Next time you look up into the royal blue of an evening sky and spy a falling star, think of the Elphen. Somewhere, not so far away, they are gathering their numbers to follow that star until it reaches Earth; where, hidden in the undergrowth they will find their treasure, an Elphen Egg, which has traversed the Starfields to reach its destination. You may well see them on their journey home, carrying their eggs between them. Tiny specks against the night sky; only visible when they cross a bright star, or the face of a full moon.
Finding an Elphen Egg was seen by many of the old societies of humankind as being a harbinger of good luck. Then, such searches were common place; now, however, it is difficult to find evidence of this practice. There are hints here and whispers there, but perhaps that knowledge no longer exists.
Thus it is chronicled - or, is it simply, that the Elphen have sprinkled their Forgettle Dust over those whom have discovered their existence? We will never know for sure, but can only dream of what might be, in the vivid accounts and tales, relayed through the writings and paintings of Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles.
Elphen folklore, such as that relating to the Earthling, Fizz and her extraordinary experience on the planet Shimmistra, are chronicled in the pages of ‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’. A significant journey, with her Elphen companion, Webstrand, that results in a momentous change to her life.
Not the first of these folktales to be recorded, by any means, as other happenings in the world of Elphen have been lovingly captured for posterity, through further works of art and written accounts in Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles.
There are tales of Artimus Glin, an itinerant artist; whose meeting with the Elphen Swarm Leader, Lacewing, results in a creative legacy that was posthumously handed down to his grandson Zand. Zand’s own first encounter with the Elphen, Weftwing, is tenderly transcribed from his childhood memories, in The Paintbox Tales.
Through Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles we come to recognize the significance of Starfire, the Elphen Wizard and Seer, along with his fellow Swarm Leaders, Webstrand, Lacewing and Weftwing, to name but a few. We join them on their quests, learn of Elphen history, become familiar with their ways and ultimately, fall under their Elphen-spell – as did Artimus Glin, Fizz and Zand.
If you also come to believe in Elphen and search carefully along a star’s path, you may find what appears to be a small glowing ember in the undergrowth; but be on your guard, for once you start the search it can soon become an obsession.
As sole author and illustrator of the ‘Elphen Chronicles’, Paul Taggart harnesses his creative expertise and traditional painting techniques to portray the Elphen, in works of art that visually chronicle their lives and depict the worlds that they inhabit.
For his first book in the Elphen Chronicles, Paul turned to watercolours to illustrate his written account of the quest, led by Lacewing and Starfire, witnessed by Artimus Glin, the itinerant artist; whose grandson Zand inherits his passion for art, as now recounted in the Paintbox Tales. Published privately in the 1990’s, as a Limited-Edition hardback book, this chronicle was also produced as a Collectors Leather-bound Portfolio Edition, for which Paul produced a separate, unique set of hand-watercoloured lino-cuts.
‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’, fifteen years in the writing and painting, started out in watercolours; but soon Paul realised that this epic Elphen tale had to be chronicled on a grand scale. Nothing less than large-scale oil paintings would suffice, to reveal the work of Webstrand and her Gathering Swarm, along with their significant role in the Elphen world. For ‘Webstrand the Tooth Gatherer’ Paul turned to his repertoire of traditional oil painting techniques for the thirteen, large-scale Masterworks, which appear as full-plates, along with a further four, smaller-scale Masterworks portraits and a couple of miniature Masterworks oil paintings.
These techniques enabled Paul to depict panoramic views, filled with detail; evoke feelings of horror, terror and delight; capture the extraordinary world of Shimmistra; portray the challenges that Elphen have to overcome, every day of their lives. A further one-hundred and twelve Storytelling Vignettes that accompany the story throughout are wrought in an oil painting technique, which Paul uniquely developed, specifically to do justice to the Webstrand chronicles.
Ultimately a set of six short stories that chart Zand’s first meeting with Weftwing, the passing over of his grandfather Artimus Glin’s legacy – a paintbox of considerable promise and importance – along with the subsequent quests and consequences of his development as an artist, inspired and guided by the Elphen. For these short stories, Paul sought to evoke his childhood experience, as seen through the lens of his younger self, when all about seemed larger than life. Turning to miniature Masterworks oil paintings, allowed Paul to reflect that memory of his fascination with minute detail – which in turn, led Sunita to work the stories into miniature books, no bigger than the size of a standard CD sleeve.
Join the Elphen Treasure Chest to lift the lid on a magical trove filling with myriad gems of all things Elphen.
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Delve in to discover the Video-StoryBooks - ‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’ and ‘Starway Sapphires’, the first of the Paintbox Tales.
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Rummage through the hoard to reveal a cache of Behind-The-Scenes Videos.
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Search out Bonus Features and Painting Reveals.
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Root out a wealth of How-to Tutorial Videos and Craft-it-Yourself to release your inner creativity.
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Join the Elphen Treasure Chest on Patreon for access to digital online content released from Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles, plus offers and exclusives.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2026 – Paul Taggart has asserted his Rights as the Sole Artist & Author of Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles. ALL RIGHTS (including Music) owned by Paul W. Taggart, Eileen M. Tunnell, Sunita J. Gahir [The Three Quills]
The Three Quills studio, symbolising the trio of creative strands that are art & design, writings and music.
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Paul Taggart – Artist : Author : Presenter : Producer [Sole Author & Illustrator of ‘Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles©’]
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Eileen Tunnell – Project Director, Producer, Video Auteur ‘Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles’
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Sunita Gahir – Design Director/Producer ‘Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles’
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Liza Mulholland – Music Director/Producer ‘Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles’