A curved palm trunk rises from a rocky shoreline over turquoise water, with green fronds spreading against a blue sky above distant low islands and small boats.

The Long Lean

MG-0144

2020-07-20

About this piece

A sweeping palm trunk leads the eye from the foreground into a canopy of sunlit fronds. Textured bark and rippling turquoise water give this coastal composition its tactile detail, while low islands hold a narrow line beneath the expansive sky.

The story

I followed the bend of the trunk with my camera, letting it carry my gaze out over the water before turning upward into the leaves. From this angle, the palm seemed to belong equally to the shore and the sky. Beyond it, small boats rested along a thin green horizon. I wanted to keep that contrast: the close, weathered surface of the bark and the broad blue distance opening around it.

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