Baker arch

Baker arch. Acrylic. 15" x 20"

This driftwood construction no longer exists. 

It was on the beach one day. A few days later it was gone. I didn't see who made it. I don't know what happened to it. Was it blown down by the wind? Washed out with the tide? Taken away by a mysterious stranger?

I love its simplicity, its crooked perfection, its wabi-sabi. I cherish its anonymity and impermanence. But I had to preserve it on video and canvas. That's what I do. 

At this angle the arch frames Mt. Baker, an ancient volcano in the distance. Mt. Baker is usually obscured by clouds and not often visible from this beach. You could come here every day for weeks and never see it. Then one day, whoosh, it's there, gleaming across the water, an elusive snow-covered god basking in the sun. It's a very good day when you can see Baker. 

For me, this image celebrates the meeting of timelessness and transience - the ancient, sleeping mountain and the driftwood arch - made by the forces of nature and brought together briefly by a passing creative soul. 

Life, we know, is transient. But art, we hope, is timeless.