Drawings of Rachel Lifter and Helen Craggs

there was a danger and the danger was

Djalili, God of Ecstasy

This boy I met at the Retrobar the other week...

wanted me to draw him, so I did.

Drawings for "Being No One"

The state of my desk last week...

I DJ'd at Glam Slam UK 2009 on Tuesday July 7th '09 and this is what I played...

OK I know this is meant to be my art blog but I've decided to start posting my DJing playlists on here as well for the hell of it. I DJ'd at Glam Slam UK on Tuesday - London's most glamorous slam poetry contest - organized by my good friend Ernesto Sarezale - and this is what I played:

"Gigantic" by Pixies
"Bella Donna" by Stevie Nicks
"Follow Me" by Amanda Lear
"Sinnerman" by Nina Simone
"Lakes of Ponchatrain" by the Be-Good Tanyas
"Travellin' Light" by the Tindersticks
"Dear Darling" by Mary Margaret O'Hara
"Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles
"Is That All There Is" by Cristina
"Folk Song" by Bongwater
"They're All Out of Liquor, Let's Find Another Party" by the Waitresses
"Video" by Aimee Mann
"Black-Dove (January)" by Tori Amos
"I Only Have Eyes For You" by the Flamingoes
"Land: Horses, Land of a Thousand Dances, La Mer (De)" by Patti Smith
"I'd Love To Take Orders from You" by Mildred Bailey
"Hate My Way" by the Throwing Muses
"Daniel" by Bat for Lashes
"I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" by Patti Labelle and the Bluebells
"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" by the Shirelles
"Hidden Place" by Björk
"Don't Give Up" by Siobhan Donaghy
"Under Your Skin" by Luscious Jackson
***
"Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac
"Do You Love Me Now?" by the Breeders
"Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now" by Patience and Prudence
"Exeloume" by Diamanda Galas
"He Hit Me and It Felt Like a Kiss" by Grizzly Bear
"Fucking Boyfriend" by the Bird and the Bee
"Love to Love You Baby" by Donna Summer
***
"Sometimes I Wish I Were a Boy" by Lesley Gore
"Dog Days are Over" by Florence and the Machine
"I Feel It All" by Feist
"The Man With the Child in His Eyes" by Kate Bush
"La Vie en Rose" by Grace Jones
*** "Wonder Woman" TV show theme song
"Heavy Cross" by the Gossip
"Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar
"Gloria" by Laura Brannigan
"Genius of Love" by the Tom Tom Club
"Money" by the Flying Lizards
"Xanadu" by Olivia Newton-John

Lamia, Queen of Pain and Desire - rough for final image

And today I did this.....

Lamia - Queen of Pain and Desire - from my sketchbook...

Fooling around with designs for the Lamia in my sketchbook....

Thinking about the Lamia...

So I was thinking about who should be the head honcha of my pantheon. I was originally intending this to be the Queen of Blood but while I still like the new design I did for her I thought the mistress of all desire and suffering should be a little weirder than a regular vampire/demoness and kind of... special. Then I remembered the Lamia, who entices men with her fabulous breasts and then tears them to pieces. She also eats babies. Look at her:

Totally crazy and cool! I started playing around with elements of this old medieval design - I thought she could stand up on her hind legs like a satyr... what if she had a snake for a tail, what if she had wings...?

Lamia, Queen of Pain and Desire

A few weeks ago I started thinking about what the head honcha of my pantheon would be like. I like the latest Queen of Blood design I'd done but she just didn't seem weird and... special enough to be the Queen of all the Gods and the mistress of all the desire and suffering in the human world. Then I remembered the Lamia - a fabulous beast from Greek myth and Medieval bestiaries who lures men to their deaths