But the best part is the pop of colour it’s super-cheerful. It’s also very practical – large without seeming bulky.

It has an unusual shape, an inverted trapezoid, with a single button at the top. The last thing I bought and loved was a hot-pink leather bag from Brandon Blackwood, one of my favourite bag designers. Self’s Brandon Blackwood bag and monographs about artists Robert Colescott and Faith Ringgold © Elliott Jerome Browne Jr I have a tendency to be a little bit of a nosy person, so I’ve heard this from quite a few people. The best advice I’ve ever received is to mind your business. I found these artists when I was searching for a fresh but nostalgic sound for the studio. I’ve been listening to a lot of contemporary neo-soul lately. My favourites are “Function” and “Milk & Honey”. The last music I downloaded was songs by Corbin Canvas. Avant Arte commission, Lewis Cubitt Square, Coal Drops Yard, London N1, 5 October until early 2023 the editions are released 13 October Home Body is at Pilar Corrias, 54 Eastcastle Street and 2 Savile Row, London, 6 October to 17 December. I’ll also be launching two limited editions and unveiling my first public art commission, in King’s Cross, both with Avant Arte. I’m excited to see the work installed in Pilar’s home when I’m in London this month for my solo show there. I care more about a portrait feeling like its subject than looking exactly like them – I suppose this is my artistic licence. It’s really tricky drawing people you know: it’s not enough for the work to just look like them, it has to feel like them as well. It’s a work on paper, in acrylic, coloured pencil and graphite, and it has a cool green-blue tone in the background that favours cyan – my favourite colour. The best gift I’ve given recently was a portrait to my gallerist and friend Pilar Corrias. Seated Bronze, 2022 by Tschabalala Self, €28,000, released 13 October on © Courtesy of Tschabalala Self and Avant Arte As a young creative, it taught me that characters do not need to be likeable to be compelling – and more importantly, it is sometimes necessary to create a villain in order to tell a moralistic story. The protagonist, King David, is truly a villain, but through the eloquence of the text you begin to sympathise with him. Never Die Alone is a sad book about complex characters in less than ideal situations. I started reading them one summer in the early 2000s and was instantly hooked. At my family’s home there is a large book collection by black authors and intellectuals from the ’60s and ’70s. The work of art that changed everything for me was a novel, Never Die Alone by Donald Goines. It looks nothing like the yard back home but gives me a similar feeling. I live upstate in Hudson now and, when I feel a bit homesick for NYC, I sit in my yard. Its loveliest feature is a 100-year-old rose bush that still blooms brightly every spring.

I remember barbecues with my siblings – I’m one of five – birthday parties, planting sessions with my mom and even my sister’s wedding, all out there in the backyard. When I was much younger, the yard was where I would collect snails, make mud-pies or climb up and down the fence. My parents grew up in New Orleans and didn’t really believe in air conditioning, so my room on the second floor would get very hot.

I have so many memories of being out there, just passing the time or escaping the still air inside. Max Mara’s lightweight turtlenecks are my favourite for autumn – in the winter, I enjoy pairing them with a Chinti & Parker cashmere sweater.Ī cast-metal Afro pick by artist Salimatu Amabebe alongside mementoes on her living-room fireplace © Elliott Jerome Browne JrĪ place that means a lot to me is the backyard of my family home in Harlem. A collared shirt is my regular go-to for mild weather – turtlenecks as it gets colder. Sharp edges and bright colours are always a plus. So I love a pointy-toed shoe, either a heel or a boot, something feminine and vampy but sweet. My personal style signifier is something casual and comfortable but chic – maybe even slightly business-oriented.

Intaglio earrings