The Starry-eyed Mermaid

painting of a woman in heated rollers pulling an amusing facial expression.

25th April 2025 12:00

Published on August 22, 2025August 22, 2025 by The Starry-eyed Mermaid1 Comment

Noon: I emerge –
my bed is an archaeological dig.

I am one of those Venus relics:
womb, stuffed with maternity books,

boobs, bling-ed with suckling babies.
Doesn't matter that my face needs a filter

or my lips need syringes of filler
or my legs need a wax or a razor.

I don't care when I say, 'I'm fat.'
and you say, 'But, oh, you are pretty.'

I don't care.
Fuck your beauty ideals.



Sarah Drury, 2025
Self-portrait with heated rollers by Sarah Drury, oils on canvas

The last rose

Published on February 17, 2025July 15, 2025 by The Starry-eyed Mermaid1 Comment

~there is beauty in death

I remember seeing an old episode of ‘Tales of the Unexpected’. It is a British show based on the stories of Roald Dahl. The show ran between 1979 and 1988. This particular episode, ‘The Sound Machine’, is set in a sunny suburban summer before the Second World War. Mr. Klausner develops a box which amplifies the tiniest sound. It records the screams of flowers as they are being cut. I was 11 years old and very disturbed by the idea of plants feeling pain! This memory stayed with me. I am now 55 and always feel sad when I see flowers in a vase. Although they are beautiful, I am much happier to see them in the garden.

I wrote this poem as I was gazing at a vase of roses on my living room table. The blooms had wilted and there were petals on the table, shriveled and pitiful. A saddening sight.

Rose

How proud was this rose. Its deep
pink petals were velvety and rich.
My hand brushed over a swathe of
suitors hurling bouquets at my door.

The gerberas, all sunshine yellow, resonate
with optimistic women; yoga mats and chai lattes.
They cling to life, fronds of petals falling.
The table littered with near death.

Now the rose shatters, though my
gentle hands cup its parch-dry petals.
As though love can bring back the broken,
like Jesus and the old bones of Lazarus.

The deep pink has faded to the lips of a
dying woman. She waters the garden
every evening, yet still the flowers
shut their eyes.

Capturing Ballet: Continuous Line Art and Watercolour Techniques

Published on February 4, 2025July 15, 2025 by The Starry-eyed Mermaid2 Comments

Several years ago I created a series of artworks depicting male & female ballet dancers in motion.

I used a simple sketch, in a continuous line, then added a loose watercolour wash.

Here’s the artwork on my YouTube channel, ‘The Arty Poet on Prozac.

Remember 70s National Health Specs???

Published on January 25, 2025July 15, 2025 by The Starry-eyed MermaidLeave a comment

Can you remember the National Health specs of the Seventies? The ones the council estate kids had to wear? They were blue or pink translucent plastic affairs!! My sister had a blue pair.

Children weren’t so fashion conscious back then. We weren’t defined by the clothes we wore. Social media wasn’t a thing. We were out on the streets most of the time, not caring how we looked!

Graceful dancers by an artist with two left feet

Published on July 10, 2024July 10, 2024 by The Starry-eyed MermaidLeave a comment

I had a request by a lady for cards and prints of some of my watercolour dancers.

I thought I would share them with you. I am particularly fond of the male dancers, which were drawn in pencil using a continuous line technique, before a loose, watercolour wash was added.

I am the least graceful dancer you could ever imagine!!! A sort of deranged elephant after drinking 5 bottles of Prosecco!

Do you ever use the continuous line technique? Watercolour wash? Do you enjoy dance or ballet? Do you sketch dancers?

These images are available as cards or prints. Please use the contact page for sales enquiries.