It was not I that looked is one of a series of text paintings that Brennan produced during 2003 and 2004. The inspiration for many of these paintings came from sources such as: poetry, music lyrics, political slogans, famous quotes, clichés and graffiti. Of the text in this painting, Brennan says it paraphrases Paul Klee, the 20th Century Swiss-German Artist, who famously stated: "In a forest, I have felt many times over that it was not I who looked at the forest. Some days I felt that the trees were looking at me, were speaking to me...I was there listening." The weavers did not attempt to imitate the painted marks but gave all the shapes a robust weaving quality using a limited palette repeated throughout the work. This has given a sense of unity and drama to the completed tapestry.