Sidewalk Chalk and Water Drawing

This water and sidewalk chalk drawing brings a new level of vibrancy and color blending to plain old sidewalk chalk!

Supplies for your chalk and water drawing…

You know that dirty bucket of sidewalk chalk that’s stashed in the corner of your garage? Grab it- no matter how small the pieces are or how dirty and dull the colors look. I promise, a little water will add new life!

Fill an old container or two with water. It gets dirty quick so it will be helpful to have a hose or a pitcher of fresh water handy.

That’s it. Grab your supplies and head outside to find some cement.

Drawing with wet chalk…

Dip the chalk into water then head directly to the cement and start drawing. That’s the whole trick. The water softens the chalk and allows so much more pigment to lay down on the cement. The colors are super bright- no comparison to how they look when applied dry.

The longer the chalk is left in the water the softer it gets. If you want to save this chalk and use it in standard fashion later I’d suggest sticking to dipping in water and drawing. If you’re not worried about conserving the chalk then try leaving the chalk in the water for longer and smush-ing and pushing it around on the cement. Use fingers, rocks, twigs, or even a craft stick to move the color.

Add paintbrushes to your chalk and water drawings…

If you have an old paintbrush or two now is a great time to introduce them. Because the chalk was wet when it touched the ground there is lots of pigment there. If the chalk is still wet use the paintbrush to move the color around and blend it even more. If the chalk has dried dip a paintbrush into the water and then touch the chalk drawing. The colors will blend and move- just like paint!

Because of the rough texture of the cement this kind of painting can be hard on paintbrushes. I recommend using older brushes that have already seen a lot of love.