The World War Fae collection represents some of the early development paintings that look into the feel and narrative themes of the characters that play major roles in this apocalyptic faery tale.
The Taracian Council and the Gaia spirit of Taarna were both named many, many years ago in honour of the artist Chris Achilleos who was a major influence in my early childhood.
Evolution of the Faerie Taarna painting
Long before World War Fae had any kind of title just the seed of a story idea, I painted several faerie artworks. I always knew that she would represent a force like no other, both warrior, lover and healer.
Her namesake is taken from the iconic character of the Heavy Metal franchise. The original Taarna touched something deep inside me when I first saw her, a strength that I felt was unmeasured. From that moment I knew that somewhere inside of me was a character that would be the embodiment of what Taarna represented.
The association with bees and dandelions (known as faerie clocks) grew over time through dreams and something of a personal vision quest.
The very first paintings of her are not something I will ever show, she really did not want to wake from her long slumber and re-enter the world, but then one day she was born out of a green faerie fire.
That fire was born of another painting, not made public before now and honestly a long way short of the caliber of art I create these days… but, I show it here now for the first time to give you a place from which to start this journey, as did I.
Brothers in Arms ~ Inspired by the classic song and my story