Pinoy artist makes Dubai shoreline his canvas
For his sand murals along a Dubai shoreline, Filipino artist Nathaniel Alapide is slowly making a name in the United Arab Emirates.
“For me it is a like a form of meditation,” Alapide told lifestyle website 7Days in Dubai, referring to his drive to create sand murals on the Burj Khalifa shoreline.
An aquarium specialist in Dubai's Atlantis hotel, Alapide said he gets his inspiration from his aquatic charges and various life experiences.
One of his works, a grand tree with swirling branches, was inspired by his grandmother Federica Alapide, who passed away in 2013. In the caption, he said she “always believed” in his craft and was his “great inspiration” in his works.
“To me she was like a tree that gave us shade. I made that tree in her memory,” he told 7Days in Dubai.
An experiment
Once or twice a week, Alapide would rake sand into shapes according to designs he sketches out beforehand for three to four hours in the morning.
He said the murals started as "an experiment" to further work with sand, a material he uses in sculpting. He said he chose sand because very few artists used it in their works.
While he only started making murals nine months ago, Alapide maintains a healthy gallery of his sand works on Talenthouse, an online gallery for artists.
He is currently seeking sponsorship for his tour around the United Arab Emirates, aiming to create sand art representing each emirate.
Interested sponsors may e-mail him at nathaniel_ripper@yahoo.com.
Contest
Alapide was also one of the artists who were picked by lifestyle website Time Out's readers to participate in an art contest with m0re Café. He told Time Out that the painting of the Burj Khalifa, drawn in green and grey squares, was already in the works when he heard of the contest two months later.
In his profile with m0re Café, Alapide described himself as a painter, saying his art merely revealed “something that is already there.” He hopes that his work will “spark an idea or awaken an emotion” within those who view them. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
“For me it is a like a form of meditation,” Alapide told lifestyle website 7Days in Dubai, referring to his drive to create sand murals on the Burj Khalifa shoreline.
An aquarium specialist in Dubai's Atlantis hotel, Alapide said he gets his inspiration from his aquatic charges and various life experiences.
One of his works, a grand tree with swirling branches, was inspired by his grandmother Federica Alapide, who passed away in 2013. In the caption, he said she “always believed” in his craft and was his “great inspiration” in his works.
“To me she was like a tree that gave us shade. I made that tree in her memory,” he told 7Days in Dubai.
An experiment
Once or twice a week, Alapide would rake sand into shapes according to designs he sketches out beforehand for three to four hours in the morning.
He said the murals started as "an experiment" to further work with sand, a material he uses in sculpting. He said he chose sand because very few artists used it in their works.
While he only started making murals nine months ago, Alapide maintains a healthy gallery of his sand works on Talenthouse, an online gallery for artists.
He is currently seeking sponsorship for his tour around the United Arab Emirates, aiming to create sand art representing each emirate.
Interested sponsors may e-mail him at nathaniel_ripper@yahoo.com.
Contest
Alapide was also one of the artists who were picked by lifestyle website Time Out's readers to participate in an art contest with m0re Café. He told Time Out that the painting of the Burj Khalifa, drawn in green and grey squares, was already in the works when he heard of the contest two months later.
In his profile with m0re Café, Alapide described himself as a painter, saying his art merely revealed “something that is already there.” He hopes that his work will “spark an idea or awaken an emotion” within those who view them. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
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