During the COVID 19 quarantine, chalk art drawings popped up everywhere spreading messages of hope and inspiration. But, one thing we learned was how much fun we have drawing on our sidewalks and driveways. This giant outdoor chalkboard sparks creativity, fun, and a fabulous mess. KCFM wanted to give five tips on how to make the most of this amazing medium.

Grab Supplies

Chalk art can be as simple as a clean sidewalk and a piece of chalk, or it can be as fancy as an artists’ palette of pastel chalk and items for special effects. It’s up to you. For the average artist, all you need is piece of cardboard, chalk, water, paint brush, foam piece for blending, baby wipes, and, don’t forget the sunscreen.

Plan Ahead

You can decide if you want to doodle freely or make a masterpiece with chalk. Doodling random art pieces requires little preparation where your heart does the chalking. If you want to create a more advanced piece of art, you can plan ahead. Find a photo reference of what you want to draw. Using a grid system to size the drawing from the art to the size of your sidewalk square helps visualize the painting in 1-inch squares. To make a grid, you can use a website like www.sporkforge.com or buy transparent grid over sheets. Next choose what supplies you need to make your desired painting come to life.

Hit the Sidewalk

When deciding where to make your creation, find a clean surface that is not too rough or slanted. Clean off all the dust and rocks before you start. Use the piece of cardboard for your knees and make sure to apply sunscreen, especially to the back of your neck and hands. Make sure to stand up, stretch often, and take breaks for your back.

Fix it for Longevity

Once you’ve created your masterpiece and you want it to last longer to show off to neighbors, family, and friends, you can spray cheap hairspray on it to “fix” it for longevity. Hairspray like Aqua Net wasn’t just good for those ‘80s bangs, but can also help your chalk piece stay bright and beautiful for longer. Just spray a top coat over the art from a standing position because you don’t want to spray it too close or it might mess up the design.

Use Water for Effects

For those who want to make their art stand out even more, you can use water to make different effects. There are three ways to use water to make the chalk look differently. First, you can dip a brush in water and paint the water over your art to make it have more of a watercolor effect. Secondly, you can dip your chalk in water for ten seconds to make the chalk “melt” onto the sidewalk for more vibrant and fun designs. And, thirdly, you can also wet your sidewalk before drawing which also makes the chalk go on more dramatically. But, whatever you do, do not dump water over your designs, because that will wash it away.

Where to Buy Chalk

Probably the easiest and best place to buy sidewalk chalk is Amazon. They have a huge selection and most are prime and free shipping. Our favorite is the Joyin 120 Pack Non-toxic Jumbo Washable sidewalk chalk set.