0:00:07 > 0:00:11Peter Howson is one of the world's most collected living artists.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15His work hangs on the walls of galleries and museums
0:00:15 > 0:00:19and in the homes of rock stars and actors.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22He's a man with a turbulent past and a present
0:00:22 > 0:00:26haunted by financial problems and worries about his mental health.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30I understood what it was like to be in the mind of a madman.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31It's not a nice place to be.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35In 2008, he received the biggest commission of his career,
0:00:35 > 0:00:40to paint the largest ever crowd scene in the history of British art.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43But the commission is fraught with so much difficulty
0:00:43 > 0:00:46that its completion is in jeopardy from day one.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's a big painting. It feels even bigger now, you know.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51It feels like a monster now.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55This film follows Peter over two difficult years,
0:00:55 > 0:01:01a journey that took him to the brink of bankruptcy and also to the edge of his sanity.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03You don't know what I'm like. You don't know how mad I am.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28The way I start painting is in this way,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33to get the whole thing covered, the whole canvas covered,
0:01:33 > 0:01:37with a stain, I suppose, of some kind of colour, you know.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This is my favourite colour, because it's got a warmth
0:01:40 > 0:01:43that comes through, this kind of reddy-brown oxide.
0:01:43 > 0:01:49And then I use a rag to really paint light and it's really, you know,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53just to get the drawing right, I suppose, and get the kind of feeling right.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Peter Howson is one of Britain's most prolific artists,
0:02:07 > 0:02:12a figurative painter, often working on a grand scale, with thousands of works of art to his name.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Peter still stands outside the, kind of, what would one say,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29the polite conventions of contemporary art.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32He's a no-holds-barred artist.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35There's no...
0:02:35 > 0:02:39there's no fudging. This is the way he sees it.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44It's always amusing to me,
0:02:44 > 0:02:49all the celebrities that are named as having bought Peter's works
0:02:49 > 0:02:51and I can't verify all of them.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55I know in the early years, it was Sylvester Stallone.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00And I remember meeting Stallone at a Los Angeles art fair
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and he walked by our booth and he stopped with his two henchmen
0:03:04 > 0:03:10and looked at this wonderful, amazing boxer painting of Peter's and admired it.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16And I probably told Peter that and he probably mentioned it to a journalist and the journalist
0:03:16 > 0:03:20probably mentioned that Sylvester Stallone collected Peter's works.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23And once it's in one newspaper, it stays in those newspapers for ever.
0:03:23 > 0:03:31I can tell you, from my personal experience, that David Bowie has bought the work and is a big fan.
0:03:31 > 0:03:38Madonna is a very major fan and he's a very well collected artist.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44When I saw this man, I thought,
0:03:44 > 0:03:50"Now, I want to buy a painting". And they're quite expensive for me.
0:03:50 > 0:03:51But when I had job
0:03:51 > 0:03:56and I had some money, I would invest it in a work of art
0:03:56 > 0:03:59of Howson. So I became a collector.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Having Howson in my life has, in some way,
0:04:09 > 0:04:15given me a sense of what I am, what I care for, even who I am.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21We need artists like we need lightning rods on the roof of houses.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25They take the lightning of the world and hold it.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30And then we look at them and we feel enriched and we feel this power,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33without being struck by the lightning.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36It is the artist who is struck and burnt
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and scarred by the lightning.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46Peter's uncompromising and emotional painting style comes directly from his own life experience.
0:04:46 > 0:04:52In the past, he has battled with alcohol and drug addiction and had financial problems.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59After years of mental illness, he has recently been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04a form of autism characterised by difficulties in dealing with other people.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09The reason why I draw is to remain sane, because...
0:05:09 > 0:05:13and paint, because it keeps me on the right kind of track, I suppose, you know.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Peter's work observes a darker side of life,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24celebrations of the common man, depicting a very human struggle.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30He takes, the kind of, our environment
0:05:30 > 0:05:35in a way no other Brit has even come near to doing.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41I think Howson goes further, because he illuminates for us
0:05:41 > 0:05:48the actual essence of what it is to be British.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49It's almost biblical.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01I started painting and drawing when I was about four years old.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04I'd done a crucifixion when I was six, so I suppose,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06even then, even at that early age,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09the crucifixion meant something to me.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Peter's paintings often had Christian overtones,
0:06:15 > 0:06:20but these became much more overt when he had a spiritual revelation
0:06:20 > 0:06:25after nearly dying in re-hab for treatment of drink and drug addiction in the year 2000.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I was in a terrible state.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33I was pretty near the point where I, you know, would have probably
0:06:33 > 0:06:38conked out and they gave me all these anti-psychotic drugs.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43I was starting to see big, sort of, furry, pink rabbits
0:06:43 > 0:06:46coming into the room and everything. And it was the DTs and all that.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51And then I just, one night, got down on my hands and knees and said a prayer to,
0:06:51 > 0:06:57basically, take away this skin off me, this whole thing, and just shed my skin.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03And, basically, I had this vision, basically, of this incredible feeling came into the room.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Nothing like an angel appeared, but it was certainly a presence.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15All it said was that,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17"You're loved, you're cured.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20"You'll never drink again or you'll never take a drug again.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24"You won't not suffer again, but I'm with you, basically."
0:07:24 > 0:07:28And for the next three months after that, from that night onwards,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30the vision came to me every night.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45In October 2008, the Catholic Church made the contentious decision
0:07:45 > 0:07:53to pick Peter - a Protestant and a reformed addict - to paint a massive eight-metre-high canvas
0:07:53 > 0:08:00depicting the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie, as part of the renovation of St Andrews Cathedral in Glasgow.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08John Ogilvie was the only Catholic priest martyred in Scotland after the Reformation.
0:08:08 > 0:08:14In 1615, he was hung and then disembowelled in Glasgow,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18after being found guilty of treason, for holding Catholic mass.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23When I came down to Glasgow, about seven years ago, as the Archbishop,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27and saw that the cathedral needed some renovation and improvement and so on -
0:08:27 > 0:08:32it's nearly 200 years old and is in need of it -
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I looked around and was surprised not to find something
0:08:36 > 0:08:41in the cathedral to mark the life of St John Ogilvie.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46And he was martyred here in Glasgow, not very far from this cathedral.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48And then, of course,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I began to be interested in the work of Peter Howson.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02His talent, in the sort of expression
0:09:02 > 0:09:04and the vigour of his style
0:09:04 > 0:09:09and the crowd scenes and the passion he's able to put into his paintings,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and yet a tenderness, which I've seen in more recent work,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I think is just the ideal quality,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19the ideal characteristics for the painting we're conceiving.
0:09:21 > 0:09:27The painting, although commissioned for the cathedral, was never going to be paid for by the Church.
0:09:27 > 0:09:34Instead, Peter's management devised a plan that required him to paint ten smaller canvases
0:09:34 > 0:09:37which would be sold to fund the massive Ogilvie commission.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Peter agrees to go along with this extremely ambitious plan,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47despite his state of mind and his financial situation.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53Any doubts he has on the funding are outweighed by his desire to paint a large sacred work.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59First of all a word of welcome,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01welcome to you who have come to hear of the project
0:10:01 > 0:10:03we have proposed for the cathedral.
0:10:03 > 0:10:11And I'm very grateful indeed for the enthusiasm which Peter Howson has shown towards this project
0:10:11 > 0:10:18and the way in which he is already, as it were, entering into something of the sense and significance
0:10:18 > 0:10:23of St John Ogilvie's life, in order to portray it within our cathedral.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The Ogilvie project will be the biggest single painting of Peter's career.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Along with the ten other canvases to fund the commission, it is a massive endeavour for any artist
0:10:33 > 0:10:39and an even greater one for someone in Peter's fragile mental and financial state.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Since I was very young,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45I've wanted to do a major painting for the church.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48You know, I've been looking, since I was very young,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50at Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
0:10:50 > 0:10:53and I'd love to do something like that, something major.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57That sounds very big headed, but I suppose I am big headed, in a way!
0:10:59 > 0:11:02ISLAMIC CALL TO PRAYER
0:11:13 > 0:11:17To seek inspiration before starting the Ogilvie commission,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Peter makes a rare journey away from his routine in Glasgow,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24to accompany the archbishop on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28This is the old city of Jerusalem in front of us. This is my favourite city in the world.
0:11:28 > 0:11:36That is the centre of the planet for me and it's where I can feel so much excitement and joy,
0:11:36 > 0:11:41at times, but it's tension mainly, because this city could explode
0:11:41 > 0:11:43at any point, really, with all the factions.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven...
0:12:02 > 0:12:05This is the start of the Stations of the Cross.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10It's difficult to get an idea of that, you know,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14and there's a cross waiting for us over there, as well.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I can't equate any of this to what I'm going to be doing
0:12:27 > 0:12:30with John Ogilvie, really. Just, it'll be...
0:12:30 > 0:12:35All I'm trying to do is get some kind of peace and inspiration here,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39I suppose, but I'm agitated quite a lot of the time, still,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42with big crowds of people. But I'm still enjoying it, though.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I suppose I'm enjoying getting annoyed probably, you know.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59You see, the problem with Christian art, you know,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03when you buy your souvenirs around Bethlehem or Jerusalem,
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Jesus is always seen as being slightly weak and pretty.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11And it's kitschy, the art, really, you know.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15The real Jesus wasn't like that at all. The real Jesus was a wild man.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25The difficulty for artists is to capture that, you know,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29to see the real Jesus. I mean, the guide was saying
0:13:29 > 0:13:33people are looking for Jesus in the various places.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35They're looking for a footprint here or, you know,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40a hand mark there or a thumb print or a sign of him, a stone,
0:13:40 > 0:13:45a marking, anywhere, you know. And they can never find him.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47You just can't do it.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54I'm under a huge amount of stress
0:13:54 > 0:13:58and this gives me a lot of spiritual energy, really.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00It comes down from above. That's the way...
0:14:00 > 0:14:03I feel strong, I feel strong again.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07I can go back to Glasgow now and I can kick ass, if you don't mind.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Oh, sorry, I shouldn't have said that!
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Peter returns to Glasgow, but doesn't begin work on the Ogilvie commission.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Even three months after the project was announced, he is nowhere near
0:14:21 > 0:14:25starting the main canvas, never mind the ten smaller ones,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27to be sold to fund the project.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32Instead, he's keeping himself busy completing other work in his studio.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Peter hasn't started the John Ogilvie painting because he has had a row
0:14:36 > 0:14:40with his local management over the funding of the project.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Basically I'm getting rid of the people that take care of me,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48who thought they were involved in this commission.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51They are no longer doing this commission, they are out,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55as far as I'm concerned, and I'm dealing with the Catholic church,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57me and them, which is the way I always wanted to do it.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00These people think they made me, for some reason.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03They come along three or four years ago and they think,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07"this guy's a fool and we're going to make him," you know.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Do you want to say who they were? - No, I can't say who they were.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Peter has realised that the original plan,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18to deliver ten paintings to fund the cathedral commission,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20is not financially viable
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and leads to him leaving his management and going it alone.
0:15:25 > 0:15:31The financial deal wasn't any good.
0:15:31 > 0:15:37It wasn't going to work, basically, so it's no fault of the Church, or anything like that.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Basically what it is, is that I'm probably going to end up
0:15:41 > 0:15:43gifting the painting to the Church...
0:15:47 > 0:15:51..and that will remove any difficulties, except for financial.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55It'll create financial difficulties, We'll have to find sponsorship.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00I'll have to find it to pay for the thing to be done, you know, as it's going to cost a lot of money to do -
0:16:00 > 0:16:03about 80,000, possibly, maybe even 100,000.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07So it's building up the frustration nicely, you know, so that there'll be a...
0:16:07 > 0:16:12When it finally happens, it'll be a blast, you know.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Peter's formal training to be an artist began when he was 17,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28as a student at the Glasgow School of Art.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31But he became disillusioned and left to join the army,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34before returning to finish his course four years later.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I think it was pretty obvious that he had a talent,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40the first time I actually spoke to him and saw his work.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43And he had hundreds and hundreds of drawings and paintings...
0:16:46 > 0:16:48of the landscape, etc, etc.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53We were looking through, but it was like he was doing them almost by, he was doing them in his sleep.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55He could do this.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And I felt he should be doing something else.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00And we were looking through some sketch book
0:17:00 > 0:17:07and there were a group of drawings of, really just rough drawings,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11of memories of barrack life, being in the army.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14And I said, "This is what you should be doing."
0:17:22 > 0:17:27The army was pretty bad. It was the actual bullying that I couldn't take.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31It wasn't me being bullied, it was other people being bullied.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The fact is, you know, I just didn't like the brutality.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46I think we've got some of the first real successful images
0:17:46 > 0:17:49of army life, really, when he really,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52I think, maybe towards the end of his fourth year.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54And this is when you think, "Whoa, this guy's...
0:17:54 > 0:17:58"He's an important artist, he's got something to say.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01"You know, he counts."
0:18:01 > 0:18:05What Howson says now is something we've got to look at, really think about.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17After art school, Peter came to global prominence as an artist as one of the new Glasgow Boys.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22And in 1993, he was the subject of a BBC documentary, when he was chosen
0:18:22 > 0:18:26to be the official war artist in the Bosnian civil war.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28GUNSHOTS
0:18:28 > 0:18:32His experiences in Bosnia not only changed his art, but his whole life.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I was talking to Terry about Bosnia the other night.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40She thinks it's going to scar me for the rest of my life.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42From the time he was selected until now,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44it has been an appalling time.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Not from the point of view of being worried about him
0:18:48 > 0:18:51or anything like that, just the way he's champing at the bit to go.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Oh, oh, three of them.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Lucy sees it as being a business trip, really.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Her daddy goes off to London, he goes to America.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02It's just another trip.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05She'll wander around happily saying, "My daddy's off to Bosnia".
0:19:09 > 0:19:15It's only when you're confronted face to face and flesh to flesh that you actually realise
0:19:15 > 0:19:21the true situation in Bosnia, the horror of the situation, when it's staring you in the face.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Two people killed,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27the driver of the bus there and a man who was also killed.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29And that's, er, that's what's left of him there.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36This area is occasionally, as you've just heard, under shell fire,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40- so if you want to do your sketch. It's just we don't spend too much time.- No, no.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46And that grey object is the man's brains down there, in case you're interested.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53I can't sketch this, really.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55You just take it in, I think.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58There's no way I can watch this.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Bosnia definitely had a deep and profound effect on Peter.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28He was a troubled man before that...
0:20:31 > 0:20:34..but my sense is that, when he came back, he was a little lost.
0:20:36 > 0:20:43And although it actually brought about one the most powerful groups of work that he ever produced,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48it did really bring about the end of his relationship with his wife.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54When he went to Bosnia,
0:20:54 > 0:21:00he changed so dramatically that I didn't know him.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06With Peter, people telling him a story, he sees the story,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10so, you know, even if he'd only heard about some atrocity,
0:21:10 > 0:21:15it would be living large in his head and it really
0:21:15 > 0:21:17badly, badly affected him.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Bosnia had so traumatised him
0:21:20 > 0:21:23that nothing meant anything to him any more.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26And that was when we split up.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36He just walked out, disappeared, leaving behind Lucy, who just... He didn't want to know us.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38It was like a catalyst for both of them.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40The trauma of Bosnia
0:21:40 > 0:21:44made Peter's Asperger's Syndrome,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47to me, much more in your face.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52And also Lucy's autism became more extreme because of
0:21:52 > 0:21:56the devastation to her of losing her father at the time.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01I loved her, and I was worried about her,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03but I didn't know how to handle it
0:22:03 > 0:22:07and so I just kind of left her to everyone else to take care of,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10you know, and I just visited her and had her up every now and then.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14But now she's become a permanent part of my life and, you know,
0:22:14 > 0:22:15I'm learning so much now from her.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I think that's a marked domino.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Lucy is now 24 and divides her time between her mother's home
0:22:25 > 0:22:28and at Peter's house, with his new partner, Annie.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32This is my bedroom. It's the biggest room in the house.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39And this is work that Peter's given me since we met.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44This is a Valentine card, which, I suppose, seems a bit strange,
0:22:44 > 0:22:49because it's as if it's a down and out, but it's actually reaching forward
0:22:49 > 0:22:54and the hearts are just flowing out of where his heart is.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57You can see the wee red hearts here and it's as if he's, sort of,
0:22:57 > 0:23:03throwing himself towards, towards me, maybe. I hope it's me.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08This was actually meant to be the matrimonial bedroom...
0:23:10 > 0:23:14..but we're not married yet and maybe we will and maybe we won't.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16We're happy as we are.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19But I sleep in here and Peter's got his room.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21And it works fine.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25So, I share this bed with the dog.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30You know, Annie and I have had our problems, as well,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33because it's difficult for her to live with me like this.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35You don't know me. You don't know what I'm like.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38You're not filming me all the time, you know.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41You don't know what I'm like. You don't know how mad I am.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51It's four months after the Ogilvie commission was announced
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and no paint has even come close to a canvas.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59With the cost of the paint alone running to tens of thousands of pounds, Peter is worried.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03It's the money. The money's running out.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I'm quite confident that things will work out, Peter.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11- Well, "quite" isn't good enough for me.- Well, I'm very sure.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13All right, brilliant. Thank you.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15'Nitro-glycerine.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18'I mean, that's what you're, literally, handling when you're'
0:24:18 > 0:24:20round about Peter. It's like handling nitro.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23You can say one wrong word and it blows up in your face.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28After years of struggling with his mental health,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Peter was officially diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in early 2009.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Asperger's Syndrome's a form of autism.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41It manifests itself in difficulties with social interaction.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46This is a hidden disability.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49People with autism spectrum disorders,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54there's nothing physical about it and so, society views that person
0:24:54 > 0:24:59as looking so-called "normal" and places certain expectations.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04And when people don't meet those expectations, that is when things become more fraught and difficult.
0:25:04 > 0:25:11People think that people with autism, or Asperger's, are thick.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I think they are very naive
0:25:16 > 0:25:19and very literal in the way that they take things.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22And, in a way, that's the way Peter is.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27He's so intelligent, and so well read, but there is this naivety.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28He's so trusting.
0:25:31 > 0:25:37The one thing I am sure of is that, whatever condition I've got, if it's Asperger's or just
0:25:37 > 0:25:42a wee bit of madness, is that it certainly makes the paintings vital to me
0:25:42 > 0:25:45and gives me tremendous inspiration.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58These are things from a while ago. This is like sketch books, you know, these are all the lists I make up.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01My whole thing really is
0:26:01 > 0:26:05work, work, work, work, work, draw, draw, draw.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07There's lots and lots of these sketch books about.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11A few years ago, I probably would've flogged these for a hundred quid each
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and some guy would've been laughing all the way to the bank.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17That's what happens. People come into my studio,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20they buy things off me, or they have done.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24And they go out of the studio and before they even leave the studio
0:26:24 > 0:26:29I can actually feel that they've got the laughter, almost, as if I'm some kind of fool.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33That's the way I feel in my, kind of, more bitter moments.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It's business that is the problem for me. Always has been.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Basically, I'm, kind of, open to all sorts of philanderers
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and conmen to come and buy things off me very cheaply.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49When situations are far more complex,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52when the stakes are a lot higher,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55where they're involving large sums of money,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Peter is more significantly impaired and, therefore, it renders him
0:26:59 > 0:27:03more vulnerable, if somebody is wishing to take advantage of that.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Peter has been royally shafted over the years by so many people
0:27:08 > 0:27:13that I couldn't even begin to start.
0:27:13 > 0:27:19He's lost millions upon millions of pounds worth of earnings,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23but also he's lost some credibility, as well,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27because of what's happened to him in business.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Not every piece Peter produces is great and, sometimes,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43unfinished works have left the studio
0:27:43 > 0:27:50because collectors or dealers have been eager to buy work before Peter's even finished it.
0:27:50 > 0:27:57But the well-considered works of Peter are his really strong pieces
0:27:57 > 0:28:02and at a certain time, the right curator will come along and will put together a major
0:28:02 > 0:28:08retrospective of Peter's work and he will be recognised as one of the great painters of our time.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Six months after the commission was announced, work still hasn't started on the painting.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Peter has been unable to work at all,
0:28:20 > 0:28:26following a complete physical collapse and being rushed into hospital in an ambulance.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Under doctor's orders, he is forced to rest at home.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32BARKING
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Would you like...? I take it you would.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Do you want a bite? Come on.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40He felt as though he was having a stroke.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43They did all these different tests and things and the result was
0:28:43 > 0:28:46they said he shouldn't work for three months.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51It's been confirmed, I suppose, that it's like a breakdown of sorts,
0:28:51 > 0:28:56really - a mental and a physical breakdown, you know, where your brain just shuts down.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00I couldn't talk properly or think properly.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03I couldn't read, write, even walk properly,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05for quite a few days.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08I mean, I don't know what will happen.
0:29:10 > 0:29:17You know, it's in the kind of, it just depends if I can recover.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22He's an incredibly good man, with all this strangeness,
0:29:22 > 0:29:28this ephemera, this madness, all channelling away all around him.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33But if he didn't have that, then he couldn't create those paintings.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37So, while he suffers, we benefit.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46One month after his collapse, Peter has the opening of a special exhibition of his work,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48at the Museum of Art and Religious Life in Glasgow.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51In collaboration with the Catholic Church,
0:29:51 > 0:29:56this series of paintings depicts the Irish Famine,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58from both sides of the religious divide.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03When I woke up this morning, I thought, "Oh, to hell with this, I don't really want to go in today."
0:30:03 > 0:30:07But, being a bit of a stoic, I suppose, I thought, "Well, to hell with it,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10"if I drop dead today, then at least I'll have made it in."
0:30:15 > 0:30:18I'm excited. This is a new show and it does tie in
0:30:18 > 0:30:21with the John Ogilvie project.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Really this is like, the first stage, in a way, you know.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31A lot of people perceive the Irish Famine
0:30:31 > 0:30:35as being thousands and thousands of Catholics starving to death.
0:30:35 > 0:30:42Well, I mean, the reality is that there was many, many Protestants died in that famine, as well.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46There is this kind of huge sectarian problem in Glasgow,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50so basically this is an anti-sectarian exhibition, really.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58This is the first stage to me getting back to health.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01This proves that I'm back, really, you know.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06I've got a very good psychologist.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11I've been pronounced clinically mad and all my financial affairs
0:31:11 > 0:31:15have been taken over by a board of trustees, under a guardianship,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17so I'm very happy.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20The guardianship is in two parts.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24Peter's business affairs are now being overseen by a formal lawyer
0:31:24 > 0:31:27and his welfare by his psychologist, Michael McCreadie.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33One of the first things I did when I met Peter was to say to him,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36"You're incredibly vulnerable here
0:31:36 > 0:31:41"and there has to be things put in place that will really, kind of,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44prevent money just haemorrhaging out of your life.
0:31:47 > 0:31:53It's eight months since the Ogilvie commission was announced and Peter still hasn't started the painting.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56His mental state and the strain of severing links with his
0:31:56 > 0:32:00ex-management are magnified when the story hits the front page.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Something's come out in the press, you know, in one of
0:32:03 > 0:32:08the tabloids, The News of the World, about this kind of problem that we've been having, you know.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11And it's hit.. the shit's hit the fan, I suppose.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Ever since I've known Peter,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15there has been stress with him and his work.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18But I think Peter quite likes stress.
0:32:18 > 0:32:23But over the last so many months, it has been to do with -
0:32:23 > 0:32:27and I don't know if I should say this - to do with management that he's had.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30The main thing is to get on with the John Ogilvie commission,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33you know, and just do that and just forget about all this stuff.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36This stuff will just go away, you know, and people,
0:32:36 > 0:32:37people forget things, you know.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43It is now nine months since the Ogilvie commission was announced
0:32:43 > 0:32:47and the archbishop intervenes to try and break the deadlock.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52We've been able to put, at his disposal, a now disused church,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55which will act as his studio for some ten years.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57And he's delighted at that prospect.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03The Ogilvie painting is planned to be eight metres high
0:33:03 > 0:33:07and Peter's own studio isn't big enough to take work of this size.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11This payment in kind, of larger studio space from the Church,
0:33:11 > 0:33:15should at last enable Peter to start the painting.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20- We need to be able to get a canvas nine by seven in through the doors. That's kind of...- I'll check that.
0:33:20 > 0:33:26All right, we'll check that. And this is going to be the main area where John Ogilvie is painted on here.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28The easel will go there.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32And through there is the more secret place, where no-one else gets through.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36It's a bit of a weird way of doing it, because it means that anyone
0:33:36 > 0:33:39that comes in immediately sees John Ogilvie, but that's fine.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Through there I'll store stuff and I'll maybe do other sketches and drawings.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Peter is visiting his new studio space for the first time,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50with his full-time assistants, Douglas and John.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56My impressions of this place are very positive and I'm excited about it.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03In fact, my voice is almost going a wee bit higher. I'm, yes, I'm excited. I am.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07I've got all these big drawings at home of John Ogilvie.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11I was just trying to get his face right, because who knows what he looked like.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21And it's whether to do him as he would have been, or whether you have to,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25kind of, slightly, kind of, heroise him a bit
0:34:25 > 0:34:29or prettify him a bit, because obviously he would have been bashed about a lot.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31He'd been tortured for seven or eight days, I think.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35So he would have been in a terrible physical condition by the time he was hung.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39I don't want to get too, kind of, overconfident,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42but this is the place where John Ogilvie will be painted
0:34:42 > 0:34:45and it's...exciting.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Everything's moving ahead. I've been drawing,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58I've been drawing away, just various drawings,
0:34:58 > 0:35:05just to get the...to get the, kind of, a shape, really, a shape of the...of the martyrdom.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07It's quite difficult, actually.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11The most important drawing so far is probably this one.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13And this is the...
0:35:15 > 0:35:19..you're kind of getting more into the actual feeling of the thing.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28Things are moving and it's, you know, we've got the studio.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32I've just ordered the canvas and, basically,
0:35:32 > 0:35:38it's going to be 27 feet high and ten feet across.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41It's quite daunting, that size of a canvas, isn't it?
0:35:41 > 0:35:44You know, it is quite daunting and I have to get...
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Douglas has got the job of getting it into the studio.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49Now, we're going to have to somehow get it in.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59What we've had to do, because the sizes of the canvases are huge,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02we've had to actually slab a hole right along the wall
0:36:02 > 0:36:04so that we can... just like a letter box.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07We're going to have to pass the canvases through.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Once they're in the new studio safely, I'll be quite happy.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23Ten years of... Basically, I'll be 61 by the time we leave this place.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26That's if we ever get the John Ogilvie painted.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Despite all this effort, Peter turned down the offer
0:36:43 > 0:36:48from the archdiocese and decided not to use this as a studio, after all.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52The blank canvases are still inside.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00Almost a year after the announcement of the commission,
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Peter has decided to paint the Ogilvie on a smaller scale - and in his own studio.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09But he's still worried about raising the tens of thousands of pounds
0:37:09 > 0:37:12the materials will cost to start the painting.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16He has decided to sell his own book collection to help the fund raising.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19I shouldn't be selling it, but I need the money.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26There's a control freak. I tried to stay away, but I can't stay away, really, so...
0:37:28 > 0:37:32What the hell's happening? Is it going to go in the cupboard?!
0:37:34 > 0:37:38The truth is that it's the worst organised commission I've ever been given in my life.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45I feel as if every single ounce of energy in me has been sapped by it.
0:37:52 > 0:37:58As the auction of Peter's books is being prepared, he gets an unexpected summons to London.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06I'm in London to collect my OBE today.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12And the Queen has requested my presence at 10.20.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18'I've been quite nervous, quite nervous now, but not as nervous as I was last night.'
0:38:18 > 0:38:21I'm just really proud of him, really.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26The idea of fame
0:38:26 > 0:38:28or recognition or honour doesn't really...
0:38:28 > 0:38:32it has a, kind of, certain hollow ring to it at the moment,
0:38:32 > 0:38:37because of all the troubles that we've been through the last few years, especially the last year.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40I mean, the ironic thing is that
0:38:40 > 0:38:44I'm getting an OBE today and I'm having to sell a lot
0:38:44 > 0:38:47of family possessions to raise money, at the moment.
0:38:47 > 0:38:53I'm also slightly worried in case I run amok in Buckingham Palace.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54Is that likely? >
0:38:54 > 0:38:59Not likely. I would say 99.9% certain that it won't happen.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05But there's always a chance. I've taken my tablet.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Oh, it's exciting, isn't it?
0:39:10 > 0:39:12- It's exciting now.- It's exciting.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16- It is.- Security, I love security Anything to do with security, I love.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Do you want me to get my OBE out or what? Yeah?
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Could you hold this? I can't fold that.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57- No, of course, you can't. - I've lost it.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04- Might get a good price for it on eBay, maybe.- Oh!
0:40:05 > 0:40:07I need the money, though.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12It was a very beautiful ceremony. It was amazingly spectacular.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15I was very impressed with it.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20I was worried in case my pants were getting stuck up my trousers, as well, when I was doing it.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23- Or I had diarrhoea or something. - Oh, Peter!- What?
0:40:32 > 0:40:37A whole year after the Ogilvie commission was announced, and with the guardianship
0:40:37 > 0:40:42now giving Peter more stability, financially and psychologically, he doesn't need to worry
0:40:42 > 0:40:47about money for the Ogilvie commission. Now, all he has to do is paint it.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51- Come on, son.- I've done my back in. - He's done his back in.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54But I'll be OK. Don't you worry.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56It's just when I'm sitting down in the car.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Right, I need to get a corset.
0:40:59 > 0:41:00A nice frilly one.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03So is there anything special happening today?
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Aye. A very important day.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09An important day, because I'm starting John Ogilvie today.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19'I realised the key to things over the next...is me getting into work.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23'And I haven't really been doing that, lately, at all.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26I've been kind of moping at home and the physical act of painting
0:41:26 > 0:41:30'and, you know, mental activity, is probably what I need at the moment.'
0:41:31 > 0:41:35I made the decision, if I don't do the John Ogilvie, people will gradually,
0:41:35 > 0:41:42you know, take sides with, whereas a Protestant like me doing the, working for the Church, the Catholic Church,
0:41:42 > 0:41:48will hopefully bring people together, especially if I can do a good job on it.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52I'm giving it away for nothing. It's a gift. It's an eight by six.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54It's going to be smaller,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57a lot smaller than the actual
0:41:57 > 0:42:00original kind of plan, you know.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Originally, when the press conference took place, it was going to be
0:42:03 > 0:42:06the largest crowd scene ever painted in Scotland.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Well, it's probably going to be the smallest crowd scene ever painted
0:42:10 > 0:42:13in Scotland now, because I'm just going to probably do John Ogilvie
0:42:13 > 0:42:17and we'll be the crowd, you know. The people that see it will be the crowd.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Let's get on with it.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23MUSIC: "Cochise" by Audioslave
0:43:13 > 0:43:16# Go on and save yourself
0:43:16 > 0:43:20# And take it out on me
0:43:20 > 0:43:22# Go on and save yourself
0:43:22 > 0:43:25# And take it out on me
0:43:25 > 0:43:29# Go on and save yourself
0:43:29 > 0:43:32# And take it out on me
0:43:32 > 0:43:34# Go on and save yourself
0:43:34 > 0:43:37# And take it out on me
0:43:37 > 0:43:41# Go on and save yourself
0:43:41 > 0:43:44# And take it out on me
0:43:44 > 0:43:46# Go on and save yourself
0:43:46 > 0:43:49# And take it out on me
0:43:49 > 0:43:52# Go on and save yourself
0:43:52 > 0:43:55# And take it out on me
0:43:55 > 0:43:58# Yeah. #
0:43:59 > 0:44:02I didn't expect to get quite as much done.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04But I wasn't tentative today about it.
0:44:04 > 0:44:10I was right, kind of, psyched up and, you know, anything, the only thing, that would have stopped me
0:44:10 > 0:44:13coming in was probably, you know, like having
0:44:13 > 0:44:17something happening to Lucy or something, or an accident, or an epileptic fit or something.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20So I was all set for... I was raring to go.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22So it's gone well.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26It's just a start, really, isn't it? It's what happens after this.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28The start can be quite easy sometimes.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29It's what happens after that.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50As Peter forges ahead with the painting,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53the cathedral renovation is progressing slowly.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57The announcement of the papal visit has added pressure to the schedule.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02The stage they're at, at the moment,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06after having taken down so much, they're now replacing things,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08restoring things,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11putting a new floor down, looking to high level work.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Windows have been taken out. They'll be replaced very shortly.
0:45:15 > 0:45:21It's at the stage of, I think, over the top, shall we say, of the hill.
0:45:23 > 0:45:29The date, hopefully, for completion is now mid-September.
0:45:29 > 0:45:35It was the end of September, but with the thought of the Holy Father coming and the possibility
0:45:35 > 0:45:41of his looking in en route, we would like to get it finished by mid-September.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49Peter's enthusiasm is re-fired, I think,
0:45:49 > 0:45:55and I gather from friends, who have actually seen the work,
0:45:55 > 0:45:58that it is, possibly, going to be one of his finest works.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02I haven't seen it yet and I don't want to press him, until he's ready to show it to me.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46It's looking a bit, at the moment, it's looking a wee bit
0:46:46 > 0:46:50raw and cartoon-like, I suppose, in a way, a bit caricature, almost.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53So, I have to get away from that.
0:46:53 > 0:46:59I'm just wondering whether it's possible to, for me to, to actually go beyond that, you know.
0:47:03 > 0:47:11I'm just trying to make this painting as if he's just about to meet his death, you know,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14and he's, you know, he's been through all this torture.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Everyone's really been very kind to me.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28They've all been very understanding and I hope they're not going
0:47:28 > 0:47:30to be horrified when they see it, this painting.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33I hope it will move people to,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37to be healed by the power of John Ogilvie.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46When I was young, I was obsessed with death.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50I thought the world was going to end when I was about 13,
0:47:50 > 0:47:5712, 13 years old, and I decided I was going to do 12 last paintings before the end of the world, you know.
0:47:57 > 0:48:02I was excited about it. It was not something that I was frightened of. But I frightened everyone else.
0:48:02 > 0:48:09I mean, the idea of painting, if you think the world's not going to be here.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14It cannot be then said that I paint for posterity
0:48:14 > 0:48:18or for money or for, you know, for any kind of worldly fame.
0:48:18 > 0:48:19I'm not really interested in that.
0:48:19 > 0:48:25The reason why I paint is because my paintings change people's lives and if I can do one painting
0:48:25 > 0:48:28that can change someone's life then that's my function.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33When you think of the totality of Peter's work, it's awesome.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37I mean, this particular commission.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39How many contemporary artists could do that...
0:48:42 > 0:48:44..are capable of doing that?
0:48:44 > 0:48:45Not very many.
0:48:51 > 0:48:57After nine months work, and despite the Ogilvie canvas being complete in most people's eyes,
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Peter keeps on changing the painting.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05What stage is the painting at for you?
0:49:05 > 0:49:08It's at the shite stage.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11I've been ranting and raving all day.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14I've, kind of, forgotten how to paint, I think.
0:49:14 > 0:49:19Sometimes you've got to go through these stages of...
0:49:21 > 0:49:24..absolute hell to get there, you know.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33It's changed quite a lot since you last saw it.
0:49:33 > 0:49:40It was looking all, looking too cartoony, I suppose,
0:49:40 > 0:49:42and I wasn't pushing myself to the absolute limit.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49It's a big painting and it feels even bigger now, you know.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51It feels like a monster now.
0:49:57 > 0:50:02If you see it in a mirror, you can see whether a painting is balanced or not.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06You can see all the mistakes in it. And it's a horrific sight sometimes.
0:50:08 > 0:50:14'It's just quite ironic that it's being gifted to the Church
0:50:14 > 0:50:17'and it's causing me this amount of anguish,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20'I suppose, you know, just to do it, do the painting.'
0:50:20 > 0:50:23HE SIGHS
0:50:23 > 0:50:27Right... Thank you, time to go.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29But Peter wasn't quite finished for the day.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57So what, kind of, got you going there?
0:51:04 > 0:51:08Just a need to really destroy it, to rebuild, you know.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14I think the main thing was to get rid of the prettiness of the colours
0:51:14 > 0:51:16and the, you know, the prettiness of the subject,
0:51:16 > 0:51:21because it is a grim subject matter, you know.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26Focus on John Ogilvie, which is I think what it has done now.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30I like it better, anyway. Aye, it's definitely all right.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Right, big man, see you in the morning.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37That last 20 minutes there, it was quite,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39it was like watching a Mike Tyson fight.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42It was exciting, because you didn't know what he was going to do.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46You didn't know if he was going to just smash right through the canvas,
0:51:46 > 0:51:50there was that much energy going into it, you know.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53And to have that confidence to be able to do that,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56I mean, especially on such a thing as large as that,
0:51:56 > 0:52:00and the amount of work and time that he's put into it.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05I was only kidding him on when I said to him this morning,
0:52:05 > 0:52:09"There must be 20 grand's worth of paint on it." But there's got to be ten grand's worth on it.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Despite all the delays in starting, and months of work,
0:52:17 > 0:52:22Peter continues to paint out the figure on the canvas.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33I went in the next morning and I did even more,
0:52:33 > 0:52:36but I buggered it up again, so then I started getting
0:52:36 > 0:52:39more and more frustrated and I just completely covered it over -
0:52:39 > 0:52:40almost destroyed it.
0:52:40 > 0:52:46And so actually I've done another one, basically, and then started this other one as the other one
0:52:46 > 0:52:49was starting to go downhill. So I spent a week from start to finish
0:52:49 > 0:52:53on a John Ogilvie and it's better than the one I worked months on.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06The main thing is John Ogilvie is there
0:53:06 > 0:53:11and it's much, much better and more moving than the other one was.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15I'm trying not to smile here.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19- Are you pleased with it?- Aye.
0:53:19 > 0:53:25After nearly two years, the Ogilvie is finally complete.
0:53:25 > 0:53:30A canvas a fifth the size of the original plan, but complete, nonetheless.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36With the unveiling planned to coincide with the papal visit, there is a final setback.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41Three months before the Pope comes to Glasgow,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45the main contractor for the cathedral renovation goes into administration,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48with the loss of 170 jobs.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51This will delay the completion date by at least six months.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57Given this delay, and with other work stacking up for Peter,
0:53:57 > 0:54:01the decision is made to unveil the painting at the archdiocese offices in Glasgow.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07Are you nervous about the unveiling?
0:54:07 > 0:54:08I'm nervous, yeah.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11I mean, when I first came in here, to tell the truth,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14it didn't look as good as I thought it was going to look.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18But I'm gradually warming to it again.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20It's quite emotional, I suppose, as well,
0:54:20 > 0:54:25because it's the end of a chapter, beginning of a new chapter.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30It's about time I got on to a new chapter, because this one's starting to get really boring.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35It's a great afternoon for us.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37At last,
0:54:37 > 0:54:41here in the Eyre Hall, we are able to unveil
0:54:41 > 0:54:46Peter Howson's gift of the painting of the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Well, thank you very much, Your Grace.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Eh... I hope you like it, actually.
0:54:55 > 0:54:56LAUGHTER
0:54:56 > 0:55:00If there's a dead silence, then I know that you don't.
0:55:00 > 0:55:05No, it's, it's a long, it has been a long journey.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Two years, in fact.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12And I'll tell you a wee bit about it.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15It was going to be a lot bigger
0:55:15 > 0:55:20and it was going to be one of the largest crowd scenes
0:55:20 > 0:55:23in art history.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26It sounds a bit pompous saying that.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31I worked on a painting for about nine months, almost,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33and then, in one moment of absolute madness,
0:55:33 > 0:55:38I completely destroyed it, after nine months' work.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42But luckily, a bit like Blue Peter, I had one already prepared earlier.
0:55:42 > 0:55:43LAUGHTER
0:55:43 > 0:55:47I don't know what more I can say, apart from unveiling it, really.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51But thank you all for coming and this is the dodgy bit, in case it falls over.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56APPLAUSE
0:56:23 > 0:56:28This is very much more an invitation to engage spiritually
0:56:28 > 0:56:32with someone who, for his faith, was prepared to go to the gallows.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38He's always searching for something new and I think
0:56:38 > 0:56:41that's something that keeps me,
0:56:41 > 0:56:43as a fan
0:56:43 > 0:56:46and a dealer in his work, interested.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48I'm never quite sure what to expect.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50He's an asset.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54In this time of such puerile,
0:56:54 > 0:57:01pathetic expressions of what we call art -
0:57:01 > 0:57:03it is almost disgusting.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07And I say, "Thank God for Peter Howson."
0:57:08 > 0:57:11It's a very difficult thing to do, obviously -
0:57:11 > 0:57:14paint a religious image for the 21st century.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17How difficult is that? But most artists couldn't even
0:57:17 > 0:57:20contemplate doing something like this, but he's done it.
0:57:20 > 0:57:25So I think we have to take our hat off to Peter Howson, once again.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33I've been through a hellish time. It's a dark period.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37It sounds a bit melodramatic, talking about me, me, me and my health.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42But I've been, the first time in my life,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45about two months ago,
0:57:45 > 0:57:47I felt suicidal.
0:57:53 > 0:57:58I've fought my way through this.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01I'm still not completely out of the woods, as they say...
0:58:03 > 0:58:05..but I'm recovering now.
0:58:05 > 0:58:11I understood what it was like to be in the mind of a madman.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13It's not a very nice place to be.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17I'd like to get a bit of joy back in my life now, somehow,
0:58:17 > 0:58:20and stop being a miserable bastard.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23It's difficult, though.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31MUSIC: "Fool's Gold" by The Stone Roses
0:58:49 > 0:58:52Subtitles By Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:52 > 0:58:55E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk