Chalk it up

Chalk art is a public, and somewhat overlooked,artistic medium. For a long time, chalk was the tool of choice for creating signs for eateries, markets, cafes and other community spaces. That style is making a comeback through artisan businesses or companies who favor a rustic aesthetic.

As such, there’s now a demand for artists who have a mastery of chalk. For artist Nathaniel Benjamin, this means that a grocery store sign listing the produce of the day turns into a memorable piece of art. Benjamin goes by the moniker “Chalker of Reno,” which originally belonged to another chalk artist before it was passed on to Benjamin.

Currently, he’s the chalk artist for the Great Basin Community Food Co-op, where you’ll see his work on the signs inside and outside the store. He also creates signage for Too Soul Tea Co., Caliber Salon and Brewer’s Cabinet, among other establishments around town. He has used chalk to draw murals on buildings, too, like the outside of his home.

Benjamin traveled around for several years before deciding to stay in Reno, where he’s been now for two and a half years. “It started to feel like home,” he says.

A forestry major at the University of Nevada, Reno, Benjamin likes the flexibility that being a working artist provides.

“I wanted to work outside,” he says of his chosen career path. “This dream job just fell into my life.” He plans on merging forestry and art once he’s completed his degree.

Benjamin is an artist in “a variety of mediums,” he says, including painting and photography. Until recently, he didn’t “self-promote,” instead choosing to explore different styles and techniques. His first gallery art show, Calibration, opened on Oct. 8 at A an Art.

After originally studying graphic design in college, Benjamin found the digital aspect of it restricting. He prefers making tactile art, including wood carving and printmaking. Regardless, he says that “in order to do anything, you have to be able to draw.”

He uses the produce at the co-op for reference—“this is why people have always painted bowls of fruit,” he says—and finds fonts online to use as inspiration for his typography. Before starting a piece, he does a bit of informal planning. An entire blackboard ends up being filled with words and images.

“I have the process down now,” he says. “I pick where the words are going down and where the drawings are going to be.” He uses tools to hold the chalk and ensure that he doesn’t smear his work as he’s drawing.

As a result, the signs have a pleasant and controlled ruggedness to them, and the texture of the blackboard emerges through the chalk. The bright colors and white chalk stands out starkly against the black, and it’s easily readable both near and far. Benjamin uses an array of chalk colors to create gradients, and says it takes practice to “divide objects into colors, and to transition from light to dark.”

Benjamin creates at least one new sign a week, but it often turns out to be more. On Tuesdays, he makes a new produce sign at the food co-op, and he’s frequently called in to work on other pieces elsewhere in town.

Due to the nature of chalk, it’s a “temporary” medium, Benjamin says. He takes photos of his signs to document them, and posts them on his Facebook page.

“It’s a gift and a curse,” he says of working in this medium. “It’s really beautiful to be able to work on one board for a year and see it change over time. It’s constantly evolving and changing. It’s totally impermanent.”