Art is more to do with observation than invention.

When I was a very young student I loved and admired the work of Sam Beckett, who is famously pessimistic, and whose writing is an extraordinary examination of emptiness. I wanted to be like Beckett. I don't have the same attitude toward the world, I'm naturally optimistic, and so of course I could never be like Beckett. You can't force yourself to become like someone you admire.

Art is more to do with observation than invention.

For many years I hoped to have an exhibition in China, because of my family connection.

I decided I should use the most obvious colours - the basic colours with simple names: red, purple, yellow, pink. I don't distort the objects, I don't change the objects, I draw them exactly as they are. I do the opposite with the colours.

'Understanding' art is like having a sense of humour - if you don't have one, no amount of explanation is going to make you laugh.

In the period of '60s to the '90s, British art schools were small, and the number of student was small. The personal contact was great.