Gorst, WA, is sometimes known as “the armpit of Kitsap County”. Located at a sharp bend in Highway 16 at the end of Sinclair Inlet, it’s a crazy collection of gritty businesses — car dealers, tire stores, muffler repair shops, metal recycling lots, and bikini barista coffee shops. But if you sneak behind the concrete block buildings, you’ll find the lovely estuary of Sinclair Inlet.
The grassy bottoms are bordered with willows and shrubs, and old stumps and snags remain from earlier days. Ducks and geese dabble in the small creeks that empty into the mud flats. In short, it’s a painter’s paradise.
On a cool, moist morning I pushed my way through the reeds to find this lovely scene. I had the place to myself while I focused on this painting. When I got home, I made a studio version.
You can find beauty even in an “armpit.” Haha.
Ha ha! Yes, even in Gorst!
You have found beauty where others have probably missed it. You should offer this to Gorst to blow up on a billboard. It would bring elegance to the town.
Good idea! I can just see the guys at the scrap metal recycling place looking up at it and saying, “Huh?”
I liked the top one in person but on the computer I think the bottom one looks better! Both are great.
Thanks, Guy. They each have their good points, I think.