Chalk the Block — Somerset, PA

Chalk Art

Eight years of competing. Six wins. Every piece made entirely by hand in seven hours on the pavement in Somerset, PA.

A little bit of everything, even on the pavement.

For eight years I have come back to Somerset, PA to compete in Chalk the Block, a local chalk art competition held downtown. I pick my subject, plan my design, and then spend seven hours on my hands and knees making it happen in real time on the street. Out of those eight years I have taken first place six times.

It is one of my favorite things I do all year. There is something about working big, in public, with a hard deadline and a crowd that is deeply satisfying in a way that no digital project quite replicates.

2025

Visit Camp SOCO

🏆 1st Place

This was my first year with an assigned theme: Camping in SOCO, short for Somerset County. I designed an outline of the county in black, then dropped illustrated pins into four locations with camping activities nearby — Laurel Hill, Quecreek Lake, Mt. Davis, and the Salisbury Viaduct. It is also the largest piece I have ever done at 10 feet by 10 feet.

2024

The Beatles

🏆 1st Place

This is my personal favorite piece so far. I did a tribute to The Beatles combining two iconic images — the Abbey Road silhouettes across the top in a psychedelic swirl background, and portraits of all four members below rendered in their Sgt. Pepper color palette. This one also earned 1st place.

2023

Black Bear with Blueberries

For my 2023 piece I wanted to do something that felt personal to western Pennsylvania — a black bear sitting in a blueberry patch with a cardinal in the background. Great Day Juice loved it so much they created a blueberry smoothie to match the design that day.