I had just taken down an exhibition of my paintings and my wife and I decided to take a round-about way home. We drove north toward Anacortes to take the bridge across Deception Pass onto Whidbey Island and spend a leisurely day poking around Coupeville and Langley. As we cut through the Skagit Valley under thick, soggy clouds the sun found a gap and lit up this old barn like a spotlight. The metal roof shone out against the dark clouds and distant hills. The low, scudding clouds behind the barn gave a strong sense of depth and space. I played around with the composition and edited out everything that didn't support the feeling of solitude projected by this old barn surrounded by the power of the weather.