French-Swiss artist Saype turned the slopes of a Swiss ski resort into a massive outdoor canvas this summer, creating two temporary paintings that covered nearly 2.7 acres of mountainside.
The two works were created at Villars-sur-Ollon in the Swiss Alps as part of Saype’s 2026 project, “A portee de ciel.” One covered roughly 50,000 square feet of grass, while the second stretched across nearly 68,000 square feet.
Rather than painting on a wall or conventional canvas, Saype worked directly on the mountain.
The enormous images depict two children drawing the world they imagine around them. According to the artist, the children represent a progression from observing and learning about the world to actively creating their own vision of it and sharing that knowledge with others.
The scale is difficult to appreciate from ground level. The finished pieces are designed to be viewed from above and from surrounding areas of the resort, where the figures appear to stretch across entire sections of the grassy mountainside.
Painting a Ski Mountain by Hand
Saype arrived in Villars in early July and created the two works directly on the grass. The first was located in the Aiguille sector and could be viewed from Roc d’Orsay. The second was created near the Villars golf course.
Creating artwork on that scale requires more than simply enlarging a sketch.
According to the Villars tourism organization, Saype first studies the landscape, history and surroundings before photographing the site from the air. A paper sketch is then transferred to the ground using a grid of stakes, with roughly one centimeter on the original sketch representing about 13 feet on the mountainside.
He then paints the image directly onto the terrain while accounting for perspective, elevation and the way the finished piece will appear from a distance.
The 2026 project proved particularly challenging. According to Saype, the works took about 10 days to complete and endured three storms along with hail before the final images could be fully revealed.
The Paintings Are Designed to Disappear
Despite their enormous size, the works were never intended to become permanent additions to the mountain.
Saype uses an environmentally responsible paint made primarily from natural materials including chalk and charcoal. Weather and vegetation gradually erase the images over several weeks, eventually returning the mountainside to its previous appearance.
That temporary nature is an intentional part of the project.
Rather than permanently altering the landscape, the artwork exists briefly before nature takes over again.
Villars has become something of a recurring canvas for Saype. The 2026 installation marked the fifth summer of his land art cycle at the Swiss mountain resort, with the artist returning each year since 2022 to create large-scale work integrated into the Alpine landscape.
Euronews highlighted the project in August, describing the massive frescoes as part of Saype’s continuing effort to combine large-scale visual art with the natural environment.
If you are interesting in buying something by Saype, you can explore his works HERE.
