"In my reading about rain forests and in my limited experience with jungles, it can seem as if all life begins in these primal settings. It is possible to believe that the health and life of our entire planet depends on these environments. Rampant growth and lush vegetation that can overwhelm compel us to seek meaning and the origin of life. The forest of Ndoki in the Central African Republic has more wildlife per square mile than anywhere else on the planet and remains largely unchanged by human beings. It also contains herds of bush elephants.

It was a photo of a small elephant in Ndoki that allowed the idea of this painting to develop. A "wellspring" is similarly defined as a source of ideas and a source of life. Perhaps they really are the same thing?" - Robert Bissell