Thomson's small oil sketches of the last years palpitate and throb. They are as direct in attack as a punch in the nose.

I am interested in doing something that cannot be explained.

Painting is still to a great extent dominated by a central image; corners in most cases are like uninvited guests at a party, uneasy and unattended.

It took me over a couple of months to find the right piece of transparent paper for a section near the centre, on the right side of the Garden of Nebuchadnezzar. When I did find it, it was on a bottle of my wife's toilet water.

It's such an honour being banned in Italy, the mother of sensuality. It's like being asked to straighten your tie in a bordello... It's ironic that the pictures were removed on the complaint of a cardinal. I regard censorship as a cardinal sin.

Any artist who doesn't think he's the best should quit.

I don't believe anyone really likes paint, unless he's tempted to eat it.