Renaissance painter covers house

Robbie Burns copies the paintings directly from art books

A painter and decorator has taken the unusual step of turning his hand to renaissance and baroque when sprucing up his council house in Sussex.

Robbie Burns, from Brighton, has spent years painting his own examples of the likes of Botticelli and Caravaggio over every wall and ceiling of his home.

He said he decided "to give it a go" after looking at renaissance books.

"I've never been to art school, but just gave it a try and found I could produce something half reasonable."

His work over the last few years has included copying from art books Filippo Lippi's The Annunciation, and Sandro Botticelli's The Madonna of the Book.

He has been encouraged by his wife, Linda.

"If I won the lottery I probably wouldn't want to move because there's so much work in this house, and so many hours painting," she said.