Portraiture has been prevalent in Peter Blake's work since the late 1940s. From his images of pop culture icons to his imagined characters, the artist has always explored a diverse array of individuals. A recent series of small, colourful watercolours depicting the faces and torsos of heavily inked men and women, their individual body art, intricately rendered, is again part of a recurring theme in Blake's oeuvre: the circus, the fairground and the side-show attraction. The skins of these imagined characters have become canvases in themselves one figure has an image of the Crucifixion emblazoned on his chest, whilst a tattooed woman has the names of the British Princes, William and Harry, etched on each breast. Another's complex facial tattoos cover the entirety of his face, echoing the masks in Blake's wrestling portraits. We present a series of 10 signed original prints, produced and published by Dark Matter Studio.

Portraiture has been prevalent in Peter Blake's work since the late 1940s. From his images of pop culture icons to his imagined characters, the artist has always explored a diverse array of individuals. This is a new print to come from the studio, produced and published by Dark Matter Studio in a signed, limited edition of 75 (with 8 AP's and 8 HC's) and is sold unframed.  For ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’ Blake has translated one of his watercolour paintings, featured in his recent exhibition ‘A Life in Drawings and Watercolours’ at the Waddington Custot Gallery, London, into a limited edition archival pigment print. The piece sees a return to the characteristically naive painterly style that defined Blake’s early career. Against a deep blue background a nude woman stands, her body entirely covered with fantastical tattoos: from George and the Dragon to Native Americans, from sketches and doodles, to American flags, Blake’s print is both visually arresting and conceptually provocative - the Godfather at his very best.