Samir commissioned this piece as a gift for Lenke, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. He asked for them to be walking together through the fields above a special village in Romania, with the castle overlooking the town. He was tickled by the fairytale feel created by the addition of the wild spirit animals to the scene, and was happy to let me follow my inspiration for what they looked like.

Lenke was, of course, a big cat, independent, thoughtful, contained, deeply caring, elegant. I had initially thought that she might be a lynx, but the snow leopard just fit so beautifully with her that I was compelled to go with it.

Samir was a little harder - I always had the idea of him with a bear, but was afraid it would overpower the composition of the whole piece and leave it off-kilter. I even put it out for suggestions and was amused at what came back - wombat, golden eagle, a platypus (!), wolf, red panda to name a few.

As I was deciding, Samir posted a photo of his hand next to a bear print in the snow, which had to be a sign that my initial instinct was right. So we have Samir - gregarious, steady, playful, thoughtful, warm, big hearted - finally with the bear, and I think it is right.

The animals are so beautifully balanced, and the final piece looks a little like they are walking off into the final, happy scene of a fairytale. 🐾