behind the scenes

the Winter King

Part of the Imaginarium Experience

A pencil sketch of a Polar Bear's head, with a detailed eye and surrounding design elements, and a globe on its cheek.

❋ HIS STORY

The Winter King’s story is one very close to my heart. He is perhaps one of the oldest artworks in my collection, rivalled only by Epona. He was originally created for a college assignment some twenty years ago where we were tasked to design an article around topic that was important to us.

I called mine ‘The Plight of the Polar Bears’ and created this illustration where I endeavoured to show that the impacts of climate change on polar bears was not only experienced by them but so many other creatures and the world in general - an interwoven and deeply connected system.

Born out of a deep love of our planet and those who share it with us

❋ YEARS PASSED AND I WAS NOW A FULLY FLEDGED DESIGNER, TRYING TO EXPLORE MY ART WHILST ALSO WORKING FULL TIME FOR A WEB DESIGN AGENCY NEAR TORONTO, CANADA.

I was trying to get to grips with digital art and grappling with how to translate the vision into my head into something meaningful on the page. This was one of the early steps on my journey to discovering my own art style in the digital realm, painting in Photoshop with a Wacom Intuos.

A digital painting of a Polar Bear's head and neck, with the background resembling a starry night sky. The Polar Bear has a cosmic appearance with Earth and earth elements depicted in its fur.

❋ MORE TIME PASSED AND LIFE HAD CHANGED AGAIN, I WAS NOW A FULL-TIME ILLUSTRATOR BASED IN WALES, UK  AND IT WAS TIME TO REVISIT THE WINTER KING ONE LAST TIME

Pushing further with my ever deepening journey into digital art I brought the Winter King to its final place in my art catalogue, refining his details, colours and holding him within sacred circle.

The stage was set for the next phase of his journey.

❋ HIS SOUNDSCAPE

When Katy and I began our Imaginarium Experience collaboration, I couldn’t wait to hear what she would ‘make of’ the Winter King - perhaps for me one of the most important pieces within The Imaginarium Journal. The demo she sent me brought me to tears the moment I heard it.

She had somehow accessed the mournful and ancient wisdom embedded within the artwork. The question that this piece asks of humanity - are we ready to see the world as a kingdom for all of us, not just for humans? She captured the sadness I felt in first putting pencil to paper for this piece; she wove in the sacred frequency of the wise whale and gave The Winter King a voice I could never had dreamed to have heard.

A white headphone set with a smartphone displaying colorful sacred or spiritual art and a volume icon, indicating audio playback.

Experience The Winter King within The Imaginarium Experience Digital Capsule >

A woman sitting on the floor, surrounded by crystal singing bowls, with the title 'Many Hands Make Lightwork' and the name 'Katy Samwell' displayed above her.

Soon to be completely re-imagined, within Katy’s latest album. Pre-order the album now >

The Winter King

for your home

Art print

GICLEE ART PRINTS

This treasured artwork will remain in my collection for the forseeable future. If you would like to bring his wise energy into your home consider purchasing a beautiful giclée print, signed by me and shipped to you.