Over her shoulder looms one of the alien presences which have invaded Seattle’s Central District, the severe geometric contrivances of impoverished architects bent on imposing rigid austerities of vision atop our backyards, elevating formerly grassy areas to flat rooftops where optimistic newcomers stake parasols to protect themselves from Seattle’s (not so very) famous “sunshine”.  At the feet of these intruders, uncertain of their future, cluster seemingly superannuated dwellings with the sloped roofs thought, in bygone days, to be desirable in a temperate rainforest.  So far, Sue’s favorite tree, the towering beech standing between Immaculate Conception and the tower-to-be, remains standing, its branches tangled in sky while its roots endure intrusion by one of the yellow backhoes which proliferate our streets.

Immaculate Limo, oil on canvas, 34 x 38 inches, copyright ©2015