People were very affected by the war. But it didn't mean you stopped painting unless you were called into the Army; then you just couldn't paint. But otherwise one continued.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Do not think that I have stopped painting, for at any moment, I am liable to paint a good picture.
For centuries, the horrors of war have been sculpted by artists so people would never forget.
Painting was a problem - you produce a thing, and then you sell it and get money, and that was quickly considered totally uncool.
I have continued to paint; my father - who was savaged by the critics - continued to paint until practically the last week of his life.
The war was a mirror; it reflected man's every virtue and every vice, and if you looked closely, like an artist at his drawings, it showed up both with unusual clarity.
The war was the end of an era, in art as well. And we were trying to create a new philosophy.
I have been to several wars to draw. I went to Vietnam. And made drawings in Vietnam during that period of the war there, and found that to be a very very sad situation.
I stopped painting in 1990 at the peak of my success just to deny people my beautiful paintings, and I did it out of spite.
I am never going to have anything more to do with politics or politicians. When this war is over I shall confine myself entirely to writing and painting.
I'm not a war photographer. I've always dealt with the consequences of conflict.