First from a series based on tree bark observed during daily walks. Detailed observation - a kind of startled fascination with something in my field of vision - is the starting point for many of my pieces, including this one and others in the series. Alongside keenly looking at the light, shade, texture and shapes of the element, I abstract away from them and take time to reflect on what memories or references float into my mind. I link what emerges to a very flexible idea that can help inform the compositional structure and the 'feel' of the piece. Here, I became fascinated by how as humans we see human, or human-like, elements in abstract or non-human things. Our problem or our salvation? Perhaps it is simply a survival process to find connection, something that inspired many folk tales and religious moments. With that in mind, I love the way this abstract piece finally worked out with a downward gazing 'profile' and to have a textural surface something like a brass rubbing from an ancient church.