Kempsville teen puts her chalk artwork on display

By Rita Frankenberry

Each summer for the past four years, Sarah Sims has headed down to the Oceanfront and transformed 4-by-4-foot squares of pavement into vivid canvases of jumping, splashing Orcas and wolf pirates.

Since 2005, the 16-year-old Kempsville High senior has competed in Virginia Beach's annual Chalk the Walk ARTsplosion. Over the years, she has become something of an expert at turning gray expanses of pavement into temporary masterpieces, armed with little more than her arsenal of brightly colored chalk.

The annual event, which also includes an art show, closes off two blocks of the boardwalk allowing 200 chalk artists to draw on the boardwalk. Competitors are given four hours to complete their themed drawings before a panel of judges awards prizes for the top three pieces in each division. There are three categories of competition - youth, amateur and professional.

For the past three years, Sims has taken first-place honors in the youth division and this year, she earned a first-place trophy for the amateur division July 25.

"She wanted more competition," said Tina Bronk, Sarah's mom. "So she upped it to amateur."

For this year's "Under the Sea" contest theme, Sarah created a brightly colored chalk drawing of an Orca whale jumping out of the ocean. Usually, she said, she creates a sketch of her Chalk-the-Walk entry, so she has an idea what her drawing should look like. But this year, she winged it.

It added to the nerves she was already feeling as a result of competing in a different category this year.

"I got kind of scared," she said. "I already knew there was going to be lots of SpongeBobs, squids and jellyfish, and I like whales, so I just drew one of those."

Throughout the rest of the year, Sarah dabbles in a multitude of other mediums - pencil drawings, inkings and clay sculptures are just a few of the other specialties she is teaching herself. Since she was 11, art has consumed her life.

"She started drawing about five years ago and about a year after that, she won her first contest," said Mike Sims, Sarah's dad. "She started getting agitated when her drawings didn't come out right. Her mother taught her how to shade, and things started falling into place for her."

Bronk, a chemistry teacher at Kempsville High, also holds an art degree. Soon after teaching her daughter the basics of shading, Bronk said her daughter's interest in art really developed.

Sarah still remembers the day her mom taught her about shading. It changed everything.

"I drew a snake and she showed me that you can shade things to make them look 3-D instead of 2-D," Sarah said.

Since then, Sarah's interest all forms of art has taken off.

"And we haven't been able to stop her since," Bronk said. "I just gave her the basics, but she practiced it everyday. It's just all day long. I have to pull her away."

Currently, Sarah is working on a host of new projects.

Recently, she designed a logo for the Kellam High School Outdoors club. These days, she is creating a clay sculpture of a mermaid for her mom.

And when she's not working on that, she's working on her own pencil drawings and inking projects too. Some of her recent artwork is featured on her Web site, www.keyoxx.com.

"This is her whole life," Bronk said. "I've never seen anyone take to something like this."

Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102

rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com