Along the coast of Michigan’s upper peninsula in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore can be found an ancient sandstone remnant, carved by the water nearly 4,000 years ago. This particular outcropping of sun-bleached stone creates a kind of platform, and on top of it grows a single white pine tree, clinging to life against all odds, its thick roots spanning the distance between the platform and the mainland. It’s a special place, and is a popular destination for summer travelers. My painting depicts this place, called Chapel Rock, as the sun begins its descent over lake Superior, lighting the sky and the water beneath with bright turquoise, blues, purples, pinks and yellows. It was painted in oil using a small brush, and because of the brush I used, it is one of my most detailed paintings to date.