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26 Pop Culture And Quarantine-Inspired Sidewalk Chalk Drawings From A Self-Taught Artist
This Florida-based artist is using the sidewalk near her house to spread some positivity and cheer people up during these anxious times. Casey Drake—a self-taught artist, former biology teacher, and a mother of two—is brightening up the streets of her neighborhood with colorful and amusing chalk drawings. Some of the artwork is quarantine-themed, like the series of "5 stages of quarantine" drawings, seemingly inspired by the Pixar movie Inside Out. "All of the drawings are on the sidewalk in front of my home," Casey told Bored Panda. "I usually start by trying to think of something that is new in our lives, such as hoarding toilet paper or wearing masks and gloves. Then I think through the different characters I know and see if one fits. Sometimes it doesn't all come together until I'm already drawing, though." Scroll down below to see the fun chalk drawings from Casey and vote for the ones you liked the most! Also, Casey told us she plans on making tutorials on her YouTube channel so stay tuned!
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"I'm self taught. I don't have an official art background but I have always drawn and painted as a hobby," Casey told Bored Panda. "Currently I stay home and take care of my kids but previously I was a high school biology teacher."
"[Quarantine] changed my life in similar ways to everyone else," the artist told us. "I was lying awake at night worrying until I started doing these drawings as a stress relief. Now I lie awake at night figuring out my next drawing. These are certainly stressful times and anything we can do to lift ourselves and others up is valuable."
"I try to pick things that are relatable, relevant, and most importantly funny," Casey revealed. "Cartoon characters are easy because they're easily recognizable and most people are at least somewhat familiar with their back stories. Plus, my daughter loves all things Disney and she's the one who makes most of the suggestions."
The artist also wants all Bored Panda readers to "stay safe, stay healthy, [and] stay home!"
Look at this stuff, isn't it neat, wouldn't you think that my hoard is quite sweet, wouldn't you think I'm the girl who has, everything? Look at this trove, treasures untold, how many toilet paper rolls do I own, I've got Lysol and Bleach by the gallon, I've got sanitizer by the pound, you want a face mask? I've made twenty. But who cares? No big deal? I want more.......
These are really well done! It is interesting that people make a distinction between trained artists (including musicians) and self-taught ones. Even if you study art at school, at some point you have sit down and figure out what they're trying to say. On some level, everybody is self-taught.
Because there were so many cartoons about toilet paper on this post, I just wanted to clarify a bit of why there's a shortage. There are two main suppliers of toilet paper- home and office/school (which is those very large cheap rolls). Since so many more people are no longer going to school/work, everyone is using the bathroom at home. Thus, the demand for home toilet paper is going way up, and the demand for school/work toilet paper is going way down. They can't just *produce* more toilet paper since that type of factory is expensive and time-consuming to make. Additionally, since everybody thinks that everybody else is hoarding toilet paper (although no one really was in the beginning), everybody started to actually hoard it. On another note, loved the illustrations and messages.
We need humor like this to get us through a time that tries our souls.
These are really well done! It is interesting that people make a distinction between trained artists (including musicians) and self-taught ones. Even if you study art at school, at some point you have sit down and figure out what they're trying to say. On some level, everybody is self-taught.
Because there were so many cartoons about toilet paper on this post, I just wanted to clarify a bit of why there's a shortage. There are two main suppliers of toilet paper- home and office/school (which is those very large cheap rolls). Since so many more people are no longer going to school/work, everyone is using the bathroom at home. Thus, the demand for home toilet paper is going way up, and the demand for school/work toilet paper is going way down. They can't just *produce* more toilet paper since that type of factory is expensive and time-consuming to make. Additionally, since everybody thinks that everybody else is hoarding toilet paper (although no one really was in the beginning), everybody started to actually hoard it. On another note, loved the illustrations and messages.
We need humor like this to get us through a time that tries our souls.