I never make studies from nature. They would get in the way. I make use of my mind.

I used to build up to sensation, accumulating tension until it released a perceptual experience

Painters have always needed a sort of veil upon which they can focus their attention. It's as though the more fully the consciousness is absorbed, the greater the freedom of the spirit behind

I couldn’t get near what I wanted through seeing, recognizing and recreating, so I stood the problem on its head. I started studying squares, rectangles, triangles and the sensations they give rise to It is untrue that my work depends on any literary impulse or has any illustrative intention. The marks on the canvas are sole and essential agents in a series of relationships which form the structure of the painting.

Focusing isn't just an optical activity; it is also a mental one.

In my earlier paintings, I wanted the space between the picture plane and the spectator to be active.

There was a time when meanings were focused and reality could be fixed; when that sort of belief disappeared, things became uncertain and open to interpretation.