Watchtower In Amber Light

About this piece

A blue lifeguard tower painted with castle-like forms stands slightly left of center against an uninterrupted ocean horizon. Low sunlight breaks around its edge, illuminating the ridges of sand and contrasting with the cool blues of the structure and sea. Curving tire tracks lead through the empty foreground beneath a broad sky of orange clouds.

The story

On this March day, the low sun slips into the narrow space beside the tower, turning its metal framework into a lattice of light. Waves lay thin white lines along the shore while tire tracks curve through the sand and out of view. The painted turrets on the tower hold their own small skyline against the clouds. A distant ship marks the horizon, and the sign beneath the shuttered lookout reads: no lifeguard on duty.