Snow man

[Photo provided to China Daily]

"The record is eight weeks," Beck says of how long his works can last. "They gradually fade as footprints melt, and usually they are covered by more snow in one week."

"But it's good when they get covered, so you can do another drawing," Beck adds lightheartedly.

Winter is the busy season for Beck. Having finishing his artwork in Chongli for the Corona Sunset Festival last weekend, he's flying to the United States to be an artist in residence in a ski resort at Powder Mountain in the state of Utah.

Partly due to his engineering background and partly due to his previous cartography career, Beck's drawings are often mathematical fractals, such as patterns derived from a Mandelbrot set or Koch star. Simply put, they are combinations of a certain shape which reoccurs again and again, each time at a smaller scale.

"I have witnessed thousands of designs around the world over 30 years, and I have to say there are none that are more exquisite and impressive as yours," writes Colin Andrews, a crop circle researcher, congratulating Beck when his book was out.