Joo Heng Tan's Sand Sculptures Take 24 Hours To Complete (SLIDESHOW)

Summer may be officially over, but the beach isn't off-limits just yet. To inspire some last-minute beach bumming, we'd like to introduce a master of shore art to the HuffPost Arts audience. Meet Joo Heng Tan, sand sculptor extraordinaire.

When we spotted the Singaporean artist's work at the Daily Mail, we were instantly struck by the scale of his efforts and the equanimity it must take to execute them. It's no wonder the publication referred to the granule master as "Vincent Sand Gogh". Like some Tibetan monk of the boardwalk, Tan takes ordinary brown beach sand and transforms the medium into intricate structures, figures, and even entire scenes, only to watch them disintegrate over time.

In an email to The Huffington Post, Tan said a three meter by three meter sculpture takes 24 hours to complete. To begin, he soaks his material -- that is, sand by the ton -- in water before sculpting it. And yet, as Tan writes, "beautiful things won't last." To which we say: We miss you already, summer!

For some of Tan's work, click through the images below. If you like what you see, head to his site "Sandworkz" for more.