Peter & Jayne

Together we create worlds of imagination

“You may have never heard of an Impossimal or ever seen an Impossimal, you might collect Impossimals, you might know somebody who collects them or you might have even ended here by accident but no matter how you arrived this is our little bit of history. Then again, you might be thinking what the hell am I reading, if so, then you're not alone, I'm thinking that too and I'm typing it.

It’s a very simple history, two people wishing to retain forever something rather special; the imaginative wonderment and limitless creativity we all experienced as a child in a form that all could enjoy. From this simple premise the Impossimals were created in 2002, growing from a small collection of original paintings to a global phenomenon over the many years that now encompasses over 2 million collectors but is still captured with a special heart and a keen eye returning that little something that we thought we lost as we grew older.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Impossimals are simple creations though; you may experience nostalgic escapism with the Lost Impossimals and their wonderfully preposterous Eccentricus Britannicus stories or continue the story of a children’s classic through a divided Wonderland with Lost Alice, or maybe you prefer the off the wall humour of the pure Impossimals, often described as Wallace and Gromit meets Monty Python, either way the Impossimals come in many forms and the boundaries and imagination placed into each and every piece created is limitless in its reach.

Complex, comforting and humorous, puzzling, perplexing and entertaining, each Impossimal, Lost Impossimal and Lost Alice creation has it’s own story to tell. It doesn't matter if you are young or old, from what path through life you take, if you like art or not or how and where you hang your art, somewhere, someplace there’s an Impossimal creation waiting just for you.

We do however have a penchant for wordplay, innuendo, good old fashioned British observational dry humour and an eye that can borderline on eccentric, quirky or just plain daft, so if you're looking for something absurd or insanely stupid you've found the right place.

So settle back and explore the random website, enjoy the gallery and feel free to pin them on Pinterest, post them on Facebook or tweet them on Twitter.

Or if you're feeling particularly adventurous, print out an Impossimal and present it to random celebrities telling them you've painted their portrait - Don't forget to take a photo of said celebrity with Impossimal and forward it on to us for a reward*”

*rewards vary according to celebrity status and range from 2/6 in old money to a whopping full blown original item from the studio bin.

Since their creation in 2002 the Impossimals have gone from strength to strength and can be found in art collections worldwide in the form of original oils, limited editions and sculpture available from selected Impossimal partnership galleries.

About Peter

Cue typical arty waffle with flowery words

A splash of whimsy, a dash of the surreal and a love of stories I have never read, that have never been written but needed a voice led me to return back to painting and writing in 2002 after leaving it behind in my teenage years.

In between I became an architect, surveyor, computer programmer and shop assistant before spending many years working for Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, Lucasfilms and Fox creating, exploring and dipping my creative toe in wonderful worlds of the imagination in one of the largest design studios outside of London. Some days my desk would be full of Simpsons, Batman, Star Wars and Tiggers, at other times I would have Teletubbies, Thomas The Tank and Thunderbirds looking for attention as I juggled the output from over a hundred clients.

Eventually all this rubbed off and joined my enduring passion of the written word leading to the appearance of the Impossimals; a collection of artistic creations that harness stories created using striped bolster nosed figures in saccharine poses accompanied by their own humorous titles. Then followed the Lost Impossimals; capturing moments in history through quirky creations and fantastical stories as seen in the collection 'Eccentricus Britannicus' and finally through Lost Alice; an Impossimally warped version of my favourite book.

My background is self taught; all my Impossimal artwork is oil paint on board, painstakingly created using methods that belies their sometimes simple appearance. Scale models of every scene and Impossimal is created beforehand, some of the models and sets are upwards of six feet long and contain up to a thousand components. Each painting also has its own story, sometimes based on real people and at other times based on pure fiction twisted with history. All the artwork contain hidden items, puzzles, connections, dot-2-dots and numerous other little tricks to beguile and entertain, some you will need a mirror to see whilst others will require them being turned upside-down or viewed in a darkened room.

Everything you see in the galleries has come directly from the studio at Impossimal HQ. You will find pencil and oil sketches, studio marquettes, charcoals, full blown oils and individually signed and titled limited edition prints and sculptures all carefully catalogued so you can be assured that each and every piece you see or own is genuine and traceable. Meet me in any gallery appearance and I will tell you the full story behind your piece or pieces and show you a few secrets too!

All you really need to know is that Impossimals in their purest form are based on individuals, family and friends. Lost Impossimals live in an alternative history each with their own specially written story to showcase their unique look with puzzles and details to deceive and finally Lost Alice continues the Alice In Wonderland story with a new adventure through the eyes of an older but not necessary wiser Alice as she returns to a very different Wonderland with each painting holding clues and solutions to the accompanying seven chapter book.

My influences come from entertaining authors, publications and off the wall artists; Mad Magazine, Plop!, Basil Wolverton, Bamforths, Gary Larson, Jay Lynch, Cracked, Art Spiegelman, Don Martin, Jim Crocker, Ken Reid, Al Jaffee, Sergio Aragones, Mort Drucker and Dave Berg to name just a few, really I just rely on a quirky imagination rather than a need to paint reality. Nostalgic escapism I prefer to call it but you may prefer something else, either way I know one thing, It’s all painted with a passion and a little bit of that childhood sparkle that so easily disappears when we grow older.

Not too arty was it?

About Jayne

Creative Elegance

Jayne has always been a driving force behind the Impossimals over the years, often working with Peter on his latest collection be it design, stories or titles but Jayne is also an accomplished artist in her own right with a bewildering number of disciplines and the ability to turn her hand to almost anything creative. It was these skills she employed when she joined the ranks of the UK’s number one publisher Washington Green and their extensive network of galleries in 2014.

Working in the Impossimal HQ studio Jayne hand makes every element of her artwork. From the heavily textured backgrounds to the intricate models and ceramic additions formed using a wealth of household tools her artwork is uniquely identifiable taking inspiration from the British wildlife she so loves to watch combined with a love of interior design.

Again, like Peter, Jayne is a self taught artist spending the first twenty one years of her working life in account departments before becoming a full time professional artist and her thirst for knowledge knows no bounds; ceramic modelling and pattern creation, painting, sewing, needle felting, woodworking, wire work (silver and non precious), paper making, calligraphy, automaton construction, willow weaving, Japanese book binding and even kiln formed glass are skills which have either been learnt or taught through membership of Art Societies and special artisan tutorials.

It’s difficult to single out any one of the creative projects that Jayne has completed over the years but apart from her latest pieces certainly one of the most ambitious was in 2012 with the creation of a complete interior design range taking a fresh look at stylish interior finishes mixed with a Scandinavian inspired design which became the exclusive ‘Foreverbunny’ range of interior art. Over a hundred finished products were created and sold making this small brand yet another successful niche that Jayne managed to capture.