Yes I know I am wearing goggles AND glasses in this photo - an aesthetic faux pas to many. However my goggles fit over my glasses and are useful when engaging in dangerous splatter painting exploits. So there.The constant theme throughout my art is my love affair with the human (or humanoid if you will) face and form - it's emotion - it's beauty - and what information a subtle play of expression can offer about the history and personality of the subject. While my art always seems to tell a story - it's not a tale I am always privy too. Beings and imagery play in my mind and whisper their demands to me as I paint. This results in mysterious images rich with untold secrets. The most common comment I receive is that the image seems to tell a story - or that the viewer would "like to read that book" I invite you to do so! I firmly believe that the stories my pieces tell exist in the minds of the viewer - their tales cannot be known without your imagination. It's not my job to tell the tale to you....it's up to you to suss it out. This collaboration between artist and audience is what I cherish most. The name of my website - "winged things & improbable machines" reflects without constraining the themes of my work. I am constantly intrigued by winged things of all kinds - be they fairies, insects, ships elusive spirits or handcrafted flying devices. Additionally I would say I am a shy inventor and closet engineer! I love designing jointed limbs and mechanisms - but I care not if the machine or automaton would really "function" in real life. Hence my machines can definitely be termed improbable. 

Over the years I have worked in many mediums - my favorites being Egg Tempera, Graphite, Silverpoint - and most recently the medium of Light (digital painting). My influences are broad ranging - Obviously I am greatly influenced by the Steampunk and Clockpunk esthetics. But beyond that I am inspired by the myriad of engineers in my family (my Granddad was Nautical Engineer Peter Payne - you might have seen some of his boats in the Bond films!) - fairy legends and Celtic mythology also inspire me. Some of my favorite artists are Hans Holbein the Younger, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Leonardo, Gil Elvgren, Travis Charest and the work of all my artist friends! My favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, Susannah Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Terry Pratchett, Nora Roberts and Jane Austen. Musically I cut my teeth on 70's punk and 80's new wave. But I love music of all kinds...and my current obsessions change frequently. My art has been featured in a few books, and licensed for a variety of products such as stickers, t-shirts, coffee mugs, jewelry, statues, cross-stitch and of course prints. If you wish to contact me regarding licensing you can email your inquiry to me HERE.

PERSONAL NOTE: I have been predominantly labeled with the title Fairy Artist throughout my artistic career. This is not a label I ever chose and it has come with it's share of good and bad.  Frankly I strive to be more then a "Fairy Artist" and I hope to continue to explore freely any theme that excites me. My most recent work is my most personal, my most fulfilling and very "ME". Unfortunately we live in a world that requires labels...and so yet again I find myself with one. In order to feed search engines and give potential visitors to a site any inkling of what they might expect there - artist's are forced to categorize themselves in ways that can very often be limiting. So while I try to embrace the new label I been given - that of Steampunk artist - and I find it very fitting - I feel compelled to express that I hope one day to be known as simply a "Good Artist". Period. I am sure anyone ever beholden to a label can relate to this sentiment!

The other day someone referred to some of my newer pieces as Steampunk Fairies. Interestingly I don't see my clockwork dolls with wings as "Fairies". To me they are self created entities that have formed themselves of their own imagining. Some have wings because they want wings - but as far as I know they don't identify themselves as Fairies in a traditional sense.