Before I paint someone, I always ask, 'How much examination can your body take?' 'How much do you want me to see?'
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I look at a body it gives me choice of what to put in a painting, what will suit me and what won't.
To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects.
I'm an artist. And usually when I tell people I'm an artist, they just look at me and say, 'Do you paint?' or 'What kind of medium do you work in?'
I had a reporter ask me how much I weigh. I said to him, 'You go first: How much do you weigh?' People always ask me what I eat. Other artists don't get asked these questions.
What I wish to show when I paint is the way I see things with my eyes and in my heart.
Whatever art form you're working in, it's crucial to see it clearly, to feel it clearly, and not to worry about the results, or how someone else will see it.
As an artist, I think you always have to take care of yourself as a person probably even more than the average person because your body is so important to your art.
The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.
Who's going to ask a painter to see a diploma? They'd say, 'Can I see your paintings?', wouldn't they?
I always thought of it like, 'What can my body do for me?' and not, 'How do I look?'