Who exactly holds the crown here—the boy (modeled by my son Everett), gazing up in wide-eyed wonder, or the giraffe, towering like a gentle monarch over his domain?

When I traveled to South Africa in 2023, I experienced a massive perspective shift. Watching giraffes move gracefully across their native landscape, I experienced the kind of awe and humility that arrive only when you've been given the rare gift of feeling truly small.

In this meeting of scale and imagination, His Highness pays homage to Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are while inviting us into the playful imagination of childhood.

I’ve scattered a few blue emperor dragonflies through the scene, which add a touch of whimsy and a subtle nod to the giraffe’s African homeland.

For me, exploring the genre of imaginative realism has rekindled my sense of play and deepened my respect for the way children so naturally blend reality with make-believe.