Watch Patrick Owens do Chalk Art Outside a Museum

Patrick Owens has gradually been transforming from a bartender who does chalk art on the side to a chalk artist who occasionally bartends.

The mixologist, who currently works part time for the Tabard Inn, was recently approached by the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum to do a chalkboard drawing outside the museum called Compass Rose. "I'm not sure how they found out about me, but the job was a ton of fun and obviously a huge honor to work for the Smithsonian," he said.

Owens says he's been doing chalk art for about eight years now. "It started kind of out of boredom, bartending and just waiting for people to show up," he said. "So in the downtime I'd try to think up the most outrageous things to put on the little sandwich A-Frame boards we put outside. Word spread and more and more bars and restaurants reached out." It started as a side gig and now he's almost at the point of doing it full time, doing work for retailers, weddings and private events.

Owens is currently finishing up a piece for Minibar, as well as a drawing of a dollar bill featuring the Swedish Chef for a private dining room. Here's the video of the Smithsonian piece:

[Time Lapse by Ferit Ozergul]

· Chalk Art DC [Official Site]
· Compass Rose [YouTube]
· All Previous Patrick Owens Coverage [-EDC-]

[Photo: Chalk Art DC]