Amazing Gaint Sand Art

Forward by Angel

Peter Donnelly is an artist who can truly claim to see the bigger picture while attending to the devil that’s in the detail. He is also an artist who is far from precious about his work,since few mediums can be as transitory as the one he chooses to work in. While humankind has surely been creating artworks out of sand since long
before we have been able to preserve any trace of their fleeting existence,few sand artists can have worked on such a scale as Peter Donnelly. And few revelled so much in the march of the incoming tide.



Based in Christchurch, New Zealand, Peter Donnelly has been practicing his unique take on sand art for over ten years, a period during which he has created almost one thousand pieces of art – only to see each creative outpouring washed away by the encroaching sea. Does he mind? Far from it.



When the Sunday morning tide goes out, Donnelly cycles down to the beach below New Brighton pier, and with a rake and stick for paintbrushes, sets about transferring
what is in his imagination onto the sand. The fact that each piece is so short-lived is part of what makes them special.


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Elaborate patterns integrate seamlessly with more recognisable forms as Donnelly’s works come to life beneath his dancing feet and the deft movements of rake and stick. Crowds of people look on – bemused, wondering, excited – and Donnelly continues with his dance.