Photos of a patriotic Abraham Lincoln sculpture are going viral this week after it won 2019’s Texas SandFest.

The man behind this sculpture is Damon Langlois, who managed to create a full sculpture in the likeness of the sixteenth president out of sand. Here’s the big pile of sand that his sculpture started out as.

Damon began by building a wooden frame around the sandpile so as to compact the sand, make the sculpture stronger, and allow him to effectively sculpt it.

In the photo below, you’ll Lincoln’s famous face start to form. It’s hard to believe that Damon was actually able to make this out of sand, isn’t it?!

Damon calls the sculpture “Liberty Crumbling,” and it completely stole the show at this year’s SandFest in Port Aransas. Over 35,000 people from all over the world came to see the sand sculptures at the festival with Damon’s sculpture being a fan favorite.

SandFest is an annual event that raises money for local charities. This year, it raised an astounding $355,000, bringing it’s total to $1,261,750 over the last eight years. After the success of Damon’s sculpture, the festival is sure to bring in even more money next year!

It’s always fascinating to see the unique materials that artists use to make their works. Before I saw this sculpture, I never would have believed that someone could make such a realistic-looking work completely out of sand. If you are in the Port Aransas, Texas area at this time next year, you should consider checking SandFest out. I know that I will be!

Find out more about this in the video below.