Chalk Drawings with Julian Beever

     We have all played with chalk as kids on the driveway outside of our house. We'd outline our friends bodies or just draw shapes. By the time our "artwork" was completed our hands and knees would be covered in chalk from crawling around on the ground. However our idea of chalk art is pretty pathetic compared to Julian Beever's.
     Beever is an American artist specializing in chalk drawings as well as murals and paintings. His has been creating "trompe-l'oeil" paintings since the years 90's. Trompe-l'oeil is French for "deceiving the eye" which is exactly what Beever's drawings do. In order to see his masterpieces you have to be standing at the correct angle to get the image perfectly or else it just looks distorted chalk drawings. When you do get to the exact position what you see is almost hard to believe. The images he create suddenly turn 3D and look incredibly realistic.
     People have nicknamed the 46 year old as the " Pavement Picasso" due to the originality of his work. His artwork ranges from a Coca Cola bottle to "The Fountain of Youth". Why does he stick to the outside world rather than a studio or art gallery where he knows it won't get ruined by the weather? Beever says that his " art is for anybody" and that it's for the people who wouldn't go into an art gallery. He wants as many people to see it so he creates his work on busy sidewalks or side-streets. Although he knows his artwork will only have a short life span, he likes it that way because then those who do have the opportunity to see it have truly seen something special

Check out this website to see more of his creations: http://hubpages.com/hub/Incredible_Beever