As a boy, I spent most of my time in two overlapping worlds. One was being immersed in Nature, and the other was being immersed in the fantasy world of my Mind. The outer world and the inner world, so to speak. I spent countless days during the long summer months strolling fields, streams, forests, and shorelines. I caught (and was bit/stung) by every conceivable insect, amphibian, and reptile. I collected sea glass from the sea shore, and animal skulls from the fields. I also read Tolkien, Asimov, and Le Guin, and played Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (I was a Dungeon Master). Thoughts of the worlds portrayed by Tolkien and Gygax, Le Guin and Asimov filled my mind while I wandered the wonderful wide world. This image depicts me on a summer holiday in Scotland. One day, the rest of the family were resting so I went off to explore the sea shore along the edge of a small Scottish village. I collected a ton of lovely sea glass (I still have it!) and found a sheep skull which I brought back to the United States with me (I no longer have it, though). Wandering that beach finding the treasures of man and Nature, the characters and scenes from the stories I had read visited my mind. As with all the pieces in this series, I used AI and visual editing tools to craft an image that captures huge swaths of meaning from my past, and is influenced by many art styles I've come to love and that deeply resonate with me.