborhood friends by drawing on the sidewalk or driveway with colored chalk. There is no doubt about it, kids love chalk.
Today, chalk comes in a vast variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and textures. Besides that, chalk has gained notoriety as reputable form of art, after contemporary artists including Edgar Mueller, Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner brought fame and media publicity to their own extraordinary chalk projects and three-dimensional street drawings.
Street murals, urban chalk graffiti, street chalk art contests and other events incorporating chalk projects have gained international popularity as major art happenings. These events are wonderful because they produce major public art projects and stimulate community collaboration. Furthermore, these outdoor events often involve large scale drawing, which is serves as healthy exercise for the whole body.
However, you don’t have to be a famous artist to play with chalk. There are chalk projects for people of all ages and abilities. Whether you are seeking inspiration for playful sidewalk doodling, large scale murals, or educational chalk projects and artistic activities for children, here are some helpful ideas.
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Wet Chalk Artwork:
Try dipping chalk into wet paint, ideally, white tempera paint, then drawing with it to create richly colored works of art that wont smudge like regular chalk. This is because tempera paint will seal the chalk. Dipping chalk in white Elmer’s glue will also work to seal the chalk and produce a similar result. Drawing on dark colored paper will help the colors to stand out more brightly. When you use the wet chalk to draw, the chalk colors on your paper will also have an outline of white paint. The possibilities for unique and unusual wet chalk projects are endless!
Contour Line Drawing or Continuous Line Drawing:
The continuous line drawing is a classic artistic exercise, in which the artist draws the shape, outline or details of a subject, using one continuous line, without lifting the drawing instrument off of the paper. A continuous line drawing is a flowing exploration of a subject. As chalk projects, continuous line drawings are best done using white chalk on dark colored or black paper, as this heightens the contrast of the line.
Outdoor Chalk Murals:
Encourage children to express their artistic creativity outside in the fresh air! Turn your sidewalk or driveway into a jungle scene with plants, flowers, animals, and birds…or, an ocean scene with sharks, whales, dolphins and mermaids. The terrific thing about chalk is that it washes off so easily with just water. Drawing on doors, walkways, patios, and even roadways is safe and not permanent. Drawing on tree trunks, rocks, or other natural objects can also be an educational experience for children, teaching them about texture and surfaces.
Full Body Outline:
This simple chalk project is something that children of all ages will enjoy. Instruct the child to lie down flat on a driveway or sidewalk, and trace the outline of the child’s body with chalk. Then, encourage the children to decorate the body with hair, clothing, accessories, facial features, etc. Or, draw scenery or a particular setting around the body.
Resources:
Video: Chalk Artist Goes 3-D
Chalk Art Festival