CHUBBUCK — Buzz Lightyear. Mickey Mouse. Peter Pan. Dopey. Over the past few months colorful illustrations of these beloved Disney characters have popped up on a Chubbuck sidewalk, leading those walking by to chalk it up to simple magic.

But those who’ve seen him in action know that local resident Curt Knapp is the creative hand behind the chalk drawings that have put more than a few smiles on neighbors’ faces.

“I really enjoy it, and I like to be able to help people that way and give them some joy,” said Knapp, who lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Chubbuck and draws dozens of characters in front of his house. “One morning I had one lady stop by and she goes, ‘you just made my day’ and I’m like, ‘good. That’s kind of why I do it’.”

After spending twenty-five years at Farm Bureau as a claims adjustor, Knapp retired two years ago and since then has spent much of his retirement with his wife and their six children. The idea to decorate his sidewalks with character artwork came when he visited his son in California over Christmas and saw his daughter-in-law and granddaughter drawing Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch with chalk.

“I went out and thought, I bet I could do that,” said Knapp, who has been doodling since he was young despite never taking an art class. “And my daughter-in-law said, go ahead and give it a try.”

His first drawing was of the affectionate snowman Olaf from 2013’s Frozen—but it wasn’t until this summer when Jennifer suggested he decorate their sidewalks with colorful characters that he really began to get into it.

“She told me ‘hey, why don’t you do some (art) because we have those big sidewalk squares right outside and you ought to fill them up,” he said. “And so I started to do it—and then ran out of black chalk for the outlines.”

Since then, Knapp and Jennifer have learned a thing or two about chalk: buckets of just black chalk are available on Amazon (something they learned courtesy of Knapp’s mother-in-law). There is plenty of chalk on clearance if you scour every store in Pocatello. It takes about an hour to draw a character from start to finish, and anywhere from four days to 2 weeks for the character to fade depending on if a fixative spray is used.

Of course, a character can also last just minutes, something that Knapp has learned several times already, one of the most recent cases being when they decorated the bus stop at Syringa Elementary School before the first day of the new school year.

“My wife thought it would be a good idea to put some drawings where the kids load for school,” Knapp said. “So we both went over there and I drew Mario and Princess Peach, and she helped me color them in and wrote some (first day of school) messages, and then the sprinkler came on

and ruined a lot of it. But it was fun, and I really enjoyed it, and I like being able to meet people that way.”

Ever since he started waking up before the crack of dawn, turning on his phone’s flashlight, and putting chalk to sidewalk to draw popular cartoon characters that both children and adults recognize, he’s gathered quite a few fans of his work.

One of them is his mother-in-law who lives just down the street and who was the one who purchased a couple boxes of black chalk for him to use for the outline of characters. They’ve also had individuals giving them thank-you cards detailing the happiness the art has brought them, and local neighborhood children who’ve rush to their house when they see him out drawing.

“A bunch of kids came down one day and they’re shouting, ‘he’s out drawing, he’s out drawing,’” explained Jennifer. “They came booking it and asked, ‘can we draw with you?’”

His creative fun has opened the opportunity for them not just to brighten someone’s day but also to get to know new people that they might not otherwise have met.

“My mother-in-law right down the street ordered me some chalk from Amazon, all black,” said Knapp. “And so as a thank you to her I drew Goofy and Mickey and Donald on her driveway and then I did some down here, too. It’s been fun because I’ve been able to get to know the people walking by in the neighborhood a little. They stop and visit.”

He’ll take requests and has done many characters ranging from Captain Hook to Mrs. Incredible to Cogsworth and Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, but he said one of his favorites to draw is simple but classy character: Disney’s most recognizable mascot, Mickey Mouse.

And although chalk artwork is in the same category of building sandcastles and knowing that your beautiful creations won’t last, he explained it’s a pleasure to get out and get drawing.

“There was a lady that stopped by at my mother and father-in-law’s house and she left a card,” said Knapp. “She said thank you so much for doing this and how she just appreciates it…so it’s really fun to get those kinds of responses and seeing the people smile and brightening up their day.”