But then the opportunity came to make an actual piece of art myself for the magazine: with none other than Damien Hirst, who invited me along to Covent Garden to make one of his iconic spin paintings.

His art is celebrated and derided in equal measure. But Damien Hirst is in no doubt about his talent - and for good reason. "If I put it in a skip outside a pub, would someone take it home?

Earlier this year, British artist Damien Hirst created “The Virtues”, a series of cherry blossom prints each named after one of the eight virtues of bushido – Japan’s old samurai code.