Erik Greenawalt

By day, Erik Greenawalt is a CPA (the boring debits and credits type) working in corporate finance for a large Pittsburgh-based grocery chain. But on weekends, he puts on his other CPA hat – Chalk Pavement Artist – and adds life to driveways, streets and sidewalks from New York to Florida. Erik’s interest in chalk art began about a decade ago when doodling in the driveway with his then-toddlers, Jaycie and Jenna. The two young art directors were very demanding and wanted more and more elaborate pieces from their dad. Crude stick figures began morphing into more-sophisticated Disney princesses and, in 2017, 3D renderings of Olaf and Emmet the Lego Man. He became known in the neighborhood as “The Chalking Dad” – and the name has stuck.

He still takes most of his drawing orders from his daughters (who sometimes chalk alongside him at festivals), which results in fun, colorful pieces -- and not just cartoons anymore. He especially enjoys drawing portraits of celebrities and sports heroes. He is also a certified "master" chalk artist in the Florida Chalk Artist Association and participates in street painting festivals around the country, where he joins other artists in creating large-scale, elaborate chalk drawings over several days. Oftentimes, he teams up with Lori Hughes on massive projects to form "The Chalk Monsters”, and this year at Chalkfest is no exception! You can follow his work on Instagram @TheChalkingDad