Ever the attention seeker, the incorrigible actor/comedian Russell Brand has been popping up in the news again, this time for ending his year-long marriage/shag to pop star Katy Perry. The famously wacky bohemian Brit is known for his indulgent hard-partying lifestyle, as well as a series of high profile relationships. His marriage to Perry was always a hot topic, the media never really fully buying in to the image of him settling down. Despite being made famous for his debauchery, Brand has actually been drug and alcohol free for several years, and is also a meditating vegan. Just to really confuse people.

In doing a portrait of Russell Brand there is a certain quality about him that requires a little searching beyond the obvious. There's the frizzed up hair, peculiar outfits and the owl-stare eyes...but there's also the smirk of a possibly serious comedian always in the middle of a joke. I started out with a drawing inked with brush on rough paper to give a loose quality to the brush strokes and then overlayed some greyish digital colours, just building up the tones and texture. The drawing did most of the work, with lots of black in his hair and beard and after adding in a few props alluding to his debauchery, the portrait was complete.