Jan Riggins and her 13-year-old daughter Olivia have always loved chalk art. Before the pandemic, they used to partake in sidewalk art competitions whenever the opportunity arose, but now they’re dazzling their neighbors in one Fort Worth neighborhood in Texas. “When all of the festivals started getting canceled or postponed, I was really disappointed,” Jen, who also paints in watercolor and oils, told Bored Panda. “That’s when I decided to just start using my sidewalk and driveway.”
The duo started off by drawing koi fish and it quickly grew from there. Jan told us that the neighbors “really, really liked it,” so the two just kept going. They’ve now been drawing since late March and have already shared artworks of a butterfly, sea turtle, and even a baby Yoda. Scroll down below to see the stunning artwork for yourself and vote for the ones you liked the most!
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#1
“My 13 year old daughter completed the jellyfish by herself today”
Image credits: AlannaNBC5
“I became interested in chalk art about 5 years ago. Fort Worth (where I live), started a chalk art festival and I saw a posting on FB asking if anyone wanted to try something new. They had an amateur division with no cost to enter. I signed up and went and met one of the professional chalk artists. He told me to get ready, it is very addictive…and it is!” Jan told Bored Panda.
#2
Image credits: janrigginsart
“After I won in the amateur division, I was invited to the professional division. Last year I participated in three festivals, and my goal was to participate in 6 festivals this year, and in March I was accepted to another festival. But when all of the festivals started getting cancelled or postponed, I was really disappointed,” Jen told us. “That’s when I decided to just start using my sidewalk and driveway.”
#3
“I’ve been thinking about how we could chalk this little fella out for the last couple of days. I busted out some good pastels to get the fuzzy details right.”
Image credits: janrigginsart
“One Sunday I drew two little pieces, and then my daughter said she wanted to help,” the artist told Bored Panda. “I was actually a little tired by that pint, but she found a reference photo she really liked and got everything set up outside, so I sketched everything out and she chalked out half and I did the other half. Then she became as addicted as me.”
#4
“We did a little mini Baby Yoda tonight. It sure was hot when we started, but was a perfect evening when we finished.”
Image credits: janrigginsart
“I was working from home, and she started going outside a couple of hours before I got off work to get started and began sketching out her own pieces and chalking them, some of those I helped her finish. Now we usually work together by starting out with a sketch that I usually do, and then we divide up what parts of the piece that we will each work on. She definitely pulls her weight and does about half of the piece,” Jen explained.
#5
“Waving goodbye to the sea life theme! We wanted to get in one more little creature…now we need to think of what to do for Earth Day!”
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Image credits: janrigginsart
“Neighbors really love our work,” Jen told Bored Panda. “We have requests all the time, sometimes I get messages asking what is out there now so that people can walk down and look, and even our FedEx delivery driver said that he looks forward to driving down our street to take photos of what is new. Many neighbors have asked to pay us, but we aren’t doing this for money, just to give back. Some have been insistent that they help, and we have received several gifts of pastels to replace our diminishing stock.”
#6
“I’ve wanted to do this sea turtle for a while, but we honestly thought it would take too long to do after work. But, we started right at 5:30 and finished at 8, right before sunset!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
“We definitely want to continue this in the future…but probably not quite as often after all of this ends,” the artist told us. “I think it will definitely be for holidays and special occasions. My family has often commented that we are more connected with our neighborhood and community now, with social distancing, more than we ever were before.This has also been an experience with my daughter that I will forever be grateful for.”
#7
“I love anything shiny!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#8
Image credits: janrigginsart
#9
“A little boy down the street was sad about not having a party for his birthday, so Olivia and I headed over early this morning to chalk out Mr Potato Head! It’s going to rain later, so we opted for the porch.”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#10
“Thought I would show some of the pretty old pastels I’ve been using. I inherited them from my grandmother. They had been in a box for years. I love using them to share these pieces with my neighborhood!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#11
“We had another birthday in the neighborhood today, so I headed over after work to leave a little present! It was cold, so I didn’t do anything complicated. I love my neighborhood!!!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#12
Image credits: janrigginsart
#13
“My driveway was particularly warm and toasty as I was working on this…but as always, it was so relaxing and the perfect way to spend the evening. I really have about run out of room at this point.”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#14
“Decided we needed an early Easter present for our neighborhood”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#15
“This time we went to my mother-in-law’s house to chalk out her favorite animal, an elephant!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#16
“Come at me, bro! Sometimes you just need to chalk out a defiant crawfish. I felt better after I finished this…not sure what that says about my mood tonight.”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#17
“Remember the good ol’ days (last year) when we could do things like a spoon-and-egg race? I guess we can always pretend…”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#18
“Who knows if anyone else in my neighborhood will like this, but I do!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#19
“I did some solo chalking today. I missed my partner in crime…but I did have fun doing this as a photo op for a local church. I love all the winged creatures!”
Image credits: janrigginsart
#20
Image credits: janrigginsart
Source: boredpanda.com