And in my dreams I see myself on a wolfs back
Riding along a forest path
To battle with a sorcerer-tsar
In that land where a princess sits under lock and key,
Pinning behind massive walls
There gardens surround a palace all of glass;
There Firebirds sing by night
And pick the golden fruit.
[Yakov Polonsky]

Igor Stravinsky BalletT he Firebird [1910] gave the Idea for this painting.
The Firebird, a version of the Phoenix, appears in many international fairytales. The Ballet is based on Russian folk tales. It is a mix of the stories of the mythical bird and another unrelated Russian folk tale, the story of the sorcerer Kaschei. It is said that the Idea for the mix came from a childrens poem by Yakocv Polonsky, A Winters Journey [1844] which includes the above Poetry.
The picture was painted digitally on blank canvas using several different oil, brushes, the palette knife and chalks.