I moved in on the bark of this palm tree, juxtaposing its carefully pruned crosshatched wood pattern against the new growth exploding within. In doing so, I create a symbolic relationship expressing the nature of life itself. The palm continually grows new branches that inevitably perish and are pruned away, leaving the mark of man upon nature. The pruning encourages new branches to grow, symbolizing the cycle of life and death. This image symbolically projects such a message, burnishing it with vivid color and tactile textures.