No Art Supplies Required For These Stunning Masterpieces

If you ever happen to be at the Les Arcs ski resort in France you may encounter a strange sight - A man wearing snow shoes and walking in circles for hours on end. Meet Simon Beck, an artist who creates beautiful landscape 'paintings', using just the pristine white snow and his two feet.

The British resident who spends his winters in the beautiful valley of Savoie where the resort is located, began creating his snow masterpieces in 2004 as a way to have a little fun after a day of skiing. He enjoyed it so much that he started carving more intricate drawings and then shortly after, began using the endeavor as his primary form of exercise. Over the years, the Oxford University Engineering Science graduate has created numerous geometric design masterpieces featuring snow bursts, snowflakes and even shooting stars.

Simon begins by plotting out the design with the help of an orienting magnetic compass. He then dons his headphones and with Beethoven's music blasting in his ears, begins the painstaking 'painting' process by treading carefully on the soft white powder. On days when the snow is too shallow, the artist resorts to creating his drawings using a shovel. While the resulting designs are not as intricate as those created by his feet, they are still quite amazing.

While creating snow art is difficult enough, what makes it even more so is the temporary nature of the canvas. Therefore, everyone of these masterpieces that sometimes span the size of three football fields joined together, have to be completed in a single day. This means that Simon often ends up walking in the freezing cold weather for eight or nine hours at a stretch. Also, thanks to the unforgiving nature of soft snow, there is no room for error - Every step has to be perfectly orchestrated or the design will be ruined.

What's even worse is that these works of art last for only a day or two and the only evidence that they ever even existed is the photographs the artist takes when he completes each one - That's because even the lightest of snowfalls or wind is enough to wipe the snowy canvas clean! But Simon Beck does not seem to mind - The fresh snow just provides him an opportunity to create yet another stunning masterpiece!

Resources: npr.org,dailymail.co.uk