In Short: you don’t know what you think you know.

This was an article in progress when it posted and announced a follow up article on June 12. Unfortunately some unexpected health issues prevented me from finishing. I had already set the post to automatically update ahead of time, so, if it confused anyone, my deepest apology. I will be returning to life soon. Meanwhile, thank you for your patience.
All those people that look like they are avoiding the hole in the ground created by a chalk artist aren’t really scared of falling… They are acting. I know, because I have created these all over the USA and the world. 

The term 3D chalk art or sidewalk chalk is often thrown around for any art displayed on the ground with any level of technique used to create the illusion of depth. Some are cool, some look pretty real… And some are completely awe-inspiring. Often labeled incorrectly as chalk, many are tempera paintings and some are completely phony. 

Let me explain the “phony”: I do not mean they aren’t awesome looking or talentless… Simply put: the photo is not taken directly of a chalk artists real work in its real environment, or it’s not chalk at all.

I use an artists grade chalk you cannot buy in any store at this point. I also use soft and hard pastels, sidewalk chalk, and yes, chalkboard chalk. If I must overcome some strange surface in a public street (drawing over a manhole cover etc) I will implement the use of tempera paint or other technique before using chalk. 

People see it on the internet and have no real way of knowing who the artist is or how it was done. Let me point to some of my favorite mis conceptions online: (the sticker, the photoshop, the acting, the angles, the paint/chalk.)

This was an article in progress when it posted and announced a follow up article on June 12. Unfortunately some unexpected health issues prevented me from finishing. I had already set the post to automatically update ahead of time, so, if it confused anyone, my deepest apology. I will be returning to life soon. Meanwhile, thank you for your patience.