Gary says: “The most popular print with my collectors
over the years has probably been my 1993 Snow leopard and I used to get asked
regularly when I was bringing out something similar. I felt a 14 year gap was
long enough, so in 2006 I began drawing Soulmates. I tried to retain the feel
of my previous Snow Leopard print without it being just a rehash. With
Soulmates I am very pleased with the facial expressions and the ‘movement’ of
the fur, especially the belly areas and around the necks.
.
Left:DETAIL OF PAW Right: DETAIL OF HEAD
“In
2007 I conducted a poll with 1,000 names on my mailing list and although it had
only been released for a month or two, Soulmates came in at an impressive number
11. The 1993 Snow Leopard was number 1. These were chosen from the 117
different limited edition prints published at the time.
“The
original drawing of Soulmates sold at the 2007 Society of Wildlife Artists
exhibition at the Mall Galleries in the Heart of London, UK for a record
£16,500. My previous highest in 1998, was for my huge Tiger drawing, Supreme.
It went under the hammer for £16,215 at Christies auction House in London.
“Soulmates
also won the visitors choice award at the Mall Galleries, London, selected from
over 400 exhibits by the general public in 2007.”
