Have you ever hung a piece of black velvet behind you and looked at yourself in the mirror? We are each of us quite alone, and that's what I try to paint.

A single model enables me to focus on one thing at a time, separating design and form and color into three successive stages.

An artist is either good at color or good at value but rarely good at both. I focus on the tonal range, the dark-light effects, rather than the full color range of bright colors. I just don't know what to do with all those cadmiums.

Have you ever hung a piece of black velvet behind you and looked at yourself in the mirror? We are each of us quite alone, and that's what I try to paint.

It is in the intellectual and emotional response, the conscious and subconscious associations of the artist, that the potential power of painting lies.

I'm interested in human vulnerability. We are alone, and my portraits reflect this quality. I don't want anything to get in the way of this feeling.

Do good work. Don't worry about expressing yourself. Figure out what you do well and make it better.