Artist earns thousands creating sand art portraits

By Leo Black via SWNS

A man who quit his mechanical engineering job now earns thousands by making sand art of sportsmen such as Ronaldo and TV characters like Wednesday Addams.

James Sun, 36, quit his job after a difficult breakup and started making sand art logos for companies and celebrity portraits.

He now has five employees and is making sponsored art for the likes of BMW, F.C Barcelona, and Nickelodeon and is now earning thousands.

The custom pieces start at $1,500, while his work for brand promotion cost anywhere upwards of $4,500.

He creates between 10 and 15 pieces a month.

James, from Toronto, Canada, said: "I was heartbroken. I needed something to heal my heart, so I looked online, and when I saw sand art it really made me calm."

He spent hours online searching for people who made the type of art he wanted to make, and even flew out to China, Jordan and Japan to be taught by the masters.

In total, John spent around $30,000 learning his craft and began posting his art on TikTok in 2018, where he now has now amassed more than 3.4 million followers.

He added: "I just kept practicing. I'm a really big sports fan and I'm really passionate about pop culture, so I started on TikTok. It was the right thing, that was when it really changed."

James makes his art using a small spoon, which he uses to sprinkle colored sand into container, and a custom needle to pack it into the shape he needs.

The pieces he makes can take anywhere between a few hours, for the simpler logos, to three days for the more complex portraits.

James spends around 10 hours-a-day on his art.

"I just do it one grain at a time," James said, "I take breaks when I'm doing it, because I really need to focus, but I really enjoy it, it really relieves my stress so much.

"When I made the change everyone thought I was crazy, but looking back it was the best decision that I ever made.

"Mentally, it has healed me. It mended my broken heart. I really really love sand art.

"I get the chance to work with all these great brands, now I make way more than I used to. I do these brand deals, and I do in-person performances.

"Now everyone is supporting me, they're even asking me to teach their kids how to do it."