The Tree at Hansell St

Back in Atlanta, I was on walk around my neighborhood when I stumbled across the most magnificent crepe myrtle.

It was the end of a rainy day, and the bark had taken on a gorgeous mosaic of reds, oranges, and browns. The roots filled the entire curb strip--large, sprawling, and alive--and pockets of rain water gathered in crevices like tiny natural ponds, the water dark with tanins from fallen leaves. Four thick trunks sprouted from those roots and stretched straight into the sky above.

If you don't yet understand why I was so taken by this tree, surely these photos will help:

For the next year and a half that I lived in that neighborhood, the tree became my muse.

The following artworks are all inspired by the Tree at Hansell St: