The pine trees are dying in our mountains here in Southern California. The drought has caused our trees to be weakened so that the bark beetle can devastate them in huge areas.

My son lives in a mountain community filled with pine trees. He spent a great deal of time worrying about trees in general, and particularly the trees on his property last year. So, I figured he would relate to a Pine Tree Guardian.

This is a small masculine piece. He is very thin and has the look and feel of a monk with small wings and a halo. He cradles a pine tree on one shoulder as he looks toward the heavens for protection of the trees and our beautiful mountains.

Fire devastated many areas in Southern California. They raged out of control. My son and his young family stayed with us while the fires burned in his area. Fortunately, most of the homes escaped the flames due to the valiant efforts of firefighters.

If you look closely, you can notice that the Guardian stands on an arrowhead. My son lives in a community named Lake Arrowhead.

I used a dark brown patina on this piece. It does have some shading in greens though to give it just a bit of interest.