George O'Dowd: Modern Painters

"It was, in fact, me who approached Layla Lyons. I wanted to photograph her as she looked amazing: she’s quite striking with this shock of orange hair and no eyebrows; very David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth. Then she asked me if she could paint me. We decided to do something quite masculine, so I put the heels on — for a twist. I love the painting, but I didn’t buy it. In the early days I had pictures of myself everywhere but I feel that’s a bit much now — it’s a bit Joan Collins."

Artists and their subjects talk today in The Times.
Is there anything about this portrait of George O'Dowd that stands out for you?

• It's George's 50th birthday on Tuesday, by the way. Many happy ones.