It's all right if you don't mind looking at the world from the point of view of a paralyzed Cyclops—for a split second.

I can get excitement watching rain on a puddle. And then I paint it. Now, I admit, there are not too many people who would find that exciting. But I would. And I want life thrilling and rich. And it is. I make sure it is.

The camera can't see space. It sees surfaces. People see space, which is much more interesting.

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

I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very powerful. It's the same scene in different times of year read across the grid, and, of course, different locations reading vertically. But you can get confused and lost in the series. You force the mind, which is always comparing and contrasting, to stumble ... That ambiguity is very powerful. One is getting lost and refinding oneself.

If you see the world as beautiful, thrilling and mysterious, as I think I do, then you feel quite alive.