This Chalk Drawing of a Stanley Quencher Cup Is Seriously Impressive
The optical illusion is unbelievable.
Photo courtesy of @thechalkingdad
If you’ve been paying attention, you know that people have had all sorts of extreme responses to the Internet-famous Stanley Quencher cups of late — but no response to the frenzy may be so artistically impressive as the one Erik Greenawalt, a.k.a. “The Chalking Dad,” shared on a “Stanley Tumbler Obsession” Facebook group earlier this month.
“Introducing the 4,000-ounce Stanley, this season’s hottest Valentine’s gift!” Greenawalt captioned photos his trompe l’oeil chalk rendering of a vivid purple Stanley tumbler.
Some of the mind-blowing photos include Greenawalt’s wife, Julie, sitting or crouching jauntily on top of the tumbler. Somehow, Julie’s interactions with the tumbler make the illusion seem even more convincing.
Photo courtesy of @thechalkingdad
“My brain can not grasp these photos. That’s how well done it is,” wrote one Facebook group commenter. “My brain only sees a real life giant Stanley you’re standing/sitting on.”
“I kept trying to make myself see it as flat, but I can’t,” another chimed in.
Greenawalt created the drawing in the driveway of his suburban Pittsburgh home. Measuring eight feet by 20 feet, it took him between six and seven hours to complete, he tells Food Network.
The artist was lucky enough to have sunny weather and clear skies in the days following the drawing’s completion; he doesn’t apply anything over his completed chalk drawings to protect them or make them last.
Photo courtesy of @thechalkingdad
“It will last until the first rain,” he says. “Chalk art is meant to be temporary, so I’ll only cover it if I haven’t finished a piece.”
Greenawalt, who has been drawing for more than 15 years, says he first started creating images with chalk in his driveway when his daughters, Jaycee and Jenna, now almost 21 and 18, were toddlers. At the time, they “wanted princesses and Disney characters,” he recalls. Now they “will help me on projects or do their own pieces.”
The artist says he finds image inspiration in things that are “current and trending” at any given moment and was prompted to draw the Stanley cup because of the tumblers’ current crazy popularity. (Last year, when egg prices were super high, he drew a dozen Tiffany eggs in 3D and presented the drawing to his wife as a “humorous Valentine’s Day gift.”)
Greenawalt’s work has taken him well beyond his driveway. He has drawn at events around the country and the world, even traveling to the U.K. and Australia to render imagery in chalk.
“I try to bring a bit of joy to peoples’ lives through chalk art,” he says. “I hope it makes them smile for even just a moment.”
Mission accomplished – at least until the next rain.
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