Title
Tillamook Rock Light
Artist
Lynne Wright
Medium
Painting - Oil On Canvas
Description
This is an original oil painting on canvas of the Tillamook Rock Ligthouse, about a mile off the coast of Cannon Beach Oregon. I somewhat knew the history of Tilly, but was unsure of the setting of the building on the rock. I was doing this long before I had a computer to feed me all the information I could ask for, but I did find a couple of black and white pictures, and went from there.
There are a lot of stories to be told about Tilly, and among those stories is a fair bit of tragedy. Even though so close to the coast itself, Tilly is constantly attacked by some of the worst weather imaginable, and it is said that it is one of the worst places in the world, weatherwise, for a lighthouse. In 1879, there were plans being made to build the lighthouse out on the point of the rock. The local folks wanted no part of it, thinking it to be a total waste of time and money, and no one of the locals would even hire on to work on it. Undeterred, the builders brought in crews from other areas, that did not know of the reluctance of the locals, or the prospective dangers involved, and kept them hidden, so that the locals would not scare them off.
It was not uncommon for gale force winds to cause the surf to break completely over the rock. On a September morning of 1879, a gentleman from Portland, who was a master mason, and experienced in building in questionable surroundings, was placed on the rock to survey it, and see if it would be able to be used as a lighthouse. As he was climbing up the east side of the rock, massive winds and rough surf threw him from the rock, never to be seen again. Later, a four man crew was placed there to begin the work of leveling the high end of the rock, so the lighthouse could be built. Not too long after their arrival, a massive storm reared it's ugly head and washed away all of their water, tools, and supplies. It was not until six weeks later that a boat could get to them.
There are many more tales to be told of Tilly, including shipwrecks, ghosts, insanity, and more. Construction on Tilly began in 1879, and was completed more than two years later, in 1881. Terrible Tilly operated for 77 years, before being closed down and replaced by a warning buoy in 1957. Terrible Tilly proved to be the most expensive lighthouse to operate in all of America, as well as one of the most dangerous in the world.
Several years later, a private party bought the rock and lighthouse, gutted it, and turned it into a columbarium, called Eternity At Sea, and was to be used as an eternal resting place for thousands of urns of ashes from folks that had been cremated. There are only 30 or so urns there now, and the columbarium has not operated since 1991, having it's license revoked for not being up to required standards.
If a person does a search for Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, many interesting articles and photos can be found, especially one YouTube site that shows the waves crashing high above the highest point of the 133 foot above the water lighthouse.
Uploaded
October 4th, 2012
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Viewed 283 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 03/27/2024 at 10:11 AM
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Comments (7)
Chad Dutson
Great stormy Sea! You captured the feel perfectly! The colors and clouds tell the story! Well Done!
Nadine and Bob Johnston
Have been all along the coast, love Oregon coastline, and especially the Tillamook Cheese Factory... Great painting, reminds me of Earl Daniels work from Laguna Beach.... Love the dark water, rocks, colors in the waves from the sunset.
Lynne Wright replied:
Thanks so much for your observant comments! Tilly has always been a source of fascination for me, due to her powerful and poignant past.
Lynne Wright
Thanks, Paul for your kind comments. "Terrible Tilly", as she is commonly called, has long been of special interest to me. The lonely surroundings and haunting circumstances of her construction and existence remained a project I could not resist until it landed on canvas.
Paul Morgan
Lynne, I love this. The light is perfect, the reflections on the water and the lighthouse as a focal point all work so well. A brilliant composition. This is how I want to paint the sea!! Voted.