Beach Art

I’m not sure where I first saw Andres Amador’s Earthscapes, but the ingenious landscape designs have captivated me. It’s hard to say my favorite: Cracks II: where links between rocks indicate  some sort of communication; Connection: a ying-and-yang-like form between two people; or the simpler, beautiful Currents.

This weekend I got the chance to meet the artist and see one of the Playa Paintings up close. It was a gorgeous day out in Ocean Beach, San Francisco and Andres was basking in the sun in a yoga pose when I found him. We carried his rakes back to his truck and he explained some of his process and workshops. Often in his own geometrical designs ropes help get accurate measurements. But workshops are more about letting people express themselves and find a commonality in a final design that weaves everything together.

“In these explorations I seek geometric relationships that speak to forces in nature. I create large-scale works on the beach, creating a focus of contemplative thought energy, and then watch how people respond, how they interact with the formations. Done between tides, the designs are gone within several hours, and often begin eroding immediately after finishing them, gone without any trace like the sand paintings of cultures around the world.”

I would love to see Andres come down to Black’s Beach by Torrey Pines and have him make a Playa Painting under a full moon! That would be quite magical.

Check out his art at http://www.andresamador.net/ Get yourself or someone you love one of his prints.