It inspired all sorts of whims and fancies that I ultimately wove into a fairy tale complete with muse, the earth, the moon, some famous inventors, a dog and a rabbit.

The dog, the rabbit and the hoop all feature in the painting, and take the place of the orrery.

I started by looking at what others had done before me. You see, over the years there have been attempts by many different people to reconstruct the chariot.

He was so tenacious he defied the distraction of women by refusing to have them in his presence, just as later in life he denied his blindness by calling for more and more candles.

Having designed and built several clocks during my career it suddenly occurred to me that when you look at the face of a clock both hands have the same center.

It inspired all sorts of whims and fancies that I ultimately wove into a fairy tale complete with muse, the earth, the moon, some famous inventors, a dog and a rabbit.

You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art.