sand painting
1
7.2
- noun
- /sænd ˈpeɪntɪŋ/
- US
:
pintura de arena
- It's a sand painting with bullet holes.
Examples
-
The intricate sand painting took hours to complete, showcasing the vibrant colors of the sands used by the Navajo people.
-
He vigorously wipes his palms on his bright robe and turns back to the delicate sand painting.
Fiction book (1998) -
Framed oil seascapes and sand paintings.
Fiction book (1996) -
Living traditions, such as the Navajo, use the rituals of chant and sand paintings for the journey into other realities.
Academic text (1994) -
Bags sold for ten dollars or sand paintings of various sizes ranging from three to ten dollars portray the images with which the tourists can readily identify.
Academic text (2002) -
During the ceremony, the artist carefully arranged colored grains to create a beautiful sand painting on the ground.
-
At the cultural festival, visitors admired a stunning sand painting depicting traditional Native American symbols.
How Complex
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'sand' (granular material) + 'painting' (an artwork), i.e. an artwork made using sand. This noun–noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern and should be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Sand painting comes from the simple idea of 'painting' with sand: artists carefully place small colored grains of sand on a flat surface to make a picture. That's why it means a 'picture' or 'design' made from sand today.