Drawn from a photo I took while doing a survey of mosses and liverworts at Salisbury Woodland Garden, for Blackpool Council. I’d never been to Blackpool before. What a strange place. Big hotels – lots of them. Seaside tourism on such a big scale. During my two days there I found myself in conversation with a number of people and I must say that on the basis of that experience I found Blackpool to be a friendly and welcoming place. One night there happened to be a massive fireworks show on the seafront. Part of an international fireworks competition. Amazing! Bright lights and whizzes and banks and everything – and meanwhile this hawthorn would have been quietly sitting there in the woods, unaware of all that excitement.

Details: Coloured pencil; 2010; 30 cm x 21 cm. Unframed: original £150; print £30.

Included in the gallery Trees 2