This painting focuses on Bowie's magnetic gaze and highlights how extrordinary he was even when, having given up all the glitter, the make up and the characters, he is just dressed like everybody else, in an unassuming check shirt. The image portrays him at the height of his artstic powers, in 1977 - it's the Berlin period and he is going around Europe promoting  his new album, 'Heroes'. The painting is an example of 'arte povera' in that it uses recycled materials, MDF offcuts found in carpentry workshops, and minimalism, utilising a palette of just three colours: white, black and green to great effect.

Gouache is a beautiful, pigment rich and lightfast yet delicate medium - it can be reactivated any time, so please do not expose the surface to water as the paint will dissolve, even though it has been fixed. The painting is sold without glass, so take great care in not making the surface come into contact with objects that might scratch it. You can dust it down, if you ever need to, with a big soft brush or feathers. Also, avoid hanging this picture in an environment that is either humid or where the temperature changes rapidly (e.g. directly above a radiator) to avoid the wood warping etc. Expect the natural untreted wood to change colour slightly with the years, expecially when hanging in direct sunlight, and while the painting itself won't change at all, the wood itself will acquire a beautiful rich patina over time.