In this dream, he would roam the corridors of his mansion, proud of all that he had built. His fortress of security and strength protected him from the dangers of the outside world. In the dream, time started to move faster. Years passed in seconds and eventually the bird dreamed that as a person, he died. He dreamed that the palace, left unattended for months then years, then decades, eventually crumbled… ground back into the earth by the relentless cycles of wind and rain.

Free of the palace walls, the awareness of the dreamer looked out into the world. He imagined that the mansion had been but a tiny cage. The harmony of the stars, the sun, the moon and the planets were all acting in concert to make the world a garden. He saw the true palace was really the universe in which the temporary little mansion had been built.

When the little bird woke up, the dream of being a person soon started to fade. He sang a bright cheerful song, simply glad to be a bird again.

He spread his wings and jumped out into the sky. He flew out into a world of impossible beauty. A world that was bursting with variety and self expression. Despite the danger of serpents… the garden was full of gifts.

After singing many bright songs and flying to many extraordinary places, the little bird died.

Just then… the garden woke up from its dream of being a little bird.

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Q: Could you explain your fascination with devils and angels?

A: Devils and angels have become the symbolic embodiment of good and evil. They haunt us as reflections of our selves. They represent the opposite extremes in human behavior and nature and have become part of a contemporary mythology of good and evil. Even outside of Christian influenced imagery there are examples of demons, devils, angels and avatars in all of the worlds great religions. In each of us is the capacity to do good as well as the capacity to do evil. We sometimes mistake our own impulses for the voices of Devils and Angels over our shoulders, as if we are not responsible for our actions. We are torn between our selfishness and our compassion. We struggle with our weaknesses, even as we search for redemption. I wrestle with these things as an artist as I wrestle with them as a person.

Q: Some of your creations possess characteristics of both devil and angels. Where did this come from and what does it represent?

A: At some point the images started to look more and more alike. Both the devils and the angels seemed to me to be like elemental sprits that exist in nature, neither good or evil. Within nature is both beauty and pain, birth and destruction. Many nobel creatures live and care for their young by feeding on the weak and the sick. The forces of good and evil combine to create a natural order that does not separate these things but embraces them both.

I was trying with these images, to express a harmony and a balance that was missing in my earlier representations of the more traditional devils and angels. Some of these new pictures are an attempt for me to find that harmony in my self. Now when I look at some of the older paintings that portray a devil I sometimes see good. In the angels I sometimes see evil. It’s a strange thing.

Q: At your website your referred to some of this work as a goddess series. Could you elaborate on this?

A: I think of the goddess as the embodiment of desire and the source of life. She is a force of nature, beautiful and mysterious to man. When the devils and angels merged they formed a new goddess, one that is cold and cruel while at the same time warm and sweet. These images have been inspired by love, pain, fear and wonder.

Q: There is a distinct erotic quality to a lot of this work. Is that part of the symbolism or is it more a matter of style?

A: On a more basic and playful level, devils and angels are the subject of many peoples sexual fantasies. We are attracted to both. Some of these images are an exploration of these fantasies and an attempt to capture the essence of their attraction.

Q: How have you incorporated these ideas into your tattoo work?

A: I first started working with Devil and Angel imagery as the subject of tattoo work. I found a lot of clients wanted their tattoos to express their own struggles with good and evil, right and wrong. The devils and angels are powerful symbols in the skin. They act as talismans of repentance, or malevolence. Tattoos have a lot of power to transform people by changing how they see themselves. I have worked with clients who have used their tattoos to explore the dark and light aspects of their personalities by developing an elaborate narrative of images for their bodies. For me Devils and Angels will be an unending source of imagery and inspiration for tattoo art.

Q: What are you working on now and what can we expect to see from you in the near future?

A: I have been working on a series of backpeice and body suit designs which explore a range of surreal, mythological and horror themes. There is also a deck of Tarot cards in the works as well as a new flash set of fully painted skulls. I have had the pleasure of working with a bunch of really talented artists on a wide range of flash projects. Our goal was to put together a comprehensive collection of flash that would represent the best of today’s cutting edge styles.

My personal work has been changing a lot and has been turning into some strange kind of universal mythology that draws on a wide variety of cultures and influences.

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Along this surface of infinite eyes, I came across my own looking right back at me. I hovered closer and closer until finally, I fell into them. I swam through the depths of my self until I came out on the other side. From here, the sphere was no more than a singularity… the tiniest of points hovering in an ocean of the brightest light. I opened my entire being into the blank canvas upon which creation is painted. I examined the tiny sphere and looked into the world through millions of little windows, seeing creation through a million unique pairs of eyes, each with a different view, each with a different dream of self. As I awoke, I passed back through the window of my eyes and heard a voice whisper, “let there be light”.

Awake in the world… I greet the people I encounter and see them looking back at me. I say hello to my dog. I watch a dragonfly navigate the air. I see a goldfish in a tank. In every pair of eyes, all I can see is a glittering wall of gem stones, a deep shiny collection of windows looking in upon the world, from the very edges of creation. I look in upon the world myself and contemplate the light that I can barely remember, even as it dwells deep in my being… surrounding all that is… shared by us all… we behold the world, so that the light can see… I wait patiently to let go and one day return to the source.

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There have been times when I did not have much faith in my own potential. A few very special people in my life helped me believe. Belief makes all the difference.

So whatever you want to do, and whoever you think you can become… go for it! Find the way and then show it to someone else.

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