We’ve all witnessed many incredible artists from around the world creating art using various materials to express themselves. That said, there are very few who come close to Andoni Bastarrika from Basque Country, Spain. He is passionate about creating animals from sand along beaches. His incredible art work is so detailed that you would think you were looking at real animals. I have viewed many extravagant sand castles that don’t come close to his work!
An Amazing Talent That Must Be Recognized
Bastarrika first started creating his spectacular art in 2010 while spending time with his daughters at the beach. He started by creating a little mermaid that thrilled his daughters. This was the beginning as he realized he could create supernatural looking creatures out of sand. He wanted to create sculptures from the world around him, especially animals! He worked tirelessly to figure out how to create these sculptures and has since received world acclaim for his art work.
He knew he wanted to create his masterpieces from sand with his subjects being animals. He said that sand fascinates him because it’s everywhere and can teach you so much! He also said that his animal sculptures are so special because animals are free spirits!. They are so beautiful and are carriers of great wisdom. People can learn from animals.
Working on the Basque beaches, Andoni always uses cement platforms that are elevated right by the coast, and then he deposits buckets of sand to create his sculptures. He adds a small amount of water to make the sand moist and then starts shaping his work. He then uses a sharpened stick and a feather to mold the sand.
Working on the Basque beaches, Andoni always uses cement platforms that are elevated right by the coast, and then he deposits buckets of sand to create his sculptures. He adds a small amount of water to make the sand moist and then starts shaping his work. He then uses a sharpened stick and a feather to mold the sand.
Bastarrika also uses other materials such as ashes, various powders including coal, clay, and stone of different colors along with glass shards to finish it up. For accessories, he uses real horns for a bull and rocks to create hooves. It’s attention to the fine details that really makes his sculptures realistic.
Over the past 10 years, he has seriously honed his skills to create many different creatures including sharks, dogs, elephants, and so many others. He has so many sculptures including a horse, a great white shark, a bison, and a rhino. He loves creating sculptures of different breeds of dogs while relaxing on the beach.
After completing one of his masterpieces, he will post photographs on his Instagram. He is very proud of the thousands of people who have viewed his work. Though he must admit, creating these sculptures takes a lot of time and energy on a daily basis. He pointed out some differences which usually depend on the size of the animal. The elephant took him 2 days while the horse and bison only took 12 hours. The dogs, being smaller animals, will only take him 8 hours. It’s all worth it in the long run! I hope he never stops showing us his amazing talent creating all his creatures great and small!