Sam Ward, a self-taught artist who specializes in creating ephemeral artworks on concrete using a power washer, has been nicknamed ‘Power Washer Van Gogh’.

Sam Ward’s artistic career was inspired by boredom. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the Texas artist bought a box of chalk to keep his two sons busy, but before they could use it to decorate the family driveway in New Braunfels, he had to clean the concrete. It turned out to be a very boring, redundant task, so at one point, Ward started using his power washer to draw some shapes on the concrete. At first, it was just circles and squares, but he quickly realized the artistic potential of the pressure washer, so the next day, when he picked up the tool and his wife asked him if he wanted to finish washing the driveway, he said: “No, I’m gonna draw something.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

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A North Carolina woman who got a power washer for her birthday is using it to turn her concrete driveway into a canvas for ephemeral art, and draw a lot of attention online in the process.

Dianna Wood, a retired office worker from Burlington, North Carolina, had been wanting her own power washer ever since she used one to help one of her friend’s mother to get her hose ready for sale. She loved it so much that when her birthday came around, her husband knew exactly what to get her as a present. For over a month, she used it clan the patio, the dirty shutters, the fence around her home, and even the garbage cans. It was great, but by the time she got started on her concrete driveway, Dianna was already looking for way to spice things up. So instead of just cleaning the concrete, she decided to use the power washer to exercise her artistic talents.

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