Derren Brown's New Book (of Portraits)

While we can only speculate about the contents of Derren Brown's next book about illusion, we know precisely what his next published book will contain: Portraits.

The Art Book

Derren's official website revealed several months ago that DB is working on a book of portrait paintings, which will hopefully be out by Christmas. Sanders the Great has posted some of DB's portraits of magicians.

Derren's portraits are exaggerated, cartoonish drawings that -- in some cases, at least -- really seem to capture the essence of his subjects (take, for example, the excellent David Tennant drawing).

Derren's Portrait Hobby

According to the Independent, DB started painting portraits at age 12:

It all began after I finished a maths exam early and started caricaturing the teacher. I have a thing about faces. I am a keen portrait photographer, too.

Derren recalls a telephone call from one of his portrait subjects. He answered the phone, and the caller said, "Guess who it is, Derren. Use your mind power."

It was Uri Geller, who had recently received a print of DB's portrait of him. Geller advised Derren to shift his career from magic to art. "I think he meant it as a compliment."