I stay up nights and fiddle with my opera designs. It's a bit obsessive. That's why I can't do it all the time.

An artist might be attracted to hedonism, but of course an artist is not a hedonist. He's a worker, always.

Smoking calms me down. It's enjoyable. I don't want politicians deciding what is exciting in my life.

I avoid the public because the English public is too aggressive these days for me.

I've finally figured out what's wrong with photography. It's a one-eyed man looking through a little 'ole. Now, how much reality can there be in that?

I have always believed that art should be a deep pleasure...ther e is always, everywhere, an enormous amount of suffering. But I believe my duty as an artist is to overcome and alleviate the sterility of despair...New ways of seeing mean new ways of feeling... I do believe that painting can change the world.

I've always been a looker. Loads of people say, "I never saw that" - but that's what artists do.