Art is all about perspective.
At least, that’s how Chris Carlson sees it. Carlson, a 3-D chalk artist, visited downtown Moscow’s annual Artwalk on Friday, giving the town a taste of his unique style.
Emblazoned on the walkway in front of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce sat the portrait of a bear, waiting for passersby to take a seat on his two-dimensional seesaw. Carlson watched with appreciation as people gathered to the designated vantage point, where the 2-D image takes on life.
“It all starts with the design,” Carlson said. “That’s the most important part, really. You start with the rough sketch, trying to establish your perspective.”
Carlson, who has been drawing 3-D chalk art since 2012, said he begins the process on his computer, where he lays out a simple sketch of his next piece. He then overlays a grid, with each line fading into the horizon, giving it the desired effect.
Carlson then distorts the image, with the grid becoming normal and square, but his sketch quickly becomes elongated, and almost unrecognizable.
“If you’re creating a 2-D piece of art, the grid is very straight forward,” he said. “You just put the grid on top of the artwork, and then you’re going to put that same square grid on the ground. You can transfer it very easily. To do the 3-D effect, you’re starting with a perspective grid. Each square is getting smaller as it’s moving away from us. Everything is vanishing to one point off in the horizon.”
After forming the basis for his piece, Carlson begins his work outside, taking careful measurements as he draws out his grid and sketching his first draft. He starts with a first coat of black tempura paint, the same type of washable paint found in school art supplies. Then, Carlson said he begins bringing his piece to life with chalk, blending colors and layering different facets of the art to get the effect just right.
Carlson said he finished his Moscow piece in about 12 hours— average for what he spends on most city sidewalks. Jenny Ford, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, said Carlson’s second consecutive appearance at the Artwalk was a welcome blessing.
“What’s been really nice about having Chris here, is he’s so available and really amenable to all different types of questions,” Ford. “Folks come by here all day and they’re talking and communicating with him while he’s creating his piece. Some folks are sitting crisscross applesauce right there chatting him up.”
Ford said last year, before she became executive director, one staff member floated the idea of inviting Carlson to the Artwalk after seeing his work at festivals in Denver. Not long after, Carlson was on his way to the Palouse.
Carlson, a Denver native, said he enjoyed experiencing the slower-pace Palouse, a far cry from the hustle and bustle of larger cities he’s visited.
“The town is amazing. It’s a nice change from Denver, which is crazy busy and crowded,” he said. “The weather is a lot nicer here. It’s just a great town. It’s nice to work in a smaller town where you can engage with a lot of the people who are coming to see you work. In Denver, it’s just too busy. If I engaged with everyone, I wouldn’t be able to complete the piece. It’s a really nice change of pace out here.”
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill