Yes, I did, I mean I painted er, in a kind of abstract expressionist way, because of course that was exciting.

When you stop doing something, it doesn't mean you are rejecting the previous work. That's the mistake; it's not rejecting it, it's saying, 'I have exploited it enough now and I wish to take a look at another corner.'

The moment you can learn to deal with homosexuality in art, it's quite an exciting moment, just as in a sense when people 'come out' it's quite an exciting moment. It means they become aware of their desires, and can deal with them in a remarkably honest way.

Enjoyment of the landscape is a thrill.

We live in an age where the artist is forgotten. He is a researcher. I see myself that way.

I think Picasso was, without doubt, the greatest portraitist of the 20th century, if not any other century.

It is very good advice to believe only what an artist does, rather than what he says about his work.