Local artists transformed gray sidewalk slabs into colorful works of art on Saturday, August 17, as this year’s Chalk-Full-O-Fun chalk festival took over Onset.
Chalk boxes were scattered along the sidewalks as artists made their drawings, using brushes and spray bottles filled with water for the finer details.
The Freman siblings brought imaginative scenes with them.
“It’s like an airship, a kind of airship with butterfly elements,” said Ben Freeman of his creation.
Ben said he first sketched out the entire scene, including the people looking up at the airship from the bottom of the frame, and began filling in the scene with the blue sky in the background.
Sophia Freman said she decided to draw a character from a friend’s game.
This figure was the subject of a prophecy, so the artwork, made of black and red chalk, was meant to depict the figure like a prophetic mural, she said.
Sophia used a brush to create some of the swirl effects in her work, using the dust left over from a first pass with chalk pencil to create a smoother effect.
Fourteen-year-old Presley Dexter used paper and gloves to smooth out a swirling, star-shaped horse, giving it a lifelike, smooth shine.
“It’s a Pegasus and a unicorn,” Dexter explained, adding that it carries the moon in its horns and the galaxy in its mane.
Another artist, Kat, used central perspective to make it look like a pig is swimming in a pool in a hole in the concrete.
Kat said she was inspired by the work of David Zine, who uses similar techniques in his chalk art.
This year’s Chalk Festival was the tenth since its launch in 2014 – and it will be the last under the patronage of organisers Milly and John Burrows.
Milly said when she started the festival, she planned to help for 10 years before stepping down and passing the torch.
Tammie Glass, the festival’s next torchbearer, said they made room for more vendors this year.
“It’s going great,” she said. “People are smiling and happy – it’s better than Christmas here.”
