

This personal shrine was an unusual and delightfully original commission.
The Lady M approached me asking for a set of drawings she could give to her beloved submissive as a birthday present.
After some discussion revolving around miniatures the idea of a medieval foldable triptych was considered.
It would be carried by her submissive whenever he was not near her – on holiday or on business, so it could always remind him of her, unfolded on a table or closet and knelt before it to adore her image – in effect a personal shrine.
In the centre panel Lady M, dressed in a medieval gown, looks out sternly at the viewer.
(for privacy I have added a digitally painted Venetian carnival mask to her face)
Behind her a medieval skyline and two nightingales perched on a bush sing merrily beside rose bushes from which long thorny stems grow through into the outer panels. On one side hangs a key, on the other a lock.
In the narrower panels her submissive is shown kneeling in a cell dressed in penitential robes reading from a book of devotional prayers, while in the other he is dressed in his female persona with wig and made-up, adoring his lady’s shoe.
The crystal ball and hourglass beside tell us that he is neither separated by time nor space from his mistress.
The frame had to be specially constructed to hold the three paintings.
This takes adoration to a new level. A totally unique work of art which only has meaning and value for the owners.
Many mistresses own a brand-name pair of shoes as a gift – how many can boast of a bespoke artwork, or even a shrine?