David Hockney is perhaps the most popular and versatile British artist of the last century. Following his sweeping exploration of landscape at the Royal Academy in 2012, this volume focuses on the portraits he has been painting in the last few years - the subjects of which are friends, family and art-world luminaries. For a brief period in 2013 Hockney stopped painting altogether, which was extremely unusual for him. However, his move from Yorkshire to California spurred new inspiration, and Hockney decided to revisit acrylic paints and bold colours. Vibrant, observant and full of life, these portraits mark a return to Hockney's trademark technicolour style.

Incisive text from Tim Barringer places these works in context, tracking Hockney's development as a portrait painter. Meanwhile curator Edith Devaney interviews the artist about the series, which Hockney describes as ' twenty-hour exposures', in reference to the time each portrait takes to paint. The book documents each stage of each painting, from first to last mark, giving the reader a unique insight into Hockney's working method.