“ART in an hour – a rake, a stick and some string” has gained quite a following in Port Macquarie, with Alex McNaught’s stunning beach drawings now numbering almost 200.
Alex is a photographer and a sand art, kinetic and video artist, with a background as a technical software developer.
Until the floods in May, you would find him on Oxley Beach.
As it is now covered in rocks, he has moved to the sands of Town Beach, near Salty Crew.
“Slowly but surely I have improved my techniques and the speed with which I can do things,” Alex said.
”Things that I earlier regarded as too hard, I can now see how to do them.
“I’ve been teaching myself drawing, as I was never a drawer before.
“The key criteria is good drawable sand in the intertidal zone and somewhere it can be seen, ideally looking from the south to the north to consider lighting and contrast.
“And also [somewhere] with as much height as possible, since too shallow an angle is hard to see well.”
Alex said he will continue using that section of Town Beach while his preferred location recovers.
“I will definitely keep an eye on Oxley Beach since it ticks all those boxes easily, but with the rocks being so persistent there now, I will explore a hybrid sand and rock creation.”
The right tides return on Sunday 3 August at 9am.
Depending on the weather, that’s when you’ll find Alex back at Town Beach, creating his next artwork.
Follow Alex on Facebook (Art in an Hour – a rake, a stick and some string at the beach) or on Instagram (art-in-an-hour-at-the-beach) for times, venues, details and his fabulous photography.
By Pauline CAIN
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