I remember Francis Bacon would say that he felt he was giving art what he thought it previously lacked. With me, it's what Yeats called the fascination with what's difficult. I'm only trying to do what I can't do.

The only secret I can claim to have is concentration, and that's something that can't be taught.

The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art

The painter must give a completely free rein to any feeling or sensations he may have and reject nothing to which he is naturally drawn.

The painting is always done very much with [the model's] co-operation. The problem with painting a nude, of course, is that it deepens the transaction. You can scrap a painting of someone's face and it imperils the sitter's self-esteem less than scrapping a painting of the whole naked body.

The model should only serve the very private function for the painter of providing the starting point for his excitement

I could never put anything into a picture that wasn't actually there in front of me. That would be a pointless lie, a mere bit of artfulness.