Putting a patron in the picture

A few years ago, I came across a late-medieval painting of the pieta in which the artist had painted in his patron, looking straight out at the viewer.

It was at The National Gallery, in London. I've looked online but can't immediately find the original, so here's a sketch I did at the time – only I updated it, so the patron is wearing a pinstriped suit.

Later, I used that sketch as the basis for several other drawings and paintings (including this one). I don't know why it grabbed me so much, but it did.

Now, I'm crowd-funding a novel, and it seemed to me that I might reasonably offer would-be readers the chance to be pictured in it. After all, I've always wanted the book to include pictures – I don't know why we are supposed to “grow out of” books with pictures.

If you would like to appear in my novel, click here.