He worked as a freelance commercial artist for over 20 years, but one day a box of chalk called to him.
David Zinn creates chalk art that appears to be three-dimensional by marrying his drawings with things like grass, manhole covers, and cracks in the sidewalk.
Zinn told CBS News this form of art started with a simple intention. "The honest answer is that I was looking for an excuse to be outside on a nice day," he explained.
He worked as a freelance commercial artist for over 20 years, but one day a box of chalk called to him.
"We all seem to have chalk in our house," he said. "It's just very easy to come by, which is one of the things that I think makes it a good thing to make art with because it's not precious."
But because of rain, footsteps, and sweeping, seeing one of Zinn's whimsical drawings up close is precious. According to Zinn, whoever comes across one in one of the many cities around the world where he works, should consider themselves unique.
"Famous works of art hang in museums, get seen by thousands of people every day. But this, you could be in among the dozens of people who get to see this while it exists. That's pretty special."
Zinn says that the art is not only special, but it helps him stay present.
"I think that's part of what this is meant to do," he said. "To celebrate the fact that we walk through spaces on our way to somewhere else all the time and don't really take the time to notice where we are."
"And it's helped me a lot to actually appreciate every single place that I am for what it can do."
