Julian Beever is the pavement chalk Picasso. I was reminded of his incredible ability when I received an email that had a dozen or more of his masterpieces displayed for enjoyment. You can view his work at his website, and if you are really intrigued a book has been published called Pavement Chalk Artist.
To quote the website, Beever’s drawing are ”More than just traditional flat drawings, the works Beever creates are uniquely three-dimensional anamorphic drawings. They are drawn in perspective and distorted so the subject can be viewed properly only from one particular viewpoint. For those who are standing in the right place, his chalk drawings invite them to step right into the scene or, in the case of the artist’s well-known Swimming Pool in the High Street, dive right into the water.”
This view represents the same globe only viewed from the wrong vantage point. The actual work is over 40 feet in length. I would think that depending on how much of a 3-d effect you have would determine just how long the work needed to be. For example if you were trying to depict a tall building you would need to have more length in order to achieve the correct height.
I didn’t see anywhere what or how they preserve these works or even if they do. I would think like traditional children’s sidewalk chalk that after it rained a couple of times things would wash away and the sidewalks would be back to normal. Does anyone have any idea if they have attempted to preserve them where they have been created?
I was also able to find a YouTube video that has a time lapse of him creating one of his materpieces… It is pretty cool to watch him work.
So tell me… have you ever seen one of his masterpieces in real life? Which one?
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