CHALK ART at the ZOO - Year 2!

Today was the second year I participated in "Wild Saturday", a volunteer event sponsored by Hallmark Cards at the Kansas City Zoo.  Around 400 Hallmarkers and their family members spread tons of mulch, planted trees, shrubs and flowers. And once again, part of the activities involved CHALK ART!!  Last year was the first time I had ever tried doing a large scale chalk illustration. This year, I was asked by the planning team to help lead the artist's project, which I was happy to do.  Thanks to Amy Winterscheidt, for heading up the Planning Team!!

We were all expecting the rains to force us to cancel the event. But enough people prayed, crossed toes and fingers, and did a "no rain dance".  We had some showers in the early morning, but the rains never showed for the event!  (As I am typing this...it's starting to rain outside! At least we got everything done for "Wild Saturday".)

You'll notice the wet pavement...and the young man in the far right upper corner who was blow-drying the squares before the artists arrived.  A huge thanks goes out to Danny Carmichael, Director of Facilities at the zoo, who helped me tape off the 5'x5' squares yesterday.  And also thanks to Crystal Broadus-Waldram, the zoo's Horticulture Manager, for ordering our chalk supplies.

Below is my pre-lim sketch of a Black Rhino, breaking through the pavement.  I combined several photos I found online to get the pose I wanted, and drew up the broken debris flying out from the rhino.  I had also done a variation in black and white on the computer with a grid.  I made a grid on the pavement, and drew the basic line work onto the area with a chalk holder taped to the end of a dowel.  You'll also see my fancy "rolly knee pad" in blue, made from a trash can dolly.

Once I have the sketch done, then I just started filling in the main shapes with an undertone, then I build up the colors on top of that.  Below you can see the progress.

Here is the final version.  This year I simplified my design so that I could complete it in the alloted 3 hours we had to work.  Much better on my back this time around.

A close up of the face of a serious rhino who has places to go and people to see!

Now for some photos of the other artists that were there today.  We had some really fun results this year...a lot more variety.  And it was great to see families team up on the drawings.

I need to also say a huge "Thank You" to Shelly Cook, a fellow Hallmarker, who helped coordinate the chalk supply tables...I couldn't have drawn my rhino without her helping everyone!!  It was a great turnout today, and I think the event was a complete success!

SKETCHBOOK: "Easter Weekend at the ZOO"

Today was a gorgeous afternoon for sketching at the Kansas City Zoo.  So...I did just that.  Here are the results.  Above, the Hippos were taking a nap on dry land for a change (instead of submerged in the pool, with just their nostrils sticking out of the water).

Below is a crocodile with a very thin snout.  It was well hidden in the corner of the enclosure, except for the head, which was sticking over the edge of some rocks.

Next are several studies of four female LIONS.  They kept moving their heads, so it was hard to capture the details of their faces.

Here is a row of 4 "Red River Hogs".  They all got up and walked away, just as I was finishing the sketch.

The last image is of an archway of trees and branches that leads into the KENYA area of the zoo.  There is an African hut directly ahead as you go inside.  The tight growth of brushy trees made a fence around area (much like in the bush, to keep lions out).  A Bird Aviary is off to the right, just out of the picture.

All in all, a really nice day to be outside!

SKETCHBOOK: "Polar Bears at the ZOO"

This is "Day Three" of my weekend of sketching!  It's been like a "stay-cation"...wonderful weather all three days.  This morning I had the misfortune of seeing myself walk by a mirror after getting out of bed.  I thought, "You look like a big ol' polar bear."  DING!  There was the silver lining...that was a perfect catalyst for going to sketch at the zoo today!

I had not really taken a lot of time to enjoy the fairly new polar bear exhibit on my last couple of visits.  The sketch above was my first of the day.  The bear was pacing back and forth, so I had to catch bits of him each time he walked in the direction you see in my drawing.

Below, that bear was pacing in a different area..up to the window, then back to the far corner.  I had just started drawing the bear on a return trip, when it decided to go take a swim.  Dang.  So I figured I'd just keep drawing all the rock structures.

I went inside the building where they have bleachers to watch the bear swimming laps around the pool. Wouldn't you know it...just as I'm about to sketch him as he swam by...he decides to go inside the enclosure where the caves are in the back.  Double Dang.  So I just drew the water view. Eventually he came out for a brief appearance in the far distance.  I put him in the scene...on the left of the center window.  That's the thing about trying to draw animals at the zoo.  They move.

I had not really ventured into the KIDS area in a long time...they have changed a ton of stuff since I was there last.  In a couple of weeks, I hope to take Courtney and my grandson, Jackson, back to the zoo.  This was sort of like a scouting trip.  I could not believe this GIANT TREE for kids to climb up into!!  It was so cool...I would love to see photos of the process of building that thing (I think it was made of concrete).  Below is a photo of it from a different view from where I was sketching.

Guess the weekend is about done now.  It was great to have some quality time with the ol' sketchbook!

CHALK ART at the ZOO!

Today, I did something new for me at the Kansas City Zoo...CHALK ART!  Okay...I guess I have to count drawing on the driveway with my daughters, and grandson.  But nothing like a "real" mural.  I was part of a team of around 500-plus volunteers from Hallmark Cards.  Each year Hallmark sponsors an event called "Wild Saturday" at the zoo.  In the span of about 4 hours, they get a crazy amount of work done for the zoo...mulching, planting flowers and trees...and of course, there's The Artists Project!

I had never participated in this Hallmark event before. When I had inquired of the Hallmark Volunteer Coordinator, Amy, what this year's project was going to be, she said..."We haven't decided yet.  Feel free to brainstorm some ideas."  So I did...several.  The Zoo team voted on my suggestion of trying Chalk Art this year.  So I found myself helping to figure out how to make that happen.  The end results were...I had a blast today! (Though my hip sockets and back are taking revenge on me this afternoon...but it was worth it!!)

As I usually do on my projects, I will show you the step-by-step process of how I made it.  I had no idea if I could complete this big illustration in the alloted time.  All totaled, it took me about 5 hours to finish it.  Most folks quit around lunchtime.  I had to come back and spend about 2 more hours on mine.  But I got it done!!

The chalk drawings were to be created outside of the new Penguin enclosure.  Retired Hallmarker, Larry Greenberg, did a ton of prep work...for 15 years he has been heading up these artist projects.

We chose our spots and got busy.  My area was 7'x7'.  I had prepped my sketches for a 6'x6' square.  Knowing that it would take a lot of effort to cover that much square footage, I made my space smaller.  Then I drew a grid, so I could transfer my sketch in the "old school" way.  I bought a metal chalk holder, and attached it to a long wooden dowel. (Photos of me working were taken by Larry Greenberg.)

Then, I began to sketch out the basic layout.  I had created the sketch at home with Photoshop, compositing a lot of photos to get the right expressions and composition.  I was not going to worry about making it photo-realistic...but needed the details that I would get from photos.

I began to block in the base colors for everything.  We used Crayola "Drawing Chalks"...since Hallmark owns Crayola, it was a natural choice.  I really liked the colors in the box...nice and bright!

I'd like to show you this nifty little rolling stool that I made prior to the Zoo Day.  I used a heavy-duty trash can dolly...added a "knee board"...then covered the top with thick foam from an exercise mat, custom-fitted for the shapes.  I used "tacky glue" to adhere the foam.  It worked great!  I added the strap, last minute, from something I had in the basement.  It was removable, so I wasn't rolling over it.

Okay, back to the chalk drawing!  I went ahead and finished the basic under painting of the animals.

Then I decided to use a little cloth to blend the colors. Looking back, I wish I had not done that.  I lost a lot of time doing it, and had to redo a lot rendering that I liked in the loose application of chalk.  Oh well...live and learn!

The next stage was adding the crisp detail with more intense colors.  I was going for an "Impressionistic" approach, as that is my style when I do oil paintings.

Little by little, the characters started coming to life.  I found that I had to work upper left to upper right, then work my way down, going left to right.  Otherwise, I messed up a lot of details rolling over the finished areas.  The chalk was also very "fragile" on the surface of the concrete.  The texture on the surface was little bit rougher than everyone might prefer.  Therefore the powder of the chalk just piled up.

The reality of a strong wind blowing it away is the risk that comes with this kind of work.  Also, we were watching the weather reports, hoping it would not rain. It was a gorgeous day!! Some folks were distressed by the fact that these are "temporary". But I likened it to building sand castles, when you know the tide is going to wash it all away. Basically...this is "performance art"...the fun is in the doing!

Here is the finished piece!!

Below are some close-ups of my little group:
Silverback Gorilla...

 Giant Galapagos Tortoise...

Golden Lion Tamarin...

And a smiling Crocodile!

And here's a Smiling Warren!  The camera is just about 6 inches off the ground...makes the chalk art look huge!

To end this post, I'll show you a few random photos of the other artists at work.  It was a wonderful day!