Painting is a solitary act for me; I don't need anyone around to make paintings.

To make music I rely on other people, which is good - that's the main difference in painting and music at this stage. They are separate parts of my life really, like having two jobs, one in a bar, one in a lighthouse.

If you can see a world within a portrait I would be happy with that. I don't want to tell the story with a painting, though. I'm trying to get away from the story- from the beginning and the ending.

I like to listen to a lot of classical music when I'm painting, the most simplistic stuff I can find. I like simple piano.

Other people's songs can inspire me, though - I always have music on when I'm painting.

I used to use a lot of words in the paintings but stopped because it created a narrative - or an answer to a question.

I don't think of myself as a rebellious artist, a lot of people have said that about me because I came from Cornwall and choose to paint people in what they considered to be an urban style instead of Cornish landscapes. I've never agreed with them. It's bullshit.