Conched Out

Conched out is a rare watercolor by Art Paine. It depicts a colorful pile of flotsom that washed up in storms around the base of a coconut tree. To the artist, it is also representative of the fugitive quality of beauty. The exact scene, the exact tree, and in many ways the entire little tropical town of Steventon, are much changed after a dozen years. On the site of “conched out”, the coconut tree having been removed, is now the very popular native restaurant “Warren’s Conch Shack”. What remains is the incredible view of Exuma Sound, and of course more discarded conch shells than ever, given the restaurant’s island-wide popularity.