Jim Denevan: Drawing with Sand

They aren’t rugs or textiles but they could be! Using a rake or a piece of driftwood, Santa Cruz-based artist Jim Denevan creates monumental works on the sandy beaches of the world

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan

They aren’t rugs or textiles but they could be! Using a rake or a piece of driftwood, Santa Cruz-based artist Jim Denevan creates monumental works on the sandy beaches of the world. The designs can take many hours especially the larger, more complex geometric patterns, which despite being very accurate are completed without a plan or measurement. What makes these works even more profound is that they are not made to last and get washed away with the tide.

Surfer, chef and sand artist, Denevan began creating these drawings on sand in the 1990s when his mother, who raised him and his eight siblings alone, developed Alzheimer’s disease. It became his way of dealing with her decline.

Without these stunning photographs you would need a helicopter to appreciate his ephemeral works. Photographs of his sand drawings are in major collections, including that of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan

Sand drawing by Jim Denevan