New Work

May ’08 – Five Aces

painting finished: March ’08

Devils cheat at cards, just as one would imagine. The trouble is they all cheat, which is fair, in a way. Unfortunately all of them have an ace up their... well they have an ace anyway... and it's the same ace in each case, which is going to cause trouble. The she-devil on the right also has a '666' - which is probably a winning hand in Hell. I don't know, I've never been much good at cards.

May ’08 – The Sphinx changes the Rules

painting finished: May ’08

Another tale out of Ancient Greece - here is the Sphinx, somewhat more resourceful than the monster in the original story...

May ’08 – Commissioned Portraits

paintings finished: ’07 - ’08

I have a brand new section in my 'gallery' where I shall be displaying commissioned paintings. Now and then I get asked to paint portraits for people - naturally these tend to be people who actually want to be depicted as devils, fairies, angels, mermaids and so on - though I must admit that mostly they want to look like devils...
You can see the paintings by clicking the thumbnails, or go straight to the 'Commissions' page, where I've also put a bit of information for anyone interested in commissioning a painting from me, but please email me to find out more.

March ’08 – Painted Devils

painting finished: March ’08

The unholy trinity of she-devils returns - this time they are having their hooves painted in fetching shades to match their outfits - no self-respecting she-devil would be seen dead with scruffy hooves, and though sadly there are many devils without a shred of self-respect these girlies are not amongst them...

January ’08 – Medusa in Venus' Bedroom

painting finished: January ’08

Another one! It's becoming a good year for Medusa, but don't worry, if you don't like Medusa I will be getting round to some other subjects in due course... This one was to some extent inspired by the 'Rokeby Venus' by Diego Velázquez - which hangs in the National Gallery. Of course there's rather less danger in seeing Venus face to face - in my version it's Medusa who's seen in the mirror, which makes a lot more sense to my mind...

January ’08 – Medusa in England

painting finished: January ’08

Medusa's back again, and this time she's very definitely not at home...

January ’08 – Sirens on the Rocks

painting finished: March ’07

Here's a painting that seemed to have got left out of the site for a while - there were just too many other Maidmer paintings at the time - but this is probably my favourite of all ot them - this time they are moving in on the Mermaids' patch, and the Mermaids are really not happy about it...

December ’07 – Rudolph's Revenge

painting finished: October ’07

Merry Christmas! At last I can put up the new Christmas image - finished over 2 months ago. This is the drawing I did for all my christmas cards this year. I think I have confused several more children, which is probably good for them...

November ’07 – The Infernal Gallop

painting finished: November ’07

This painting was done for an exhibition whose theme was 'Razzle Dazzle' - to my mind the idea of a line of demons doing the can-can seemed to fit the bill almost exactly. I was aware at the time that the best-known piece of music associated with the can-can is from the operetta 'Orpheus in the Underworld', but what I didn't know until I started looking for a title for this painting was that the title of that actual piece of music is the 'Galop Infernal' - or 'Infernal Gallop', to put it into English (which, considering my French, is probably the best thing). So there you are - a very festive and somewhat lurid painting - yes, it's really that bright in real life.

October ’07 – The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

painting finished: September ’07

This drawing was done specially for Gallery Eight's exhibition in Glastonbury, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of artist, poet and visionary William Blake.

August ’07 – More Gold Fairies

newest drawings finished: May - August ’07

... and a more user-friendly page:
I've been adding to the series of 'gold fairies' quietly, and I'm afraid they haven't always made it on to the website - partly because that page was getting a little weighed-down with the extra images... so I'm trying a slightly different kind if display, and as these are the originals I get most enquiries about I've arranged the fairies into groups of sold and unsold. anyway, if you visit the shiny new gold fairies page you will be able to browse through all the drawings (I hope! - if you have pop-ups blocked there may be a problem, but I hope I have avoided this...).
Please note: some fairies may in fact be demons. There is nothing I can do about this.

August ’07 – The Gorgon's new Man: 'Medusa and Oedipus'

painting finished: July ’07

Sophocles would be turning in his grave, but really - they're a perfect match - I mean, Medusa is actually pretty desperate and so likely to be happy with anyone, and Oedipus is hardly known for his ability to pick women (and it has to be said that even dating a Gorgon is probably less embarrassing than finding out you've accidentally been shagging your own mother...).

July ’07 – Medusa in Modesty

painting finished: July ’07

I thought I would address the delicate issue of Medusa's pubic hair - or pubic snakes, as it were. No one else seems to have considered this quite obvious question. If course this would lead one to wonder if the poor girl also has underarm snakes, too. One can only assume this to be the lamentable truth of the matter, however, I assume she shaves them off.

June ’07 – Dancing with the Minotaur

painting finished: June ’07

Well it seems I haven't yet finished with this as a theme - it's rather growing on me. Though this particular painting is rather soppier than most of my stuff I'm sure there is more scope yet (though I may eventually get tired of drawing the leaves on the hedges - there is a trick to making it look as if you've drawn ever leaf - and that's to draw every leaf... ).

June ’07 – Mrs Minotaur 2

painting finished: June ’07

As promised - Mrs Minotaur - again! Not that there's anything the matter with the other version as such - but it wasn't like what I had in my head - I think this is closer, and also ranks as the brightest, most over-coloured painting I've done, I think... mind you the competition wasn't stiff.... So - I'd like you to meet Mrs Minotaur 2 - exactly the same and completely different to the last Mrs Minotaur, if you see what I mean. Painted in gouache, as usual, but by a slightly different method, which accounts for its brightness. When I get round to it I may put the stage-by-stage photos up.

June ’07 – Mrs Minotaur

painting finished: June ’07

The Minotaur prowled King Minos' Labyrinth in the times of Ancient Greece, a terrible monster part bull, part man, or so the story goes...
Of course there was a Mrs Minotaur - she got him in the end - he just couldn't resist the slinky red dress, and then the maze became a far more civilized place, where one could feel quite at home, and probably even invite the neighbors round for a little drinkie.

April ’07 – Maidmers on the Beach

painting finished: March ’07

Another development of the Maidmers, following the much smaller picture Two Mermaids and a Maidmer. This time the Maidmers are a little more 'natural' - no stockings and shoes, but to match their cousins, they have - er - green pubic hair...

March ’07 – Arctic Mermaids

painting finished: March ’07

Here's a painting I've just finished - Arctic Mermaids. This is a rare form of mermaid specially adapted to the freezing seas of the arctic - huge and ungainly out of the water, compared to their skinny cousins from temperate regions, but graceful in the water, and of course they need the thick skin and layers of blubber to be well protected against the inhospitable temperatures, and probably against the Polar Bears, too. I seem to be having a bit of a run on Mermaids, as I've another 'Maidmer' picture to put up as well - coming soon.

February ’07 – Two Mermaids and a Maidmer

painting finished: Feb ’07

Another picture of the 'Maidmer'...or possibly 'Legfish' - the two names have been suggested to me in the time since I pasted up the drawing of this little scene a week or so ago and I like both so much I haven't even bothered to wonder what to call this sort of creature myself. Anyway - now in glorious technicolour - click the thumbnail to see it.

February ’07 – Permanent Sketches

Finished: Feb, March ’07

I took a break from long and complex drawings and have been doing some very small and often silly sketches - mostly in black and white pen on coloured paper. Amongst these, a rather more considered and slightly larger piece was for the 'Blood Relative' exhibition, which I'm taking part in, to be held at Bristol 'Paintworks', 2nd - 14th April 2007, in aid of Diabetes UK. The 'Permanent Sketches' were for my Glastonbury Exhibition - late April - early June. For the full details have a look at my Exhibitions page, and to see a small selection of the drawings click the thumbnail.

February ’07 – Masquerade 2

painting finished: Feb ’07

As promised, the follow up picture - a sort of demon fancy-dress party where they all get to dress up as people. I'm confident they would find this exciting and novel.

January ’07 – Masquerade 1

painting finished: Jan ’07

This is something of an expansion of the 'Party Faces' I did for Bridgwater Arts Centre's exhibition. A 'Masquerade 2' will be on its way, only that will be a little different...

December ’06 – Trouble with Fairy Lights

painting finished: august ’06

Here's the 2006 Christmas image.... to see all the Christmas pictures through the years go to the Christmas Archive.

October ’06 – Party Faces

drawing finished: october ’06

This was a triptych I did especially for Bridgwater Arts Centre's 'Celebration' Christmas exhibition. A Masquerade seemed an appropriate subject, while giving me the freedom to create something a little disturbing at the same time.

October ’06 – Hephaestus Trap

drawing finished: september ’06

The result of listening to Homer's Odyssey and Iliad on CD, this is another piece from Greek Mythology - here are Aphrodite and Aries, caught in Hephaestus' Trap.

September ’06 – Little Fairies 06

paintings finished: August ’06

Somerset Art week is almost upon us (well upon me, in any case...) and to this end I thought I should have a few smaller, simpler, and more affordable little paintings, so here they are - a few little 'Fairy Portraits'. I only got as far as six, before running out of steam, but it's a start...
For more information about Somerset Art Week, visit my exhibitions page

September ’06 – A Rude Intrusion

painting finished: March ’06

Now here's a little picture I painted back at the start of March, and haven't dared put up on my site yet, though visitors to my ebay listings will have seen it before. My boyfriend says 'publish and be damned', so here goes... (the easily offended look away...).

August ’06 – Pistils and Stamens - a triptych of Rude Fairies

painting finished: March ’06

I wanted to do a painting of the sort of Flower Fairies who inhabit those sort of flowers - you know the sort that make you snigger (if you are as childish as me, at any rate).

July ’06 – Seven Sins at the Seaside

painting finished: July ’06

As usual Pride is in the middle, who absolutely loves herself and thinks of no-one else.... envy is hanging on her arm, never able to be like Pride is.... Avarice, at the far left, has a copy of the Financial Times, and a mobile phone in her hand - and might as well not have bothered to turn up for all the notice she is taking of her surroundings.... and the others are just doing their thing as usual.

July ’06 – Watering the Pot Plants

painting finished: June ’06

The theme of this painting is something I had thought about ages ago - something along those lines anyway - after all, while pot plants are not all that likely a concept in Hell, if the Devil is down there for an eternity then he's bound to get round to trying out some of the more unlikely activities just to relieve the tedium of having to torment the dammed every day - and it will make the place a little more cheerful, no doubt. Of course it had to be cacti.... I did briefly consider ferns since they grow with very little light - the sort you get half way down wells and so on - but in the end I thought I ought to go with the no-water motif.

Gold Fairies (and a couple of demons) – finished: May / June ’06

Thought I'd put up some very recent work here for a change (the last few have had a two or three month wait before they got to the site). So here are some little pencil drawings of fairies - two of them ended up as demons but that can't be helped. I've used gold leaf on their wings, and then gone back over the leaf with pencil to create a bit of texture and tonal quality. This was an experiment at first, but they were fun to do and so now I have 13 of these little creations.

The Adventurous Outing – finished: March ’06

This is really a revisitation of the original Strip Joint picture, which was a smallish thing in pencil over red paper, that I did once for a Christmas card design. It has been well-loved, and a version of the original I have even painted on the back of my partner's leather jacket, at his request... so I thought a larger version was in order. Actually halfway through it I didn't think this painting was going to work at all, but I am now rather pleased with it - which demonstrates yet again that 1) The pictures that are the hardest work are often the most satisfying when they are finished, and 2) that I cannot be trusted when it comes to judging my own work...

The Tattooist – finished: February ’06

Here's a demonic Tattooist I finished two or three months ago - I still have several new pieces to add, which I've already finished - but since I haven't had the time to do any new paintings in April or May I am rather spreading these out a bit.

Seven Deadly Sins Go Clubbing – March ’06

I did a another portrait of this lot - simply called Seven Sins - several years ago and it seemed high time to update it. It's always tricky fitting them all in - worse than ordinary crowd scenes where you can always stick in an extra person or so where necessary.
This time they're at a rather naff disco, and as usual, most of them are not having a lot of fun...

She Devils and Hell Cats – Feb ’06

The title of this one is pretty self-explanatory, really. I liked the idea of cats with horns, although after the seventh one I had rather had enough of them...

Dinner Guests – Feb ’06

You know how this story goes... on a dark and stormy night a young and naive couple break down in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, with no other vehicle likely to be passing that way for hours. They struggle through the wind and rain to the gothic mansion that just happens to be the only building for miles around, and ask for shelter for the night. They are warmly welcomed, and , as luck would have it they are just in time for dinner... of course they are... happens all the time...

Queen Bee – Jan ’06

The Queen Bee was an obvious one as a subject for royalty, but I've made her rather more alien-looking than the others, in keeping with the alien qualities of insects. Also she is pregnant - of course she is pregnant, the queen bee has no purpose other than to make more bees all her life.

Queen of Slugs – Jan ’06

This one was getting a little surreal, but seemed like a nice challenge.

The Dog King – Jan ’06

I regret that I've not yet had time to add any more than one king to the group, and since I'm currently working on other projects they will have to wait for a while, but I have plans...

The Rat Queen – Jan ’06

Second picture of the year and unintentionally I may have a little regal series developing here. This one, like the Frog Queen, is only 6x4 inches, and it's rather nice to start the new year with some small paintings rather than spending weeks on one piece - I had the same thing with the 'Drinking Girls' paintings last year - they were mostly completed in January and February.

The Frog Queen – Jan ’06

First picture of the new year...

Demon Drink – Dec ’05

My Christmas card for 2005, actually painted in August.
Remember: a devil is for life, not just for Christmas...

For The Fairest – Dec ’05

This is a scene from a Greek legend so may need a little explaining:
There's a wedding - of Peleus and Thetis, parents of Achilles - and of all the immortals only one goddess, Eris, was not invited. Of course as we know they are a squabbling lot at the best of times, but she is apparently such a troublemaker she's not invited. So naturally she gets offended and turns up, with a gift of a golden apple, labelled 'For the Fairest'. She throws it amongst the wedding guests and runs away. This causes the most almighty row between the three most important goddesses, Athene, Aphrodite and Hera, who are all of course as vain as anything.
This is the background behind this particular picture, although as it happens the story has far worse repercussions because in the end the three goddesses pick on a poor mortal to chose which of them should have the apple - they ask Paris - but all offer bribes as well and Paris falls for Aphrodite's bribe, who says he can have the fairest woman in the world for his wife (actually she doesn't quite say that but that's the way it ends up in some stories) - and that's Helen - so this is the start of the whole Helen of Troy disaster... There may be another picture in here somewhere.