He also paints portraits (his portrait of Dame Iris Murdoch is well known) and murals, and creates installation art and sculpture. His portrait of Michael Kustow won joint Hunting Art Prize in 1988. He is a member of the Royal Academy (since 1989) and, in 2003 designed a Royal Mint commemorative five-pound coin for the 50th anniversary of the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He is an opera fan, and has composed an opera, "Irma", using the "Humument" source material for the libretto. He also wrote the libretto for "Heart of Darkness", a chamber opera with music by Tarik O'Regan currently in development with American Opera Projects.