Artist Makes Massive Sand Drawings That Will Eventually Be Swallowed by the Tide

For land artists, the Earth becomes a giant canvas for their incredible imagery. The French creative known as JBen uses his location on the coast of Royan as a place to produce his massive beach art. His ephemeral designs are intricate—especially considering their scale—and feature a variety of subjects. Sometimes, he carves swirls in the sand while other times the drawings are character-driven and feature the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog. Regardless of the content, each is done with a precision that can only be fully appreciated when viewed from above.

JBen’s beach drawings range in size from 100 to 330 feet wide. They are done without a solid plan in mind. The landscape itself will often inform the composition, particularly when elements work with the shape of the rocky coastline or are sandwiched between dunes. Each is a performance, and time is of the essence; JBen only has four hours to create a unique design between the tides.

The land artist captures all of his finished pieces with a drone. Viewing the footage is the first time JBen sees his final handiwork from above, as he doesn’t have a moment to spare in the midst of the process. Then, it's time to enjoy it before the ocean swallows it whole.

Scroll down to see some of his most impressive works and follow him on Instagram to see what he’s working on next.