Haystack Rock Art – Oregon Coast Sunset

Recently I’ve been in the mood for landscapes and when someone suggested this subject, the result was this Haystack Rock Art. It depicts an Oregon Coast sunset with the famous 200+ foot high rock almost in complete silhouette. The sunset skies over the Pacific Ocean are mostly a mix of pink and blue but with some warm gold tones on the horizon on the right hand side of the scene. As much as I’m in the mood for landscapes, I’m in the mood for art that brings a little light and joy into the viewer’s world, including my own.

Haystack Rock itself is an interesting piece of geology. It was formed from lava flows millions of years ago . It spent much of that time underwater but as the Pacific coast rose, Haystack Rock became a visible coastal feature. If you’re into that sort of long history, I found a good article about it you might enjoy. I don’t know how many of my visitors share the same sort of interest but going back to childhood I’ve found the geology behind landscapes interesting. Not quite enough to be a geologist, but enough that it was my science elective in college.

And I’ve said before that I personally love sunsets and sunrises. They can be mundane but when the atmospheric conditions are right they can be truly joyful to watch and capture. This one is mostly a product of my imagination but I’ve seen similarly vivid sunsets on the Pacific coast many years ago. That memory I guess has fed multiple artworks including this Pacific Coast Sunset as well as the Haystack Rock art you see in this article.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this sunset art from Cannon Beach on the Pacific Coast. If you’ve been, does it capture your memories of this beautiful place? Or maybe it’s the feeling you get form this art more than the place? Please feel free to take a moment and share your thoughts or questions in the comments or you can send a message if you’d rather talk with me one on one.