Artist: Peter Samuels

Title: Einstein the Llama

Medium: Photography

Dimensions: 20 X 24 in

From the artist's statement: "Originally a product still-life commercial photographer from Orange County, CA, the bulk of Peter's early career was spent honing his product lighting skills to perfection. Then in 2009, a dog named Leica arrived in his life, she quickly became his muse, and a new photographic passion was realized. He then soon learned she was merely a gateway dog as he'd begun photographing more dogs, cats, and horses, and before he knew it, even farm animals were becoming suspicious. While his time with Leica was sadly cut short, she lovingly inspired a new direction in his work and career - good dog!

Peter's product lighting experience came in handy as he lights animals in a somewhat similar way to his product work, something that's uniquely set his work apart. The result has been attracting clients like Natures' Recipe, Clorox Kitty Litter, The SPCA, Bideawee Pet Hospital, Hush Puppies Shoes as well as other brands featuring animals in their campaigns, such as Virgin America, Zynga, and the San Francisco Veterans Association.

Peter's personal work of Horses and his Fairy Tale Animals series has accumulated awards from PDN, the APA National Awards, American Photography, and four consistent years, 2014-2019, in the Communication Arts Photography Annual. After his equine series appeared in the Restoration Hardware catalog as framed artwork, his fine art print sales began taking off, accumulating art collectors and animal lovers from all over the globe.

Now based out of San Francisco with his current pup, Ilford (a Beagle, Weiner, splash of Chihuahua mix), Peter thrives on the hi-tech creative renaissance and continually seeks new ways of applying those new tools to strengthen his vision, broaden his audience, and sharing with the world how special the bond between human and animal can be."