I'd nearly forgotten this mini-feature I'd started on the sidewalk art that cropped up over the course of the spring and summer during the protracted Covid lockdown. Suddenly, the pavement seemed to come alive with color as I walked my usual routes, no doubt the result of a lot of folk coming to terms with some serious cabin fever. I couldn't help but snap a photo anytime I'd find a new sketch, and built up quite a library over the course of the seasons. These are some of the highlights. Not much in the way of commentary this time out, just a series of snapshots of chalk artwork from this year's sidewalk auteurs.
In the dead of summer, this one captured the prevailing mood quite well.
Sound advice during a pandemic. A public service even.
Topical. This one from early June, after the battle of La Mesa went down.
Next level. Anyone knows that we love a good mosaic around these parts, and this op-art design — filling an entire concrete panel — was one of the highlights of a whole summer of walks.
One knock-on effect of the lockdown and people stuck at home was that they suddenly had a lot of time for all those projects they'd always wanted to take care of around the house. Gardening was just one example, and people even took to leaving plant clippings and homegrown fruits and vegetables by the sidewalk for passersby to claim. That this one came with a drawing was an added bonus.
Love the brute force of this one. Hard lines matched by terse labels — 'unicorn' and 'run' — and the brick path becomes a part of the whole affair. Shades of Blade Runner.
This one made me chuckle. It's the eternal question innit?
Abstract creatures in motion. I imagine this slipping into animation to the interstellar grooves of The Future Sound Of London’s We Have Explosive and 400 Blows’ Declaration Of Intent.
Another elaborate one, and another one with a message, this time sprawling across multiple panels in vivid multi-color splendor. Even the vanishing perspective adds to this one.
Aww, now that's sweet! It was pretty hot out, after all.
Another abstract one. Breaking hearts? Deceptively simple, but effective.
And finally the colors creep up off the sidewalk and onto the walls. Dig the way the plants play off the colors. Definite mid-