ROME SWEET HOME
I turned my house into a homage to the Sistine Chapel but I love painting celebs too… I’ve even drawn Holly Willoughby
AN INGENIOUS former decorator who turned his house into a homage to the Sistine Chapel has revealed he is a dab hand at painting celebrities too.
Robert Burns, 74, used his brush skills to rival Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo's famous artwork - and he's even painted Holly Willoughby.
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After miraculously turning his three-bedroom council house into a replica of the world-famous chapel, Robert tried his hand at painting some of Britain's household names.
He spent two weeks working on a renaissance-style portrait of the This Morning presenter and her co-host Phillip Schofield - which he later gave to the stars.
Robert beamed: "The painting was featured on This Morning and they loved it."
The 74-year-old's attention to detail proved a triumph with viewers as well as Holly and Phil, despite the painting being so intricate that it even showed the detailing of her bra underneath a white jumper.
The pair applauded the painting while Holly said it was "TV gold" while Phil described it as "fabulous".
Robert explained that after running out of room on his walls, he decided to pursue his creative passions on canvases.
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He said: "I love turning celebrities into renaissance-style portraits. I don't have another painting in mind but I wait for celebs to pop up.
"My most recent was Boris Johnson, but I have no plans for anymore at the moment."
His incredible artwork took the country by storm when he gave Brits a look inside his Brighton home which he spent the best part of 18 years painting.
The pensioner started the project - inspired by the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Rome, - in 2003, after moving into the "bland" terraced property with his wife.
After visiting the magnificent chapel for his 70th birthday, he was inspired by the "amazing artwork" which began his painting project.
Robert said: "I love anything Italian and visiting the place that gave me inspiration was incredible.
"I live in Brighton and we have a church in Worthing called the English Martyrs Catholic Church and I always joke that it's a Sistine Chapel lookalike!
"I used to visit car boot sales in Lewes and I found a book that had pictures of the Sistine Chapel and remember thinking, what an amazing place that is."
The retired decorator's only regret is that he discovered his extraordinary talent for painting later in life when he began revamping his home.
I love turning celebrities into renaissance-style portraits.
Robert Burns
"I do wish I had discovered it when I was younger as life as an artist would have been great fun," Robert continued.
"You can decorate council houses in whatever way you want and this is what I chose to do to make it my own."
Astonishingly, despite leaving no wall bare in his flat, Robert has spent less than £500 on acrylic paints over the years.
Meanwhile, a couple have managed to double the price of their property by doing renovations themselves.
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But there are some home renovations that could actually reduce the price of your home.
A handy tool calculates how much value home improvements could add to your property.
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