Ordinary to Imaginary · Jul 22, 2026 · 4 min

Ordinary to ImaginaryThe Eye in the Tree

A shape in a parking-lot tree became an eye looking back—and the first entry in an ongoing drawing series.

Large tree in a parking lot with an eye-like knot visible in the middle of the trunk — 01 · The ordinaryThe tree that caught my attention while I waited in the parking lot.

Pen sketch of the eye Adam imagined in the tree trunk — 02 · What I imaginedThe eye I saw, drawn in my notebook before the idea disappeared.

Close view of the tree trunk with Adam’s eye drawing overlaid in translucent sage green — 03 · The matchThe sketch placed over the bark, showing the shapes that started the idea.

I was waiting in a parking lot for my wife when I looked over at a tree beside me. Right there in the middle of the main trunk, I saw an eye looking back.

Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it

The knot in the bark already had the shape. A curved line suggested the lid, the darker center became the pupil, and the texture around it gave the whole thing a little personality. I wasn’t looking for something to draw. The image simply showed up, and once it did, the tree was no longer just part of the background.

That is the idea behind Ordinary to Imaginary: noticing the characters, creatures, and stories hiding inside everyday things. The real-world object starts the drawing. My imagination finishes it.

The tree was still a tree. But for a few minutes, it was also looking back.

Drawing it before the idea disappeared

I opened my notebook and drew the simplest version of what I saw. I kept the heavy upper lid, the dark iris, and the lines underneath that made the eye feel a little tired and watchful. It didn’t need to become a polished illustration. The point was to capture that first spark while it was still clear in my mind.

Putting the photograph beside the sketch is my favorite part. You can trace the idea back to its source, but the drawing also becomes its own thing. Someone else might see a face, an animal, or nothing unusual at all. That difference is what makes the exercise interesting.

The ordinary is already doing half the work

Creative ideas don’t always arrive at a desk or inside a project brief. Sometimes they are waiting in tree bark, clouds, shadows, cracks in concrete, or the shape of an object you pass every day. The trick is slowing down long enough to notice them.

This tree and its watchful eye are the first entry in the series. I’ll keep sharing the original thing I found, what I imagined inside it, and the drawing that came from that moment. There should never be a shortage of material—the ordinary world is full of unfinished ideas.

What do you see when you look at the original tree?

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