The hyper-realism of John Bye’s high-definition painting takes a good idea and transforms it into a bold and provocative statement on the transcendence of the natural world over man. The cross represents mortality as it is comprehended by man but already overcoming it is the growth of bindweed flowers and buds which represents new life. The owl, symbolizing the beauty of nature, glances towards the heavens in what seems to be its own recognition of God.