David Zinn - The Chalk Art Handbook: How to Create Masterpieces on Driveways and Sidewalks and in Playgrounds

Copyright 2021 by David Zinn

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Kai Texel

Cover illustrations credit: David Zinn

ISBN: 978-1-5107-6441-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-6443-9

Printed in China

Thanks to my parents for never leaving the house without scrap paper and a pen, My brother for being the best doodle-battler of all time, Lula June for being the undisputed Queen of the Big Playground, and to my Uncle John for teaching me half of the tricks in this book when I was too young to understand how important they would be.

Contents

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rainbow watermelon dragon - collaboration by Lula June and David Zinn

Introduction

I started drawing at a very early age. So did you. We all drew pictures when we were very young. How do I know this? Because we dont learn how to write our ABCs until long after weve learned how to hold a crayon, and in the meantime we dont have lot of other stuff to do.

I kept drawing as I got older, mostly because I was shy. Instead of talking to people, I made friends by drawing them on a piece of paper. They didnt talk much, but theyve been good company.

I would have drawn my imaginary friend on the sidewalk when I was a kid, but I didnt have one. I grew up on a dirt road between two towns, and chalk doesnt draw on dirt very well. The first time I drew on a sidewalk was many years later, long after I grew up. This means that if youre younger than me (which you almost definitely are), and you keep drawing on sidewalks until youre my age, you will be a much better chalk artist than I am. I look forward to that. I hope you will send me a picture.

Now that I spend so much of my time drawing on sidewalks, I meet a lot of people and talk to them while Im drawing. A lot of people ask questions about what Im doing, how Im doing it, and sometimes why Im doing it. In this book, Ive tried to answer as many of those questions as I can.

One more thing: There are many different ways to draw with chalk on a sidewalk, and Im not going to pretend that I know all of them. In this book I have tried to explain what works best for me, and I hope it will make you curious enough that youll want to try it for yourself. If you figure out a different way to draw with chalk that works better for you, thats great!

So long as youre enjoying making art, Im happy.

(Especially if you send me a picture.)

PART 1:

CHALK AND SIDEWALKS

Why Draw with Chalk?

1. Chalk is easy to get your hands on (and to get on your hands). You might even have some in your house right now! I dont even know where my first box of chalk came from; I think it might have followed me home when I wasnt looking.

2. Chalk is easy to use. It doesnt come with instructions because its so simple to figure out on your own. If you can read this sentence, then you have probably drawn with chalk already.

Unlike fancy art supplies, you dont have to be careful or serious with chalk, and you dont have to wash anything other than your hands afterwards. You dont even have to worry about accidentally breaking chalk, because when chalk breaks, you just end up with twice as many pieces of chalk!

3. Chalk is childish! Have you ever drawn pictures with a baby? They always know exactly what to draw, and they never run out of ideas. Every grown-up artist I know wishes they could still draw as easily as a baby does. Using chalk is a great way to rediscover your own childish talent for making art.

4. Drawing with chalk is a great excuse to be outside on a nice day. Youre not just goofing aroundyoure making art. And art is always better than goofing around when youre looking for an excuse to not do chores.

5. You dont have to worry about whether anyone else likes what you draw. Unless you sign your name, no one will know it was you! This means you can draw whatever makes you happy and let the identity of the artist remain a mystery. (And if a drawing doesnt make you happy, you can accidentally spill some water on it and start over.)

6. On the other hand, anything you draw on the sidewalk is automatically on display for the whole neighborhood to see. Its a great way to cheer up your friends and neighbors! You can start your own art gallery outside or leave mysterious messages underfoot for people to discover.

Best of all, your sidewalk art will inspire other people to make their own sidewalk art, and pretty soon your whole street will be a chalk art-stravaganza!