Local artist and grocery store clerk is “sooper” talented
By Lisa Nicklanovich; photos by Cindy Cranstone and Dave Tweed; courtesy photos
Local artist Jerod Anderson free-handed a chalk drawing of the Statue of Liberty for the sidewalk outside King Soopers, where he has worked as a bagger and checker for the last four years. Anderson is an art student at Metro State and plans to pursue a career in graphic design.
Jerod Anderson had collected sketch books of doodles, but only within the last few semesters of studying art at Metro State realized he has a talent and passion for drawing and many kinds of art (courtesy photo).
Jerod Anderson turned 20 in June and is already making our community more colorful. A KnightsBridge resident for the last 13 years, Anderson graduated from Rock Canyon High School two years ago and is now headed into his junior year of college at Metro State, where he recently discovered his talent for art. Lucky for us, Anderson is happy to share his creativity with the Castle Pines community. If you shopped at King Soopers prior to the July 4th holiday, you may have seen his chalk drawing of the Statue of Liberty on the sidewalk. This is just the beginning for this young artist.
In his first art class at Metro, Anderson’s teachers were amazed by some of his work. While he had collected sketch books and doodled, he hadn’t considered himself an artist. Anderson had thought he’d get a biology degree, but after one class knew it wasn’t for him and realized his focus needed to be on art, specifically graphic design.
Anderson has worked at King Soopers for the past four years as a bagger and checker. With the support of his manager, Anderson collaborated with a co-worker on his first chalk drawing on the sidewalk back in January for the Super Bowl. Soon after, Anderson created a second Super Bowl drawing, this time by himself. Anderson practiced the Statue of Liberty drawing in his own driveway and then freehanded the drawing on the sidewalk at King Soopers. It took six-and-a-half hours to complete.
“People ask me what type of chalk I use, and when I say ‘Crayola,’ it surprises them. I use basic Crayola chalk because it’s cheap and there’s a variety of colors.” When asked how he feels when the rain washes his beautiful art away, Anderson said, “I like the clean slate. I like change.”
Anderson plans to brighten up Castle Pines with his art. “I’ve thought of finding some spots around the community to put some drawings that people haven’t seen before. There’s nothing like that out there right now.” Anderson has been asked to organize a Castle Pines community chalk drawing event and is excited about the idea.
Anderson chose a graphic design major because it’s business related. “I want to create art t
hat people can use, like putting it on shirts or advertising.” Anderson has already created ink transfer “tattoos” to customize a jean jacket, and has created one-of-a-kind iPhone cases and t-shirt designs. His dream job is video game design because it’s “playable art,” and one of his next projects is creating a comedic short video with his brother for YouTube.
Considering how recently this young artist discovered his talent, it will be fun to see what he does next! To contact Anderson directly, e-mail.
Jerod Anderson’s sketches of a chalk drawing for the sidewalk outside the Castle Pines King Soopers (courtesy photo).
Completed chalk drawing of The Statue of Liberty (photo by Dave Tweed).
