Washington -Wet

A thousand mystical Islands and hundreds of lochs and mountains haunted by battle between Highland Clans whispers in the wind that I am the Islander Clan Morrison. The mystical natures of graphite and ink and the easel and paper haunted by the nature which made them great trees echo that I am an artist. Nature is what makes artist and art lovers. Rainforests are the ideal. The only rainforest in the Continental United States are in Washington State. I ask my father what to put down for Washington State and he said “apple.” My other uncle lives in Washington’s apple country. But, I think everybody who eats apples from grocery stores in the US has had an apple from that state. (Washington people are apparently not in to grocery stores.)  Someone else to that question said rain with that in Seattle the bet on the rain every hour. It is both rain and apple. Ironically, Washington State is one of the only states to have a Highland & Island tartan.

Washington has a very unique mythos. Everything is on the French Bakery sign showing West Coast cruise. In front of everything is the state flower the coast rhododendron. The branch in the front is for the state tree Western Hemlock. The story goes that Washington had no state tree but an Oregon newsman making fun of them suggest what now the state tree is. Ironically, it was supported by the state senate because of the state’s wood industry. On the right side behind everything is Mount Rainier or Tacoma as the native people call it. According to Native American legends, Tacoma (meaning “mother of the waters”) fought with her “sister wife” over their husband, but she fled with her son to the valley which was so plentiful they got fat and became mountains. Between branch and the mountain is the Space Needle. It was built for the 1964 Seattle Words Fair and the decision on its height was built on a helicopter ride. The butte in the distant left behind all but Mount Reiner is for Olympic National Park which is one of the oldest national parks in America (and World Heritage site) and is associated with the Hoh, Jamestown S'Klallam, Elwha Klallam, Makah, Port Gamble, S'Klallam, Quileute, Quinault, and Skokomish Nations. I drew this picture over a year ago with pencil and white charcoal and is 9” x 12.”

 The name of this piece is “Loch 39” and was drawn last November (It snowed two days later.) with pen and is 8” x 10.” It was drawn in Independence, Ohio on the old Erie Canal at former Loch 39 which is near modern Cleveland and is currently part of a National Forrest. That is a sad element of Cleveland but good. Cleveland was once a great industrialized, manufacturing giant but now is “Tree Town.” If you are interested in buying this or any other of my art pieces email me at MatthewMorrison@yahoo.com.