On a visit to Rome six years ago, I came across a small shop, Antica Bottega dei Sapori in Campo Fiori, that sold a fantastic range of cheeses, wines, salumi, olives and bread. I took a photograph of the entrance to the shop at night, it was just before Christmas and this man was admiring some decorations he had just put up. A number of years later I decided to paint this scene, I loved the warm colours of the walls, the yellow Vespa parked out the front and the legs of ham hanging off the rail above the entrance. I returned to this shop last year and the same Vespa was parked in the same spot. I showed the man pictured above a photograph of the completed painting which he liked and he requested that next time could I please paint his face. This painting sits inside a dark grey wooden frame and works brilliantly with light coloured walls.