Sidewalk chalk are typically large colored (and sometimes white or cream) sticks of calcium sulfate

Calcium sulfate

Calcium sulfate is a common laboratory and industrial chemical. In the form of γ-anhydrite , it is used as a desiccant. It is also used as a coagulant in products like tofu. In the natural state, unrefined calcium sulfate is a translucent, crystalline white rock...

 mostly used for drawing

Drawing

Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...

 on pavement or cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 sidewalk

Sidewalk

A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

. It is sometimes used to draw a four square

Four square

Four square, also known as squareball, boxball, and in Canada, champ, is a ball game played among four individuals on a square court divided into quadrants...

 court or a hopscotch

Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a children's game that can be played with several players or alone. Hopscotch is a popular playground game.- Court and rules :- The court :...

 board.

Use

Sidewalk chalk is used at some universities to advertise for events, especially where there is much concrete. Prohibitions are set for where students can chalk, usually limiting it to areas that will be washed away with rain, or areas which are set to be cleaned of chalk markings.

Art

Artists such as Kurt Wenner

Kurt Wenner

Kurt Wenner is an artist with an international following. He is best known for his invention of 3D pavement art. Wenner was inspired by anamorphic perspective, but had to invent an entirely new geometry in order to create his stunning 3D pavement art images.-Career:Kurt Wenner produced his first...

, Ellis Gallagher

Ellis Gallagher

Ellis Gallagher is known primarily for chalk drawings made by outlining shadows in New York City. Gallagher was born on September 9, 1973. He is a native New Yorker living in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. Before his chalk drawings he was a graffiti writer, working in NYC mostly. He was...

 and Julian Beever

Julian Beever

Julian Beever is an English chalk artist who has been creating trompe-l'œil chalk drawings on pavement surfaces since the mid-1990s. He uses a projection technique called anamorphosis to create the illusion of three dimensions when viewed from the correct angle...

 have created intricate and realistic street painting

Street painting

Street painting, also commonly known as pavement art, chalk art, and sidewalk art, is the performance art of rendering original and non-original artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent and semi-permanent materials such as chalk.-Origin:Street...

s using the chalk and pastels. There are many competitions for chalk artists, including the Pavement Art Competition in the Bold Street Festival in Liverpool in 2010.

External links

• Busker Alley - videos of sidewalk artists with chalks and paints
• Gallery of sidewalk chalk art drawn by children