WATCHTOWER

Jan 07, 2025

A tree house sits on tall wooden pilings above a smooth sandy beach. High up, a woman rests her arms over the window sill as she looks out. The window is set in the roof with a haphazardly constructed, asymmetrical overhang. The roof is shingled on one side of the window while the boards beneath are weathered and exposed on the other. The siding of the structure resembles an old water tower, with long vertical boards restrained with thin metal bands long since rusted. The sky is a wash of yellow and gray. The light has a dusky quality as clouds obscure a sun that sits low in the sky. A path of pebbles meanders river-like from the foreground in a loose zigzag until it reaches a puddle of water at the base of the watchtower. The ruined remains of a ladder stick out of the sand near the pilings. — WATCHTOWER (1999), Acrylic on Panel - 28" x 22"

While the figure in the tower was watching her TV, the tide came in and then receded, taking her boat and ruining her ladder in the process. Now she’s stranded...

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Additional images from WATCHTOWER

LEFT: Close detail from WATCHTOWER featuring a woman high up rests her arms over the window sill of the treehouse-like structure. A television screen can barely be seen in the lower corner near her elbow. The hexagon roof descends from a point looking like the top of a silo or an old water tower. One panel beside the window is still shingled but the opposite side is dilapidated with unshingled, weathered boards showing through. Wire is strung on a vertical rod draping to another on a 45 degree angle in what appears to be a makeshift antenna. RIGHT: Detail from WATCHTOWER featuring a path of rocks meandering across the sand like a snake. A pair of driftwood planks just out of the sand nearby. Water pools near the base of the pylons reflecting the supports of the structure. — Details from WATCHTOWER

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WATCHTOWER

Additional images from WATCHTOWER

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