If the greenery in the valley formed a complete picture, then the Abbey Dean would be a part of it as well. However, at the same time, he was also outside of the picture. More specifically, it seemed like there was another smaller picture hidden in the complete picture, and the Abbey Dean was actually part of the smaller picture.
The smaller picture was a mezzanine of the breath of nature. It was a secondary dimension that existed between the dimension of reality. As he stood in that space, it seemed that he was very near, but in reality he was a lot further away. It seemed like he was in the picture, but in truth he was inside another picture that was inside the picture.