What This Artist Does With Snow is Unbelievable

Sightseeing guides around the world who specialize in art tours will show you some impressive sights, be they in the streets of Brazil, the back alleys of the Bronx, or the galleries of Italy. Art walk guides will take you on art deco tours of San Francisco, artisitc architecture tours of Warsaw, where stunning (and storied) stained glass is aplenty, and street art tours in Seattle, where some guides dress in costume to give you the lowdown on their locale’s renowned public art.

Besides the staggering art found in cities, though, there’s also art made in nature. Simon Beck is an artist who, for the past decade, has been decorating the Alps with his stunning mathematical drawings that he creates by running in snowshoes across fresh blankets of snow. He is definitely the man of art “au natural.”

Beck’s masterpieces take up to 11 hours to create, and once each piece is finished, he will have walked a total of 25 miles. His innovative art adds another dimension to the Alps, taking what most people associate with snow sports and fondue to another level.

On art walk tours, you’ll learn the fascinating intricacies behind each piece of work your skilled, art-impassioned guide takes you to, and here are a few fun tidbits about Simon Beck:

• He produces about 30 snow drawings every winter.
• He abides by the theory, “When you have a blank piece of paper you draw on it, so drawing on a blank snowfall seemed like a natural thing to do.”
• He prefers geometrical designs because they entail less tedious measuring, which, ultimately, means you can get to the fun part of creating more quickly, you don’t have to keep referring to a diagram, and you can create based on memory.
• He studied engineering, and later became an orienteering  mapmaker. He also won the British Orienting Championships in 1974.
• Each snow drawing is created using only a compass and by counting footsteps.

The next time you find yourself on a guided skiing tour, may we suggest channelling Beck and creating your own geometrical snow art. All you have to do is dream (and design) big.