Ross chalks up Island Games inspired murals around coast
A CHALK-based local artist lit up Guernsey during the NatWest 2023 Island Games with two coastal murals dedicated to the island’s cyclists, who topped the medal charts with eight golds.
Ross Le Brun started street painting earlier this year after taking inspiration from American artists who use chalk to create artwork on surfaces like tarmac.
He was asked a week before the Games to create some supportive artwork, so he firstly took to the Cobo wall to outline a cyclist with a white line before heading to L’Ancresse to draw a five metre-tall multicoloured rider in anticipation of the mountain bike events.
‘I wanted to do something special and the canvases are in such a good position, the one at Cobo took four hours but the one at L’Ancresse took eight because it was a big and rough surface,’ said Mr Le Brun.
‘It was like trying to butter toast with a sewing needle.’
He finished it at 1.15 am on Thursday 13 July.
Although the chalk is not water resistant and will streak if wet, the murals can still be seen due to them facing north-east, which has meant the recent winds have blown the rain over the drawings.
‘It’s been great to get a lot of positive feedback, especially online,’ said Mr Le Brun
Last week he mostly stayed around the biking events, watching the time trial and the mountain bike race, which he said was his favourite event.
‘I took my son down to L’Ancresse for the mountain bike and I really enjoyed watching all the technical drops,’ said Mr Le Brun.
‘I didn’t get to watch all that many events though, because I was so tired after the hours of drawing.’
Chalk festival is coming to Saumarez Park
The Guernsey Chalk Art festival, run by Ross Le Brun, whose Island Games-themed chalk art has been seen along the coast over the past week, is taking place at the park on Saturday 12 August from 9am. It will see participants draw pictures with mainly family-friendly themes on a long section of the path that wraps around the park, using a wide range of colourful free chalk.
‘The tarmac is very smooth because there’s no vehicular traffic so it’s perfect. I’ve had permission from Agriculture and Land Management Services to use half of the pathway for chalk art,’ said Mr Le Brun.
‘We’re also going to have someone filming with a drone and some music playing on a speaker, as well as the kids being able to take some chalk home with them.’
He said he was inspired by American professional chalk artists and hopes that the first dedicated Channel Island chalk event can become a regular thing, as he urges local artists to get involved with the medium.
‘We really want some artists to come down and draw some really nice designs to inspire everyone else,’ said Mr Le Brun.
He currently has 18 boxes of chalk and is calling for islanders to donate 22, in order to supply everyone with the correct tools.
The requested chalk is available through Amazon for about £25 and can be found at bit.ly/43ac1ql.
