Lino Wong Wing-kuen never imagined he would find himself standing on a creaking scaffold painting the ceiling of a Greek church.
Wong, 43, graduated in architecture from the University of Hong Kong two decades ago.
But his passion for painting took him to Italy a year later, where he was planning to study art.
Things didn't go as planned in Florence. It was an expensive place to live and, unable to afford the high rents, Wong was offered a temporary home in the Santa Maria a Cintoia Church by Don Rino Perbellini.
He stayed there for 18 years and became fascinated by religious art.
It was the icons - the flat pictures of Christ, Mary and others painted in egg tempera on wood - that caught Wong's eye. The style was begun by the Orthodox Church and was widespread before the 8th century, but sparked debate over whether they were idols banned in the Bible. The iconoclasm died down eventually, but the art continues today.
Unlike contemporary art, the painting of icons is governed by strict rules. Artists cannot create their own versions, but must follow a set of historical images.
