Sidewalk chalk full of good vibes thanks to Vancouver man's 'Positivity Zone' project

You know you're entering Patrick Klugh's"Positivity Zone"on Vancouver'sRobson Street as soon as you see themessage written in colourful chalk on the sidewalk:

"You are entering the Positivity Zone."

What follows is about 25 metres of sidewalk covered in the 42-year-old's chalk-written messages all colourful, and very positive.

Klugh has made the space his own though he's happy to share since he moved to Vancouver from Victoria in Aprillast year.

He arrived to take part in the annual 4/20 cannabis celebration, and wound up staying in the city. He usually stays at friends' houses, but has also spent time living on the street.

Klughpassively panhandles near Bute Street, surroundedbyhis messages and the passers-by who mostly seem to enjoy the mood he's set.

"It's work. It's a lot of work. But just watching the people enjoy it is worth it just sitting and having a coffee and watching people taking photos," said Klugh, who spends about eight hours athisspot most days.

Klugh's messages are mostly quite simple. Hefound some of them elsewhere, and came up with some himself.

When it rains, it all gets washed away, and Klugh has to start fresh once the sidewalk dries up. He often comes back to the same messages he's been using for months, things like, "You are awesome," and, "You really rock, own it."

Klugh has tried to get a busking licence from the City of Vancouver he considers the sidewalk chalk a type of performance but he was rejected.

It's a busy stretch of Robsonand people are constantly stopping to snap photos. Many of his messages have been posted on social media.

"I've seen Patrick here for a long time and he's been doing this awesome art here on the street formonths and months," saidO'Neil Warner, who posted about Klugh and his work on Reddit this week, drawing hundreds of upvotes.

"I saw the 'Good Vibes' yesterday when I was walking up, but all of this is super positive stuff," he said.

"It was a nice,feelgood, fun thing. A lot of thestuff on Reddit is kind of toxic, and this is a good thing and it got a great response."

Klugh considers the entire display a form of art, but he's modest about his technical abilities.

"The smiley face is the extent of my drawing capability. I like words," he said.

He'll let other people borrow his chalk if they ask first and draft a positive message, but he vets their work. He won't allow any personalized comments, or politicalor religious content. Klugh says everything needs to be for everybody.

The adjacent businesses seem happy to have Klughthere. They've come to know him and his chalk work.

But Klughsays there were a few "hiccups" early on, withprivate security guards trying to get him to move along.

"In my general life, oh yeah, there's negative, there's positive. but I choose to stick to the positive," he said.

Klugh dreams of taking his "Positivity Zone"idea and running with it. He wants to start some sort of business a restaurant or store by the same name, where people can spread their positive messages with a stick of chalk and a smile.

Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker