In the speech Kerstin Ekman gave when this painting was unveiled, she said of her dog: “Her name is Silva, she’s a Norrbottenspets, a hunting dog, a barking bird dog, eleven years old when the portrait was painted”. The rapport with Silva and her sense of presence also sharpen her mistress’s awareness. Human encounters with the natural world are a recurring theme of the author’s novels. Speaking of the artist Bo Larsson, Ekman said that he “can even paint a log of wood to look lifelike”.