\n From early creations to modern designs, the seafront has long been a showcase for unforgettable sand art.\n<\/p>\n
\n Whilst a number of sculptors have taken advantage of Weymouth’s ‘special sand’, the work of Fred Darrington and his grandson Mark Anderson can’t be ignored.\n<\/p>\n
\n Fred began sculpting just after the First World War in the early 1920s. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 91, but Mark has continued following in his footsteps and co-founded Sandworld at Lodmoor Country Park.\n<\/p>\n
\n Here are\u00a0some of our all-time favourite pieces to have graced Weymouth Beach.\n<\/p>\n
\n Loch Ness Monster\n<\/p>\n
\n Loch Ness Monster (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n A 21-year-old Fred stands next to Weymouth\u2019s own Loch Ness monster.\n<\/p>\n
\n It was in the early 1930s that sightings of \u2018Nessie\u2019 started to crop up and Fred was quick to take advantage of the euphoria surrounding it.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cAround that time, the stories of Nessie started to come out and just out of fun he made one out of sand. As a kid in the late 1960s, I remember he would still be doing a Nessie.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Bread and fruit\n<\/p>\n
\n Bread and fruit (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Butter, flour and yeast didn\u2019t feature as part of Fred Darrington\u2019s bread recipe. He preferred to use water, paint, sand, a simple knife, a little patience and a steady hand.\n<\/p>\n
\n Of course, this bread wasn\u2019t for eating. It was one of Fred\u2019s favourite designs, according to Mark, and he\u2019d make the piece \u2018nearly every year\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cI can\u2019t remember him not doing it. So many people would say that it\u2019s not sand. He\u2019d throw a piece of fruit up to them and it would crumble.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The Sea Horses\n<\/p>\n
\n The Sea Horses (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Fred designed and sculpted Weymouth\u2019s sea horses on a number of occasions.\n<\/p>\n
\n This particular sculpture was constructed in 1995, according to Mark.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cThat was one of his favourites. There was a painting hanging in his dining room of the horses. He started most seasons with the sea horses.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Tutankhamen\n<\/p>\n
\n Tutankhamen (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Further exploring the sands of time, we found Fred paid homage to Tutankhamen in 1972 after an exhibition opened at the British Museum.\n<\/p>\n
\n The exhibition itself was widely acclaimed and received an overwhelming public reaction. Fred sculpted a pyramid and the famous burial mask as part of his design.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cHe had a lifelong interest in Tutankhamen. I think he went to see it in London in 1972. It was very topical.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The Last Supper\n<\/p>\n
\n The Last Supper (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Believe it or not, Leonardo Da Vinci\u2019s painting of The Last Supper has been recreated out of salt and chocolate syrup. Fred decided to make his version out of sand.\n<\/p>\n
\n It was a piece Fred often recreated, with this photo taken in 1973. The painting represents the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cIt is just a fantastic piece of work. He loved Leonardo and his work and that is his favourite piece from Da Vinci.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The Muppets\n<\/p>\n
\n The Muppets (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n It\u2019s time to play the music, it\u2019s time to light the lights, it\u2019s time to sculpt the Muppets out of Weymouth sand tonight.\n<\/p>\n
\n Fred designed this piece in 1978. This was just after The Muppet Show debuted on our TV screens.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cHe loved the Muppets. He always managed to pick very popular themes, something which I\u2019ve tried to stick to. It is not about trying to create new art.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The Jungle Book\n<\/p>\n
\n The Jungle Book (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Fun and friendly characters appear to have been a mainstay feature of Fred and Mark\u2019s designs over the years.\n<\/p>\n
\n In this particular design, sculpted in 1978, we can see a scene depicted from the Disney adaptation of The Jungle Book, featuring Mowgli, King Louie, and Bagheera.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cHe always loved animals. It was the perfect thing. When he was growing up in 1918, Rudyard Kipling was extremely popular. It was one of his childhood memories.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Windsor Castle\n<\/p>\n
\n Windsor Castle (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n As part of a royal visit to Weymouth\u2019s seafront in 2009, Mark and his team were requested to make a special sculpture close to home for the royal guests.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Queen and Prince Philip admired a 20ft-wide sculpture of Windsor Castle on Weymouth Beach as part of a royal visit.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cPrince Philip said, \u2018Shouldn\u2019t you have done Sandringham?\u2019 He was very funny. When I was talking to him he was pointing out the rooms.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n London Olympic 2012 sand castle\n<\/p>\n
\n London Olympic 2012 sand castle (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark\u2019s giant sandcastle on Weymouth Beach to mark the 100-day countdown to the Olympics certainly made headlines.\n<\/p>\n
\n The castle took four days to build but was knocked down immediately after photographs were taken because of safety fears.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mark said: \u201cI was asked to do something which would celebrate the Olympics in Weymouth and Portland. As a sand man, it was obvious to me do a sandcastle.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Welcome to Weymouth\n<\/p>\n
\n Welcome to Weymouth (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Since the new Sandworld viewing area was established on the Esplanade, Mark has used a number of \u2018fun, friendly characters\u2019 as part of a design to welcome tourists to Weymouth. This has included Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc., ET and Ironman.\n<\/p>\n
\n Following Andy Murray\u2019s Wimbledon success in 2012, Mark paid tribute by sculpting him into the design. Unfortunately, vandals later destroyed part of the sculpture, which left Mark devastated.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite this act of vandalism, Mark said: \u201cPeople are very appreciative of the work we do. People come to Weymouth to enjoy a holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From early creations to modern designs, the seafront has long been a showcase for unforgettable sand art. Whilst…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-648290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}