Painters have always needed a sort of veil upon which they can focus their attention. It's as though the more fully the consciousness is absorbed, the greater the freedom of the spirit behind.

An artist's early work is inevitably made up of a mixture of tendencies and interests, some of which are compatible and some of which are in conflict.

Focusing isn't just an optical activity, it is also a mental one.

I think this lack of a center has something to do with the loss of certainties that Christianity had to offer.

An artist’s early work is inevitably made up of a mixture of tendencies and interests, some of which are compatible and some of which are in conflict.

I used to build up to sensation, accumulating tension until it released a perceptual experience.

I learned from Seurat this important thing about colour and light, that ‘a light’ can be built from colour. I learned a great deal about interaction, that ‘a blue’ in different parts will play all sorts of different roles.

In general, my paintings are multifocal. You can’t call it unfocused space, but not being fixed to a single focus is very much of our time.

In my earlier paintings, I wanted the space between the picture plane and the spectator to be active.

It is important that the painting can be inhabited, so that the mind’s eye, or the eye’s mind, can move about it credibly.