I'm an ambitious self-publicist out of necessity. I've never been one to miss an opportunity because I've never had any illusions about how hard it is to survive as a painter... It's been an extra driving force to be able to prove the sceptics wrong.
Art thrives on society and society thrives on its art.
I love isolation. It's very important for me to have time and space to myself when I can sit and read or write as well as paint. It's all part of the process.
It is intensely frustrating to be misquoted.
I'm not some kind of machine that paints pictures.
Some sitters don't engage with the process of having their portrait painted at all. They'll think it's a good opportunity to catch up with all their phone calls.
It's important to start off with ideals, even if they become modified at some later stage.
One of my principal concerns is the contradiction between appearance and reality - illusion and reality. I try to set up an expectation of sorts and then contradict it.
I benefit from contemplation, but it's a great antidote to that, having someone interesting come into the studio environment to be painted, so that I can experience a little bit of their world.
One of the big failings of art schools is that students aren't given any teaching on how to survive as a one-person business, which is what it is.
A contemporary painting is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it and not a predetermined figure.
