The King of the Pixies

The King of the Pixies has perhaps the most unusual origin of all my works. While attending a festival in Glastonbury, Somerset, I encountered a man wearing the most extraordinary outfit and felt an immediate urge to ask his permission to paint him. After introducing myself, he revealed that his alter ego was The King of the Pixies. As we talked, we discovered an astonishing coincidence: we had grown up just two streets apart in a small town in Kent — some 160 miles away. From that first meeting, it felt as though an ancient affinity had been reawakened, and we quickly formed a bond like brothers.

I took photographs of him that day to use as reference, and over the following months, as I worked on the painting, a series of remarkable synchronicities unfolded. While researching pixie folklore, I learned that pixies are said to be enchanted by the songs of frogs and crickets. Wanting to include these creatures for authenticity, I realised I would need reference images — and at that exact moment, a cricket leapt into my studio, landing on the draughtsman’s table where I was painting. Astonished, I slowly reached for my camera and captured several photographs. To me, it was a clear sign that I was on the right path.

The King of the Pixies captures a darker magic than some of my more whimsical paintings, reflecting the true traditions of pixies and old lore, where the guiding mantra is to “Follow the Old Ways.”

This magical artwork is an open-edition premium fine art print (unframed), professionally reproduced from my original oil painting.