Instead of the traditional easel set up, Douthwaite preferred to paint on the floor: ‘I crawl around the floor on my knees, with a butcher’s apron round me, moving from drawing to drawing or canvas to canvas.’ She was unconventional in her painting technique too and rather than use brushes she worked the images up from the surface of the canvas using paint-soaked rags. ‘The End of the World’ is one of many works portraying Douthwaite’s fascination with death. She often depicts death with humour as if to underline the absurdity of life. The central figure of this painting seems to have been captured mid-dance while a small sinister creature makes an attack from above.