Imaginary Lighthouses

When I was in Kentucky, I met a pastor who had never visited the ocean- But was obsessed with lighthouses. His office was full of lighthouse images, from paintings to statuettes to embroidered pillows. I commented to him that most of his lighthouses were imaginary. You see, lighthouses exist to serve a very specific purpose, and there are a finite number of them in the world, and each one is purposefully different. In most countries, they are controlled either by historical preservations or by the coast guard. Each one is registered. Therefore, if you draw an off-the-cuff image of a lighthouse, it is either a very specific lighthouse, or it is imaginary. If you improvise a realistic house in needlepoint, there may very well be a house in the world that looks very much the same (given the sheer number of houses on earth.) If it does not exist, you can build it. The same is not true of lighthouses; you cannot simply build them. Castles are an even better example. Wouldn't you readily admit that a castle you would draw would be imaginary? Real castles are far between and easily numbered. I think I forgot to mention castles to the pastor, who thought I was speaking in tongues. The other people I was with when I met him were downright embarrassed for me. But now that I've written it here, it makes sense, doesn't it?

The lighthouse I have drawn is like a combination of Maine's Portland Head lighthouse and Bodie Island lighthouse in North Carolina, but it is unabashedly imaginary.