I was a bit intimidated at first by this amazing Ludo bust by Lucas Pina because two of my favourite painters (Roman and Rusto) had already done fantastic versions. But in the end I blasted through this project in just a few days and for the first time ever I had a feeling I made something artistic.

The inspiration came during a visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I found myself staring at a self-portrait by Rembrandt; a study by him into Clair Obscur. Only a small side of that portrait's face is being hit by low sunlight. The eyes are completely in dark, but once you have seen them they do seem to follow you around. It made a really big emotional impact on me, and I was determined to explore Rembrandt further in the bust of Ludo that I had just ordered,

Some of the things I explored that were new for me:
- Limited colour palet; Naphthol Red, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White & Ivory Black. All colour nuances are mixes. So many things I learned that I didn't know before (like the beautiful olive green you get from mixing yellow ochre with black). (pic 6)
- Dramatic lighting (pic 5). To explore this I cut a little hole in a cardboard box, put the bust inside, and experimented with lamp light shining through the cardboard hole.
- A framed and handpainted background on wood, with the bust mounted before it instead from below.
- Scratch the backside of my brush in wet paint to reveal previous colours beneath it.