The Story of a Tree

A few years ago I did a drawing of a Moreton Bay Fig in Vulture Street, West End. 

          The Fig - pen and ink on paper

This drawing was the inspiration for an abstract painting called Bark.

Bark I - oil on canvas 

You can imagine my disappointment and sense of loss when a year ago the tree had been hacked to a quarter of its size. Only the trunk remained - so very sad. 

Then last week I was in the neighbourhood once more. This time the tree was different. It was now a sculpture. The outer layers of bark had been used to encase a stainless steel structure. 

Fig Tree Sculpture - Vulture Street West End

So someone else felt the same as I did about this tree. They cared enough to transform the mutilated trunk into something beautiful.

Whoever you are - thank you.