Renewal of My Spirit IV Evolved

An animated series by Jason Toth

“Keep in mind, you’re looking at a willow tree.”

In October 2022, I took a photograph of a willow tree. That single image became Renewal of My Spirit, the most important photograph I've ever made. It's what made me leave marketing and start making art for a living.

From the beginning, I decided this piece would evolve with me. Each year brought a new version: Renewal of My Spirit II, then III, and, in 2026, IV, with its greens, yellows, and oranges against a light blue ground. The animation is the next evolution of that journey.

Using Adobe After Effects and Premiere, I've been building a long-form animated version of the work. It runs over three hours so far, and every bit of it comes from that one photograph. Nothing here is AI-generated. Every frame is shaped by hand, in the traditional sense. I warp the image into clips, save them out, and bring them back in. Then I loop, duplicate, flip, reflect, re-warp, recolor, resize, layer, and blend them, again and again, countless times.

The opening movements are paced to the rhythm of breathing. As the piece unfolds, what you're watching becomes deeply unnatural and digital, but it carries an organic, sculptural movement throughout. No matter how abstract it gets, keep one thing in mind: you're looking at a willow tree.

Reference Clips