By Staff Reporter
Her skills quickly caught the attention of hotels, corporate clients, and government entities, and a 10-minute gig could earn her Dh10,000
From Dh320 pay to Dh10,000 in 10 minutes: How Filipino artist in UAE turns sand art into success
Cathy Nunez never imagined that a handful of sand would shape her destiny.
When she left the Philippines for the UAE in 2013, her mother, Ciony, had one question: “What kind of job will you have there by the end of the day?” It wasn’t an unreasonable concern. Cathy, the eldest of five siblings, had secured an admin job in Sharjah with a salary of Dh1,200. But reality hit hard — her first pay check was only Dh320, the rest deducted as placement fee.
Over the next four months, she never received her full salary. Deductions kept appearing, and she had no choice but to take on odd jobs to survive. She even cleaned toilets to scrape by. The frustration nearly broke her and she fell into depression. But what could have been the end of her story became a turning point.
Coming from a family of artists, Cathy decided to try something different: face painting at small gatherings and community events. “I was paid Dh100 a day, which felt like a fortune back then. Suddenly, that side gig opened a whole new world. I realised art could save me, and it did,” she said.
She started showcasing her talent at private events and market pop-ups. Initially, she tried selling traditional paintings, but they didn’t move. “No one was buying, so I switched gears and began doing live caricatures and portraits. That’s where the real demand was,” she said. The shift paid off, literally.
While she landed a job with a company in Dubai, her passion never strayed from art. In 2017, she stumbled upon sand art animation. “I didn’t even know what it was until a friend mentioned they needed a sand artist. I started watching YouTube tutorials, practicing on beach sand until I figured it out,” she said. Unlike regular sand, sand art requires a special fine-grain variety. There are only a handful of artists in the UAE specialising in it. Cathy is one of them.
Her skills quickly caught the attention of hotels, corporate clients, and government entities. A ten-minute sand animation could earn her anywhere between Dh5,000 and Dh10,000.
“From September to January, I barely had a moment to rest. There were bookings almost every day,” she said.
She had planned to visit her husband in Germany for a break, but demand kept her grounded. “I had to rebook my flight three times because of a surge in Ramadan bookings. I’m creating Ramadan motifs for Adnoc and even experimenting with coffee paintings — coffee is a big deal in this part of the world,” she said.
Even with the relentless schedule, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “The UAE has given me opportunities I could never have imagined back home. I arrived here struggling to make ends meet, but this country gave me a platform to turn my passion into a profession.”
Her success has transformed not just her life but her family’s as well. “I built three homes back in the Philippines with my income and even secured land properties for my siblings. My whole family visits every December, and I often remind my mother of the time she worried about what job I’d get here.” Recently, she flew seven family members to the UAE. “They had never seen snow before, so the next day, I booked a trip to Central Asia for them. Seeing their excitement was worth everything.”
A regular at top arts events, including World Art Dubai, Cathy is also a passionate traveller, having visited over 30 countries even before getting married. But not all trips are for leisure — her work now takes her across borders. “In Kuwait, I worked on an art project for Four Seasons Hotel. In Dammam, Saudi Arabia, I delivered 25 paintings for Nissan and performed live speed painting on stage, finishing in just six minutes. I also created intricate doodle artwork for a medical conference in Riyadh and did caricatures for Adidas in Riyadh as well.”
“When I landed in Saudi Arabia, dragging canvases bigger than me, the airport staff were so confused they had to call my client for confirmation,” she laughed.
Cathy’s client list includes Adidas, Four Seasons, Agthia, Al Naboodah, Usha, Accor Middle East, Emaar, Meydan, and more. She has also stunned audiences at government events by creating inverted paintings of UAE royals within minutes. “I was invited by a government organisation for a major event, and they asked for live paintings of the UAE leadership. I completed them in minutes, right in front of an audience — it was an unforgettable experience.
“Today, I am mostly booked and focusing more on Sand Art Animation, bringing stories to life using light and sound across the UAE and the Middle East.”
Cathy’s work has become her life. What started as a way to make ends meet has turned into a full-time career, one that allows her to create, inspire, and support her family.
“Art gave me more than just a livelihood, it gave me purpose. I started with nothing, but today, I’m a full-time artist doing what I love, and that is the greatest gift. I owe it all to the One above.”
Source: Khaleji Times
