This painting was a finalist in the MAVA (Melbourne and Victorian Artists) Sustainability Art Prize and won a Highly Commended prize. Deforestation is a pressing problem and the disappearance of trees affects us all. The world’s forests are responsible for recycling a great deal of carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. This cycle is integral to the survival of all life on earth. Trees also filter out pollutants from our air and influence climate. They provide shade, a habitat for many animals and great beauty. My work suggests the earth via the circular background, while alluding to the disappearance of trees by the disintegration of the branches at the edges and through the delicacy of the image itself.