Okay....let's make it clear....I'm saying this out of a sense of fun and nothing more.

Perhaps if Harbour Lights would release a certain number with the intentional misnomer, "Barfing Rocks," it might attract dyed-in-the-wool collectors who crave rare pieces with mistakes.

Now....in all seriousness....I have nothing against fantasy or non-representational pieces, and could dream up a few entirely on my own....and probably a few that would appeal to other HL collectors. However, I don't believe in making unjustified homages, no matter how formerly accomplished the designer might be. "Barking Rocks" has a lot of very crude, illogical, busy detail to occupy the eye for a few brief moments, but absolutely nothing of substance to justify its introduction into the Harbour Lights line, especially at so extreme a cost. If Harbour Lights is trying to expand its market and attract different kinds of collectors, why would it defeat itself with such an expensive piece? Unfortunately, I know just enough about seaside locales, the law of gravity, brickwork, the use of a straightedge, the logical flow of water among rocks, etc., to pronounce this piece a failure on every level. I also know enough about grammar to understand that the promotional fiction presenting the piece is in grave need of punctuation at the very least, and of rewriting at the very most.

Some years ago, Lefton [or some other company] put out a couple of fairly hefty lighthouse fantasy pieces that were infinitely more detailed and appealing. Oh sure, they had big, blue resin breakers washing against their cliffs, and the windows on the upper floor of the house were wildly incompatible with any architectural consistency, but the pieces still provided enough to entertain the "mental eye" that I was briefly and sincerely tempted.

I have no objection to "flights of fancy," though whether I want Harbour Lights to make them is another consideration. If the company could do a bang-up job of it, who knows. But no amount of forced veneration can make me admire this piece, especially when I have seen David Winter do infinitely better. Evoking his name as somehow sacred just doesn't work. This piece is a dead failure.

Danny