This painting is based on the first few lines of the Sylvia Plath poem, The Moon and the Yew Tree. Those lines reference the light of the mind, its blue light and black trees. My piece departs from the poem in that it emphasizes pure light and dark and light contrast. It also signifies a mysterious and ambiguous moment in history. The painting is deliberately hazy in parts suggesting change. There is much dark in the world now but there is also substantial light and the foundations of life - the trees - are holding steady. My tendencies toward both realism and optimism are captured in this painting.