From the point of view of method, I find that my method has changed radically, as of course it must do. I used to work very directly without preparing very much. Now I find that although I must work directly, I usually work on about three or four paintings and a series of drawings before anything final comes out of this. A final, or a finalised painting, quite often happens fairly quickly. With my particular method it must be very fresh. I find that very clean, very fresh colour is essential. I find tremendous sensual delight in clarity and finality of area, so consequently a painting can’t possibly have any labour on its actual surface, the labour must go on in other places. And I find that the more I work, the more prolonged are these periods of making studies and drawings.
I find that I’m continually going back to the figure as being something that contains so much, so many possibilities. Through exploration, probably like all good sensualists, I keep finding the figure in landscape and the landscape in the figure; areas of flesh stretched across muscle or relaxed, tightened up, loose flesh, delicate little veins, bony areas, are things that I feel with tremendous ecstasy that I’ve never yet been able to put down in any way, something that I’m trying very hard to do at the moment.
