A dark field surrounds a single moment of warmth. At the center, a square of sand holds a madrone leaf - its surface spotted, its edges curling. The leaf sits where it landed, preserved.

Around this quiet center, a frame of small branches scatters in controlled chaos. The twigs cross and overlap without pattern, their dark forms contrasting with the warm ochre of the sand. They suggest a nest, a thicket, a boundary between the intimate center and the dark expanse beyond.

The piece works through contrast: dark against light, order against disorder, the single preserved leaf against the multiplied branches. The sand texture catches light differently than the painted surface, adding depth to what reads initially as a simple composition.