A big circle pattern in bright chalk, spread across a patio, is one of the gentlest art projects there is. It takes an afternoon. It looks far grander than the effort behind it, and when you’re done, a hose and a broom clear the slate for next time.
The idea starts with a new patio. A freshly finished surface is a wide, clean, empty page, and a local company such as Grand Design Landscape Nevada is one place people look when they want a patio installed. Once the furniture is set out, the open floor is waiting for some color. Here’s how we fill it, one calm step at a time.
What you’ll need
- A box of sidewalk chalk in six to eight colors (a bucket of mixed stubs works just as well)
- About a yard of string (a shoelace or kitchen twine)
- Masking tape (a flat stone to pin the string down)
- Scrap paper and a pencil for the warm-up (the back of junk mail, or a flattened paper bag)
- A push broom or stiff brush for sweeping (a dustpan brush for small areas)
- A damp rag for fixing mistakes (an old dish towel)
- A folded towel to kneel on (a garden kneeler, if you own one)
- A phone for the photo at the end (any camera will do)
Set up your space
Pick a dry day and a time when the patio is in shade. Chalk goes on more smoothly on a cool surface, and you’ll be kinder to your knees and your neck. Move the furniture to the edges and sweep well, since grit makes lumpy lines.
If the patio is brand new, ask whoever built it whether it needs any settling time or special care before you draw on it. Then try a small test patch in a corner. It shows you how bright the colors look on that surface and how easily they wash away. Keep a bucket of water and your rag within reach.
Step by step
Step 1: Warm up on scrap paper
Take ten minutes before you go outside. Tie a pencil to the end of your string, hold the other end still on the paper, and swing the pencil around. You’ve just made a perfect circle without any special skill. Do it a few more times, moving the center, and you’ll see the overlapping pattern we’re about to draw.
The usual slip is pulling the string loose partway around, which gives you an egg shape. If that happens, just keep going. Warm-ups are meant to be messy.
Step 2: Sweep and choose your center
Sweep the whole area one last time, then stand where you’d like the middle of the pattern to be. A spot in front of your chairs, not under them, works nicely. Press a piece of masking tape over one end of the string right on that spot, or pin it under a flat stone.
Beginners often put the center too close to an edge, and the pattern runs out of room. If you spot that, don’t worry. Move your center toward the open floor and start again. Nothing has been drawn yet.
Step 3: Make your string compass
Wind the free end of the string around a stick of chalk, near the tip, and tape it in place. Keep the string a little shorter than you think you need. Stretch it tight, lean the chalk to the ground, and walk slowly around the center. Let the string do the steering.
The common slip is a slack string, which makes a wobbly line. Keep the string tight the whole way round. If a stretch comes out crooked, wipe it with your damp rag and draw that arc again.
With kids: little ones love being the “center post.” Let them stand on the tape while you walk the circle.
Step 4: Draw the overlapping circles
Draw your first circle. Now keep the string exactly the same length. Move the tape to any point on that circle’s line and draw a second circle. Move the tape to one of the spots where the new circle crosses the first one, and draw again. Keep going around, and you’ll finish with a flower of six petals around the middle.
The slip here is changing the string length, so the circles stop lining up. Mark the spot on the string with a pen or a bit of tape and check it each time. If one circle drifts, wipe it away and redraw it.
Step 5: Fill in the colors
Choose three or four colors. Start with the lightest, and press gently. Use the side of the chalk for wide areas, as if you were shading with a pencil. Work from the middle outward so your sleeve never drags through fresh color.
Smudged edges happen to everyone. Dab the stray color with your damp rag, or leave it. A softly blended edge looks like a choice.
With kids: give each child one petal of their own. They get a real job, and the finished flower is a bit different in every section.
Step 6: Add the outline and details
Outline the shapes with your darkest color. A bold line hides small wobbles and makes the colors pop. Add dots, stripes or little scallops in the corners of each petal if you feel like it.
Go slowly with the outline, because dark chalk is the hardest to wipe off. If you slip, use a dampened corner of your rag like an eraser and draw the line again.
Finishing and display
Photograph the pattern as soon as you finish, ideally from a step or an upstairs window so you catch the whole shape. Chalk is not permanent, and that’s the charm of it. Sun, feet and weather will soften it in a few days, and rain will carry most of it away.
When you want to clear the patio, rinse it with a hose and sweep with a broom. We don’t spray anything over chalk to make it last. If you want to keep the pattern, copy it onto paper while the memory is fresh.
Try it this weekend
Make a small version on a single paving stone or a square of the patio.
- About an hour, plus ten minutes of warm-up
- Chalk, a short string, a pencil and tape
- One circle and six overlapping petals
- The step that matters most: keep the string tight and the same length
Where to take it next
Paint the pattern on paper with watercolors. Trace around a bowl or a glass instead of using a string compass, then fill the petals with pale washes of color. Keep a pencil handy for the warm-up circles.
Try a group version. Draw one large circle and let each person design their own petal. Swap colors halfway through so the pattern ends up shared.
Or turn the idea into a long path of connected circles from the door to the garden. Whatever you choose, the first wobbly circle is the hardest, and you’ve already drawn it.