Snow man

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Beck has enjoyed outdoor activities since his childhood. He recounts going to see snow in Scotland when he was 9, and appreciating the land art, or drawings on earth, such as the Cerne Abbas Giant and the Uffington White Horse, in southern England where he grew up.

He didn't start doing his own art, however, until he bought a small apartment high up in Les Arcs on the southeast side of the French Alps, when he started to learn skiing. By chance he drew a star for fun on a small snow-covered frozen lake outside his apartment building.

He was 44 that year.

In the past few years, Beck has produced about 30 images every winter, and in 2014, a decade after he drew the first star, he published a photo collections of his works, titled Snow Art.

Compared with traditional forms of art－murals, paintings and sculptures－which last for ages and crystallize the inspiration of artists, Beck's snow art seems momentary, reminding us of the fleeting nature of time.